Keys inventors strive to make creations household items

By OMAR PEREZ
Contributing Writer

They surround us in everyday life - gadgets that, no matter how common or petty they may appear, make life simpler. While some people may wonder how one could survive without some of these inventions, others are thinking of how to create them.

A preliminary search on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site revealed 99 patents issued to inventors based in Key Largo, 22 in Tavernier, and 23 in Islamorada. Some of the patents included everything from moisture-retaining brassieres for lactating women, to vinyl hats that protect from UV rays, to a unique lug nut remover. One inventor, the late Frank Eversole, of Key Largo, held 19 patents, the lug nut remover being one of them.

Many of these items are a result of folks who created something they personally needed. In the case of Key Largo resident Rex Rothing, lack of storage in his kitchen led him to create the Magnarack, a rack that attaches itself to magnetic surfaces such as refridgerators via magnets. After going through more than 20 wooden prototypes, Rothing, proprietor of Woodshop 102, designed the existing plastic model. After two years of back-and-forth exchanges with the patent office, and more than $4,000 in patent attorney fees, Rothing has mass-produced his product, and so far, found willing buyers and distribution outlets locally, including KLI True Value Hardware in Key Largo.

Monty Davis, also of Key Largo, has also found some buyers for his creations. While he holds patents for items including a "Cord Condom," which fuses two individual electrical extension cords with a watertight seal, Davis has made some progress with his stud finder, available at a handful of stores, including Dixie Aluminum in Tavernier. Davis' stud finder not only detects studs using heavy-duty magnets, it sticks to the wall once it detects one.

Russ Lambert, of Islamorada, meanwhile, is working on making his wastewater processing creation, called the Islamorada Device, a vital part of Keys requirements to comply with the state's 2010 wastewater mandate. He has yet to sell one, but is in the process of testing several, so far with positive results. Ultimately, Lambert is seeking state approval before selling the device to the masses.

While all three are ahead of many patent holders whose ideas have yet to get off the ground, they realize they have a hard road ahead.

"Getting the patent is the easy part," Davis said. "Getting rid of the stuff is the hard part."

Said Lambert, "The idea of 'build a better mouse trap and they will come' is hogwash."

Davis and Lambert wrote their own patents. On the other hand, Rothing hired an attorney.

"It takes time, a lot of money, and a lawyer to get a patent. You don't have to have a lawyer, but it's a very confusing process."

Rothing's patent, like many, is written in a way that may be more difficult for another person or company looking to duplicate his Magnarack to circumvent. "Like Clinton said, what is 'is'? Is oral sex sex? That's the sort of thing you bicker over with the patent office."

Rothing said the patent office would ask him questions, primarily on what makes his product unique from others, and then he'd respond, and not hear anything for six months. "You're back at the bottom of the pile," he said. "It was back and forth, back and forth."

Traditionally, single-product companies are the most likely to fail. That is one reason why Rothing plans to add more items to his line, including magnetic office supply holders and kitchen utensil baskets. Down the line, Davis is looking to push a magnetic tool belt on which he has a patent. Furthermore, not all gadgets are guaranteed moneymakers.

Despite the slim odds, Rothing is hopeful. "I still feel like I am the lucky guy," he said.

To help pay for his creation, Lambert sold stock and found investors. Since 1997, he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, and countless hours surfing the Internet for information. Without funding or the Internet, the project wouldn't have gotten as far as it has, he says.

Among his creations, Lambert also invented a device that automatically turns on a car's headlights when a driver uses the windshield wipers. He found moderate success with the invention at first, although he eventually ceased its production after demand slowed. A few years ago, he also designed a device that heated a home pool by using recycled heat from inside the home. He worked for a Broward company, which sold millions of dollars' worth of the machine, although Lambert left.

All three tried to sell their patent ideas even before they had a tangible product in hand. All three knew the uphill battles they would face ordering, distributing, and marketing their products, and the costs involved. However, both found it impossible, as unknown individuals, to persuade others, including corporate entities, that their ideas were viable. Davis attempted to talk to Ace Hardware's corporate office, but was told that, more than likely, the company would not buy his idea, even if it thought it was a good one.

"How many patents are laying there dead because nobody can do anything with them, or companies won't touch them?" Davis said.

However, he did manage to get his product into an Ace Hardware store in Miami that is franchisee operated, and whose inventory is not pre-determined by corporate headquarters.

Lambert said he was working on a fuel-induction system for eight-cylinder vehicles that would have improved gas mileage. He said he tried discussing his creation with several major automakers, but to no avail.

After all three received patents, a string of marketing companies offered their services, but their rates weren't cheap, and oftentimes, the companies were a sham. "They prey upon the inventors and the people who have patents," Davis said.

Davis said, in two instances, others took his ideas while they were still in the early stages. At one time, Davis had envisioned a hydraulic prop puller, and discussed the concept with a Seattle-based company, only to be told no. Months later, the company was selling the product.

Davis did not have a patent on the idea.

Still, getting a patent is not a quick way from rags to riches.

"Just because it's patented doesn't mean it will sell," Rothing said. "There's millions of patents out there that are garbage. The patent office will patent anything that somebody says is unique."

Davis and Rothing are marketing their products themselves, and that's the uphill battle. The number of outlets selling one's products can determine whether a product will rank a place alongside the pet rock or the Chia Pet, or sink into obscurity.

"I'm in four stores now," said Davis. "I need to be in 200 stores for it to do something for me."

Lambert sees inventing as a pastime, even if his Islamorada Device has gone beyond a mere diversion.

"Maybe I'll come up with something good someday and it will make me some money," Lambert said. "But until then, it's just my hobby."