N.D. Cent. Code § 9-14-05

9-14-05. Disclosures made prior to contract

1. In either the first written communication from the invention developer to a specific

customer or at the first personal meeting between the invention developer and a

customer, whichever occurs first, the invention developer shall make a written

disclosure to the customer of the information required in this section.

2. The disclosure must state the median fee charged to all of the invention developers'

customers who have signed contracts with the developer in the preceding six months,

excluding customers who have signed in the preceding thirty days.

3. The disclosure must include a single statement setting forth the total number of

customers who have contracted with the invention developer, except that the number

need not reflect those customers who have contracted within the preceding thirty days,

and the number of customers who have received by virtue of the invention developer's

performance of invention development services an amount of money in excess of the

amount of money paid by those customers to the invention developer pursuant to a

contract for invention development services.

4. The disclosure must include a single statement setting forth the names of all

individuals and entities that possess an ownership interest in the invention developer

and have held or presently hold more than a ten percent ownership interest in any

other invention developer. The statement must include for each individual and entity

the information required to be disclosed by subsection 3.

5. The disclosure must contain the following statement:

Unless the invention developer is an attorney or patent agent registered with

the United States patent office, the invention developer is not permitted to give

you legal advice concerning patent, copyright, or trademark law or to advise you

of whether your idea or invention may be patentable or may be protected under

the patent rights, copyright, or trademark laws of the United States or any other

law.

No patent, copyright, or trademark protection will be acquired for you by the

invention developer. Your failure to inquire into the law governing patent,

copyright, or trademark matters may jeopardize your rights in your idea or

invention, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Your failure to

identify and investigate existing patents, trademarks, or registered copyrights may

place you in jeopardy of infringing the copyrights, patent rights, or trademark

rights of other persons if you proceed to make, use, distribute, or sell your idea or

invention.

6. If the invention developer provides invention development services involving the

evaluation of inventions, the disclosure must include a statement setting forth the

percentage of evaluated inventions that have been successfully marketed or licensed

by the invention developer. If the invention developer does not provide invention

development services involving the evaluation of inventions, the disclosure must

inform the customer that there is considerable risk involved in proceeding with the

development and promotion of the invention without an evaluation and must further

recommend that the customer obtain an evaluation of the invention by an evaluation

source. The disclosure must contain the following statement:

It is likely that no more than two percent and probably less than one percent of all

inventions are successfully developed and promoted. You should evaluate your

chances of success accordingly and not rely solely on the opinion of an invention

developer.