Many inventors overlook free or nearly free resources that are right under their noses: nearby schools and universities. Schools have marketing and business departments and they are constantly on the lookout for projects in which to involve the students.

The marketing department of a nearby university can be an extremely valuable yet inexpensive resource for inventors on a shoestring budget. Professors often jump at the opportunity to involve the students in research for an actual product that is in development. Many times it becomes a semester assignment for the students to do a thorough market search and evaluation of the potential viability of a product. This often includes the students conducting visits to local stores, thorough internet searches and catalog searches. The work done by the students is often more thorough than the work done by the independent inventor simply because many students are involved in the project.

Do not assume that a thorough market search will replace a patent search. It will not. Many items are patented that never make it to the marketplace.