About Me and my Mission for the Development of BrushMints® I'm Karen Ross. I do not work in the oral care or confectionery industries; I am simply a consumer who realized a need for a new product and then protected my ideas with patents and a trademark. I have patented numerous embodiments of the product designs; and I am maintaining the idea in the concept phase as I search for a licensee interested in developing these much needed new products. I now have 3 issued US patents and the registered trademark for "BRUSHMINTS®." I also filed a PCT with the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2008 for international patent filings. (For more information see the Intellectual Property Status page.) I created this website to provide an easy way for people to access all of the information about my ideas for this new product, and my intellectual property documents. I have done a lot of research and collaborating with professionals as to the various product development options and possibilities. However, rather than try to develop and introduce this very unique new product to the market place myself, I chose to invest in the help of a good patent attorney; and the best possible intellectual property coverage for my ideas. From the beginning of this project I strongly felt that the introduction of this very novel new product would be best served if I left the decisions about physical development (i.e. materials & ingredients); and marketing and distribution to a company / licensee with the resources to do a much better job of product development, and introduction to the market than I could have done myself. In 2006, and again in 2007 I was invited to present my ideas to students (as a potential class project) at the University of Southern California by Kathleen R. Allen Ph.D. (Dr. Allen is the Director of the Center for Technology Commercialization, and a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC). I have stayed in touch with Dr. Allen since then; and she, along with my brilliant patent attorney Marshall A. Lerner have been invaluable advisers and consultants to me throughout the process of this venture.  I signed my first licensing agreement with a small oral care company in 2008 for the development of another type of oral care product. However that product was never seen through to fruition; and full exclusive rights to all of the intellectual property is now available for licensing for the development of these much needed new products. Thanks for taking the time to consider my ideas, Karen   Contact me at: karen@klrossenterprises.com - Phone: (310) 947-3577 - Cell: (805) 444-1931.