 | |
| Industry | Inventions |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | A. J. Khubani |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Items advertised on TV |
| Website | telebrands.com |
Telebrands is an American direct response marketing company, and the original creator of the "As Seen On TV" logo and category of trade. [1]
The company's CEO A. J. Khubani started the company in 1983, creating print advertisements for his products in publications such as the National Enquirer . Telebrands was first based in Roanoke, Virginia, but in 1998 was moved to Fairfield, New Jersey.[ citation needed ] In 1986, Khubani began experimenting with television, producing three short form infomercials, one for an ultrasonic flea collar, one for a home bicycle exercise machine, and the third for AmberVision sunglasses. [2] The company subsequently sold 15 million pairs of the AmberVision sunglasses. [3]
Since 1983, Telebrands has sold hundreds of millions of "As Seen on TV" products including AmberVision sunglasses, the PedEgg, Doggy Steps, One-Second Needle, Pasta Boat, Jupiter Jack, Bottle Tops, Aluma Wallet, InstaBulb, Lint Lizard, Pet Rider, and Pocket Hose. The PedEgg foot file, launched in 2007, has sold over 45 million units as of 2013. [4]
Telebrands' products are marketed using TV, Internet, and print advertising and through retail chains in over 120 countries. [5] Telebrands tends to have 10 to 12 products on store shelves, the most of any company in the direct-response television space. [4]
Telebrands works with infomercial pitchmen, including the late Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan. The company and Khubani were featured in several episodes of the Discovery Channel TV series PitchMen . The show followed Mays and Sullivan as they searched for inventions to be sold by "As Seen On TV", with Khubani having the final say. [6]
Once a month, the company hosts an "Inventors Day" where entrepreneurs in the U.S. come to pitch their invention to Khubani and his team. "Inventors Days" are held in several U.S. states, with past locations including New Jersey, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago. [7] The company continues to launch products such as the Orgreenic line of non-stick cookware, the Olde Brooklyn Lantern, the Who Knew Books line of books, and Rabbit TV, a joint venture with William A. Mobley and Freecast Inc. [7]
The company has also been involved in a number of cases where victims alleged and ultimately proved wilful intellectual property theft. [8] [9] Recent reporting shows that the company systematically infringes on intellectual property and has done so over 120 times. [10] In one case, the jury awarded $31 million in damages and lawyers' fees to an inventor as they were found to be liable and also willful in infringing. [10]
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. The modern concept of intellectual property developed in England in the 17th and 18th centuries. The term "intellectual property" began to be used in the 19th century, though it was not until the late 20th century that intellectual property became commonplace in most of the world's legal systems.
Ronald Martin Popeil was an American inventor and marketing personality, and founder of the direct response marketing company Ronco. He made appearances in infomercials for the Showtime Rotisserie and coined the phrase "Set it, and forget it!" as well as popularizing the phrase, "But wait, there's more!" on television as early as the mid-1950s.
Libertarians have differing opinions on the validity of intellectual property.
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), they are often program-length commercials, and are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming. This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight and early morning, outside peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off, while other channels air infomercials 24 hours a day. Some stations also choose to air infomercials during the daytime hours, mostly on weekends, to fill in for unscheduled network or syndicated programming. By 2009, most infomercial spending in the U.S. occurred outside of the traditional overnight hours. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion.
Jerome "Jerry" Hal Lemelson was an American engineer, inventor, and patent holder. Several of his inventions relate to warehouses, industrial robots, cordless telephones, fax machines, videocassette recorders, camcorders, and the magnetic tape drive. Lemelson's 605 patents made him one of the most prolific inventors in American history.
Patent infringement is an unauthorized act of - for example - making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing for these purposes a patented product. Where the subject-matter of the patent is a process, infringement involves the act of using, offering for sale, selling or importing for these purposes at least the product obtained by the patented process. In other words, patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction.
"As seen on TV" is a generic phrase for products advertised on television in the United States for direct-response mail-order through a toll-free telephone number. As Seen on TV advertisements, known as infomercials, are usually 30-minute shows or two-minute spots during commercial breaks. These products can range from kitchen, household, automotive, cleaning, health, beauty, and pet care products, to exercise and fitness products, books, or to toys and games for children. Typically the packaging for these items includes a red seal in the shape of a CRT television screen with the words "AS SEEN ON TV" in white.
Ginsu is a brand of direct marketed knives. The brand is owned by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. The brand was heavily promoted in the late 1970s and 1980s on U.S. television using infomercials characterized by hawker and hard sell pitch techniques. The commercials generated sales of between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984.
HD Schulman International Trading LLC, doing business as Ronco, is an American company that manufactures and sells kitchen appliances. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and infomercials for the company's products quickly made Ronco a household name. Popeil became known as the “father of the infomercial” and helped to establish the phrase, “Set it and forget it!” in reference to Ronco’s signature product: the rotisserie oven. The names "Ronco" and "Popeil" and the suffix "-O-Matic" became icons of American popular culture and were often referred to by comedians introducing fictional gadgets and As-Seen-On-TV parodies.
Under United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limited time from profiting from a patented technology without the consent of the patent holder. Specifically, it is the right to exclude others from: making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing, inducing others to infringe, applying for an FDA approval, and/or offering a product specially adapted for practice of the patent.
William Darrell Mays Jr. was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, Zorbeez, and Mighty Mendit. His promotions aired mainly on the Home Shopping Network through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc., although they have aired on other syndicated networks. Mays's infomercials were known for his catch phrase "Hi, Billy Mays here", and his shouted delivery of lines.
Guthy-Renker is a California-based direct-response marketing company that sells health and beauty products directly to consumers through infomercials, television ads, direct mail, telemarketing, e-mail marketing, and the Internet. Many of its products are endorsed by celebrities, including actresses and musicians.
Offer Shlomi, better known as Vince Offer or Vince Shlomi, is an Israeli-American infomercial pitchman, screenwriter, actor and director. Offer's first major work was the 1999 comedy film The Underground Comedy Movie. He appears in television commercials for his own products including "ShamWow!", an absorbent towel; the "Slap Chop", a kitchen utensil; a lint roller called the "Schticky"; a liquid cleaner called "InVinceable"; and another kitchen utensil called "Crank Chop".
Bottle Tops is a device that snaps on to most 12- and 16-ounce aluminum cans and turns them into resealable containers. It purports to also keep carbonation in the can, though that is disputed. The product is currently marketed by Telebrands, one of the leading direct-response marketing companies.
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PitchMen is a docudrama television program produced for the Discovery Channel in the United States. The show followed infomercial producers and talent Billy Mays and Anthony "Sully" Sullivan as they attempted to sell various inventions through direct marketing, mainly through Telebrands, one of the largest direct response/infomercial companies. The series was narrated by Thom Beers. Each episode typically focused on two different products.
Ajit "A. J." Khubani is an American inventor, entrepreneur and marketing executive. Known as the "Infomercial King," Khubani is the founder and CEO of the infomercial firm Telebrands and a pioneer of the infomercial industry. He is the creator of the original "As seen on TV" logo and category at retail.
FreeCast, Inc. is an American digital media distribution company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company offers streaming media accessible via web browsers.
INPEX (Invention and New Product Exposition) is America's largest invention trade show, held since 1985 and organized by the invention promotion firm InventHelp. The annual show is held each June in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mark William Publicover is an American entrepreneur, inventor and co-founder-owner of JumpSport, Inc. in Silicon Valley. In 1996, Publicover designed the first trampoline safety net enclosure to become commercially successful. These enclosures protect trampoliners from falling off the trampoline.
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