Attorney General's News Release

March 15, 1999

Nixon files suit against invention promotion business; says company grossly misrepresented services to clients

Jefferson City, MO — Attorney General Jay Nixon on Friday filed a lawsuit in Jackson County Circuit Court against a Kansas man and a Louisiana business that claimed to promote inventions of Missouri entrepreneurs and would-be patent seekers.

The lawsuit says that Ken Kruta and Universal Consulting Service took fees ranging from $3,000 to $16,000 after greatly misrepresenting to Missouri customers the marketability, uniqueness and patentability of the customers' inventions. Kruta is a regional vice-president of UCS, which had an office in Overland Park, Kan.

Universal Consulting Service is another business name for Continental Ventures Inc., based in Metairie, La. The lawsuit also names Alton O. Hauswirth, of Harahan, La., and Bernard Brown, of New Orleans, as defendants. Hauswirth is the president of Continental Ventures and Brown was the vice-president of development and marketing.

"Customers who brought their inventions to UCS were told their inventions would be independently evaluated by professional consultants to determine the merits of the invention, and that UCS was highly selective in its contracting of inventions," Nixon said.

"In fact, there was no independent professional review, and the merits of the invention reported to the customer were determined by UCS based on the customer's ability or willingness to pay," Nixon said. "Few inventors were turned away from UCS or given anything less than a glowing report if they had money to pay."

Customers were asked to make progressively greater payments to UCS after being told the invention appeared to patentable and marketable. Unfavorable information about the invention was rarely passed on to the customer, Nixon said.

Nixon is asking the court to issue an injunction against Kruta, Hauswirth, Brown and UCS to prevent them from making misrepresentations and to order them to pay restitution to customers and appropriate penalties to the state of Missouri.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818