Stephen Key
WHO IS STEPHEN KEY? What is OPEN INNOVATION? What is LICENSING?
Stephen Key is the world’s leading expert in licensing consumer product ideas and a 2018-2019 American Association for the Advancement of Science-Lemelson Invention Ambassador.
He achieved repeat success as an independent inventor, including defending his intellectual property against one of the largest toy companies in federal court. The innovative packaging solution he brought to market is protected by more than 20 patents and received 15 industry awards,
including two Edisons.
inventRight, the coaching program he cofounded in 1999, has helped people from more than 65 countries license their product ideas. He explains how to take advantage of the power of open innovation on his popular YouTube channel inventRight TV and in Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur.
In 2019, he taught a 10-unit course for University of Newcastle in Australia students based on his 10-step strategy for licensing ideas, originally published in his bestselling book One Simple Idea: How to Turn Your Dreams into a Licensing Goldmine.
He is also the author of One Simple Idea for Start ups and Entrepreneurs, ‘Sell Your Ideas with or without a Patent’, ‘Become a Professional Inventor: The Insider’s Guide to Companies Looking for Ideas’, and ‘Licensing Ideas using LinkedIn: Ditch Cold Calling Forever.’ In 2020, he became a founding member of the United States Intellectual Property Alliance to help educate entrepreneurs and inventors on intellectual property.
In 2021, Mojo Nation named him as one of the 100 most influential figures working in toy and game design today. Today, he is also involved in licensing a new packaging innovation — Fishbone — that eliminates the plastic rings on 6-packs of beverages and is endorsed by The Ocean Foundation.
THE INSTITUTE OF INVENTORS AND INNOVATORS
A mandate being met.