Is My Patent Attorney Any Good?

A reader wrote to me recently concerned that she had not heard from her patent attorney for two months, and was waiting to hear the patent attorney's progress with making a prototype and contacting a toy manufacturer. She asked if her patent attorney not returning her phone calls was a normal part of the invention process. Well, some of the most successful inventors that I know always advise that an inventor never hire a do-it-all for you company or individual. How can someone do a decent patent search for you to determine novelty, if they also want to sell you their services for filing a patent application? How can they do an honest patent assessment, if an unfavorable assessment should make you reconsider going forward with an idea? Can someone be an expert in law, marketing, licensing, and prototyping? Before investing your money with anybody (including those who advertise on this site) read and take to heart the following: How To Avoid an Invention Company Scam, Invention Company Promotion Firms and Avoiding Scams, and check the following caution list maintained by InventorEd, Inc.