The Electronic Concierge: I invented this product, the Electronic Concierge, around 2007, to replace the peep-hole on any door. Soon after I signed an NDA with Pacific Design Engineering for them to develop my prototype. At the same time I presented the concept/ product to the BC Hotel Association, and they loved it. They really loved it. So off I went...
Three weeks later I am invited to sit at a table with three executives from Samsung, in California, who flew up to interrogate me about my patent claims; I knew nothing about claims. Apparently they were working on a similar product design and the designers at Pacific Design Engineering told them about my product, without my knowledge/ consent. There goes my electronic door-viewer. This was right after my business development plan was destroyed by head of research, joe newton and his corrupt cohort, at BCIT Research and Development. Yup, them. I was working as the school's media relations manager at the time. I was helping them out with just receiving my masters degree in communications and having the ability to parachute in and take over media relations, seeing their previous manager suddenly (very unpro) quit on them for a better position.
Yes my media relations, communications, and pr skillage combined with my journalist background was/is that intense, managing the institutions media relations was like child's play; or it was easy enough for my mind to find time to play with new ideas. I was having so much fun until the jealousy of newton began, and halted production. I should add I was also developing curriculum (new media relations program) for BCIT and KPU, at that time. I say this to remind joe newton I am not an engineer. This fact seem to have him discombobulated and even upset, same as herb bentz, seeing these ideas were coming to me with no official training/ schooling or engineering background. I Gratefully Attribute All To The Glory Of God, and more than likely my new devotion to mediation in Seeking What God Has Concealed.
Superficially, I was working at BCIT, so it made sense to work with their R&D department to design the CODIAR system. Every department I presented it to could not get enough of it and kept pushing it along to their research and development. I too was excited and most keen to begin. Then things turned dark as mr newton and cohorts started asking about my patent claims.
Yes I can most comfortably disclose and discuss all dealings and outcomes revealing this newton character's amoral unethical and beyond unprofessional behaviour as BCIT's head of research because I still, of course, have all documented emails, signed contracts, and transcribed voicemails substantiating all my claims. You'll have to wait for the memoir to see them all and get full details. It still lead to the same conclusion: my business development plan being completely destroyed by another professional's ego, greed, and jealousy. Had he/ they ever treated a paid customer in such a manner, to halt production of their contracted prototype, arbitrarily, without cause? Of course they hadn't and still have not treated any paying customer as they did me. Why? I took my complaint to BCIT's president at the time, Tony Knowles. He saw there was foul play, and said there was nothing he could do about it, except tell me to talk to their department manager. This was me talking to the president of BCIT. I could have spoken to BCIT's cafeteria chef and had a better chance of addressing joe newton and co-hort for their unscrupulous actions. Their department manager told joe / them they had to build my prototype, however my investors lost confidence in seeing his deliberate actions to stop production and pulled my funding....This was after newton took all of my design specifications, and patent claims. And still to this day no justice has been served in this matter. joe newton left BCIT for years and then returned. I am curious to know if he was developing my system during his sudden and suspicious absence? We will soon discover.
I write these accounts because they're not only cathartic, they are also essential for certain communities to be aware of what is actually transpiring in certain sectors of our society. And even more importantly, these accounts serve as warnings for up and coming inventors who may be as naive as I was to the wickedness of insecure men / people posing as professionals.
I know, had I read anything even close to my account, as a new inventor, I would have done a lot more research before hiring / contracting an industrial designer. I had chalked-up my first horrific experience with BCIT to be as bad as it was because I was dealing with a research and development school department, not industry professionals.
Well, the industry professional /designer (herb bentz at form3) I had the unfortunate opportunity of hiring, not only deliberately destroyed my business plan, because I would not ask my lawyer to patent his idea(s), he insulted me in the process calling me stupid, and also took my only funding/ money. It was so bad, I had to ask him to produce 'something/ anything' related to what I had already paid him for, after the film crew showed up (as scheduled) and there was nothing for them to shoot. Four months into the project, and nothing to show but his ideas. And asking me to patent them through my lawyer.
So a warning to all up-coming inventors (especially those of ethnicity) to be wary of insecure men in the design field. One tends to believe (not think) all professionals are professional (decent, moral, ethical) people within all professional industries, and that is not the actuality at all - unfortunately.
One needs to do their due diligence in getting reviews and testimonials from recent clients before hiring any professional. Do your homework even when paying professionals...or especially when paying professionals. And record everything. Had I not quietly recorded herb bentz of form3 on my phone apologizing to me (in his office) for calling me stupid, he would have denied it all. In court, he tried saying he was referring to my ideas...not me. The judge bought that. Right. Record everything. I digress.
The Electronic Concierge updates guests as they are entering their suite. Imagine walking into your hotel room and you see this electronic display screen on the door showing you the daily specials, hotel amenities, local pubs etc...Then a knock at the door, and it shows you who's on the other side via a small CMOS lens, like the one on your phone. That's how the idea first came to me.
This device is also perfect for your home door. At that time I signed (another NDA) with a new 'partner' to find funding to launch the project, and he did find funding - for himself. You'll have to wait for my memoirs for the details.
Peace In Love...
Marrett
