Calling All Inventors!

Ever have a great idea for an invention, but didn't quite know how to make it happen?

Well, then, Saturday, May 17 just might be your lucky day.

Everyday Edisons, a nationally televised PBS reality series chronicling modern inventors and the development of their inventions, will host an open casting call for Season Three in Providence, R.I., at the Rhode Island Convention Center (Ballroom level), One Sabin Street.

Everyday Edisons invites all inventors and innovators with new product concepts to attend the casting call. Inventors can register from 7 AM until 1 PM. The day ends when all registered ideas have been reviewed. (Think of it as an Antiques Roadshow event for inventors.)

The Everyday Edisons panel of judges, including product development and patent law experts, provides a forum for participants to present and demonstrate original ideas. Everyday Edisons considers all categories of invention, ranging from sketched ideas and simple concepts to detailed, patented designs and factory prototypes or manufactured samples.

The casting call features a full day of complimentary seminars open to the public, including an opportunity to meet with experts from the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the editor-in-chief of Inventors Digest magazine and experts within the product development field.

In addition to screening for inventions to feature on the show, representatives from major national retailers, including The Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, QVC, Staples, The Sharper Image, Dick’s Sporting Goods and buybuyBABY will be on site reviewing more advanced prototypes and finished products.

“Having a great idea and making money from that idea are two distinct accomplishments in American innovation,” said Louis Foreman, executive producer and lead judge. “If you can dream it, we can help make it come true.”

The Everyday Edisons judges will select 10 to 12 inventors to be featured in Season Three, which chronicles the inventors as their concept is refined, produced, marketed, and sold. The series invests more than $300,000 into the comprehensive development of each chosen invention at no cost to the inventors. Selected “Everyday Edisons” will have their inventions commercialized and receive a 20-year annuity on all product sales.

Everyday Edisons is produced with the cooperation of the USPTO. Everyday Edisons is currently in production of Season Two, which premieres on Rhode Island PBS in July 2008.

Everyday Edisons casting calls are free and open to the public. Inventors seeking local assistance will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from local inventor groups. Registration forms, directions, maps, FAQ’s and day-of details are available online at www.EverydayEdisons.com. Participants must complete and provide all registration forms in order to audition. Doors open to the public at 7 a.m. and registration closes at 1 p.m. The event will continue throughout the day until all registered ideas have been reviewed.