North Carolina Invention Developer Bond

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Bond Penalty: $25,000

A North Carolina invention development bond is one of the items required in order to be licensed as an invention development service. Doing business in the State as an "invention developer" is defined in North Carolina General Statutes § 66-209(5). A developer is an individual, firm, partnership, or corporation, or an agent, employee, officer, partner, or independent contractor of one of those entities, that offers to perform or performs invention development services for a customer, generally for pay. A developer must maintain a surety bond issued by a surety company and file a copy of the bond with the Secretary of State before he or she can begin business.

The invention development service surety bond contains specific guarantees. Failure to abide by them allows a party to avail him or herself of specific statutory civil remedies, including treble damages and attorney's fees. Further and pursuant to law, if a violation is discovered by the North Carolina Secretary of State, a case referral is made to the North Carolina Attorney General which is empowered to obtain injunctive relief and also to recover a civil penalty up to $25,000.00. Per statute, "Any customer or person who has been injured by a violation of Article 29 of Chapter 66 of the North Carolina General Statutes by an invention developer, or by a false or fraudulent statement, representation, or omission of material fact by an invention developer, or by failure of an invention developer to make all disclosures required by the aforesaid Article may recover in a civil action against the invention developer court costs, attorney's fees, and the amount of actual damages sustained by the customer, which damages may be increased to an amount not to exceed three times the damages sustained."

The surety retains the right to cancel the North Carolina invention development bond and be relieved of further liability on sixty days written notice delivered to the Secretary of State. The surety bond is non-cumulative in nature however the obligation does impose a duty on the surety to notify the Secretary of any claim made by any party. There are limited exceptions to the licensing requirement:

  • A department or agency of the federal, State, or local government;
  • A charitable, scientific, educational, religious, or other organization qualified under G.S. 105 130.9 or described in Section 170(b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
  • A person registered before the United States Patent and Trademark Office acting solely within the scope of that person's professional license;
  • A person, firm, corporation, association, or other entity that does not charge a fee, including reimbursement for expenditures made or costs incurred by the entity, for invention development
    • services other than payment made from a portion of the income received by a customer by virtue of the acts performed by the entity; or
  • An attorney licensed to practice law in North Carolina acting solely within the scope of that person's professional license.

North Carolina surety bond leader, Surety One, Inc. is a national underwriter of contractor license bonds in all states where you may need one. We offer the North Carolina invention development bond to all legitimate applicants regardless of credit condition. Do you also need a contract performance bond? We can accommodate your need! Contact us with any questions or to discuss any surety bond need.

Surety bond application review and quoting are free of charge. There is no obligation to purchase.

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