Where to buy a patent plaque

July 9, 2009 8:01 PM

What company should we order a patent plaque from?

A family member was named on a patent that was recently approved by the US Patent Office. However, she no longer works at the company that owns the patent, and so won't be receiving a patent plaque from the company. We would like to purchase one for her as a gift, but it's difficult to tell which of the companies are worthwhile. The sites that come up in a Google search are hard to differentiate from one another.

Any suggestions which we should order from? If you work for a company that issues these kinds of plaques to their employees, do you know what company they use?

posted by Blue Jello Elf to Work & Money (4 answers total)

I've used Scoop on regular basis and the results were always exactly as ordered and always found their Fame Frame to be very professional in appearance. For a patent, the black laminate finish would be sharp.
Even having a patent document framed professionally would be a way to present it.
posted by MuckWeh at 9:40 PM on July 9, 2009

I have seen the ones from Patent Awards. They print the first page of the actual patent on the plaque. The inventors name is in large print at the bottom.

I have no idea how much it costs though.

But it looks really nice.
posted by toftflin at 1:58 AM on July 10, 2009

I do the patent awards for the scientists in my divisions, and our company uses Metal Decor. Having seen their product for years, I recommend them. Their customer service has always been great, especially considering I order from them once a year, and often only a plaque or two at a time. I always feel like I'm dealing with a real person, and not just a global conglomerate interested in just payment.

We normally do what they call the J Frame Shadowbox (PDF) in walnut with the background fabric in our company color, and then the full page patent in metal (depending on what number patent it is for the individual scientist). They're slick and professional looking. I've had to ship them overseas as well, and their shipping/packaging was sturdy and made the trip in perfect condition. I just checked my invoice and it looks like they charged me less than $160 a plaque this year, but ymmv.

Good luck. This is a very nice thing you're doing. I'm a big fan of recognition in any form, so tell your family member I said congratulations!
posted by librarianamy at 5:05 AM on July 10, 2009

We ended up going with Patent Awards because their options better matched the style she wanted. It looks great!
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 6:14 PM on July 26, 2009