There are three types of patents; Utility Patent, Design Patent and Plant Patent. A Utility Patent is used to protect a useful process, machine, article of manufacture or composition of matter, it is the hardest and most expensive to get. A design patent is for protecting the ornamental characteristics of some widget, it is fairly easy to get and much cheaper. The Plant Patent is for protecting a new variety of asexually produced plant. (Information gleaned from the USPTO website)
One common complaint that I have seen in my research of the ‘patent mill companies’ is that they are quick to steer people towards the Design Patent because they are fairly easy to get. The ‘patent mill companies’ can easily push these because most people think that having a patent, any patent, protects their intellectual property, however this is not necessarily true. A Design Patent should only be used when your invention is of some ornamental nature. Let us say a water bottle that has a particular shape, maybe looks like a dolphin. In this case the dolphin shape is what is covered under the patent not the water bottle. Now here is the rub. If you get a Design Patent for some sort of mechanical widget and it is a great marketable idea, all some company has to do is change the way it looks (ornamental characteristics) and mass produce it. They have not infringed on your patent rights because all you had were the rights to the way it looked.
The Plant Patent is exactly like it sounds here is an example;
http://www.lacebarkinc.com/brouchures/dyn1.pdf
My plan is to pursue a Utility Patent for my idea. . .
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marketing. Show all posts
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Who is advertising on This Little Idea Went to Market?
I checked out most of the invent, patent, idea advertisers that are being posted on this page by Google. I do not get any pennies for clicking on them I just get pennies when visitors to my blog click on them. The main reasons I checked them out was first to see if they were relevant to my blog, second to see what services they offered, and last to see the costs involved with the services.
The advertisements were relevant to my blog. The Google crawlers are doing their job. (When I think of crawlers I get a mental image of the Sentinels from The Matrix). Google should think about giving them a raise or a gold star or however you reward an algorithm.
So the main types of services they offered could be broken down into the parts from my Road Map post.
Idea > Record Idea > Patent Idea > Manufacture Widget > Market Widget > Sell Widget
There were companies that would do any and all of the following; patent searches, patent submissions, develop a prototype, market to industry, find a manufacturer, sell your idea, sell you an idea, etc. The one that I thought was really interesting was company that offered to record your idea for you so you would have proof of conception. They had an internet based form that you could enter everything in to, from the name of invention to the detail of the invention. Now I sometimes am not the smartest cookie, and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express. But I am thinking that releasing my idea out into the World Wide Web is not going to help with proof of conception. I may be a skeptic, but I think this company is up to no good.
I unfortunately do not get to choose the companies that advertise on my blog, a mathematical equation does (crawler). So while I would like to believe that all of the companies that are advertising on my blog are outstanding and honest, I am sure that some are less than scrupulous.
The cost after some quick calculations, and if I outsourced all of the work could be close to $25,000 or more. The main difficulty in trying to cost something out like this is most everybody charges by the hour. I understand this concept because when you submit a patent to the patent office (USPTO) you do not know what they will come back with. So it would be hard for a lawyer to give you a set price. I hope to do as much as the work as I can myself such as develop the prototype and perform the patent search, but feel I will most likely need a patent lawyer for the patent application.
Know any good lawyers? I did not think so. (A little humor)
Anyway please click on the advertisements they are going to fund this idea.
The advertisements were relevant to my blog. The Google crawlers are doing their job. (When I think of crawlers I get a mental image of the Sentinels from The Matrix). Google should think about giving them a raise or a gold star or however you reward an algorithm.
So the main types of services they offered could be broken down into the parts from my Road Map post.
Idea > Record Idea > Patent Idea > Manufacture Widget > Market Widget > Sell Widget
There were companies that would do any and all of the following; patent searches, patent submissions, develop a prototype, market to industry, find a manufacturer, sell your idea, sell you an idea, etc. The one that I thought was really interesting was company that offered to record your idea for you so you would have proof of conception. They had an internet based form that you could enter everything in to, from the name of invention to the detail of the invention. Now I sometimes am not the smartest cookie, and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express. But I am thinking that releasing my idea out into the World Wide Web is not going to help with proof of conception. I may be a skeptic, but I think this company is up to no good.
I unfortunately do not get to choose the companies that advertise on my blog, a mathematical equation does (crawler). So while I would like to believe that all of the companies that are advertising on my blog are outstanding and honest, I am sure that some are less than scrupulous.
The cost after some quick calculations, and if I outsourced all of the work could be close to $25,000 or more. The main difficulty in trying to cost something out like this is most everybody charges by the hour. I understand this concept because when you submit a patent to the patent office (USPTO) you do not know what they will come back with. So it would be hard for a lawyer to give you a set price. I hope to do as much as the work as I can myself such as develop the prototype and perform the patent search, but feel I will most likely need a patent lawyer for the patent application.
Know any good lawyers? I did not think so. (A little humor)
Anyway please click on the advertisements they are going to fund this idea.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Road Map
A map is nothing more than detailed directions on how to get from point A to point B. If you have ever used MapQuest or a GPS you know that there is a multitude of ways to navigate from one place to another. You can change your preferences to go by certain landmarks or to avoid certain roads. With each new request you get a new map, a new set of directions.
Today I start with an idea and want to get it to market. There are no landmarks I want to see or heavily trafficked areas I want to avoid (not yet anyway). The good thing about directions is you can change them along the way to suit your needs. If you are driving down the road and you see a sign for the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, you can go. After you are done analyzing the string you can double back or just get new directions. This will be my approach.
Idea > Record Idea > Patent Idea > Manufacture Widget > Market Widget > Sell Widget
When I was a child my parents had bought some land in Kentucky. This land was well off the beaten path. We stopped at the local market to ask for directions where I could hear the locals saying things like “turn right at the big oak tree” or “it’s about 10 miles as the crow flies”. I am sure these were great directions if you grew up in this community (or if you were a crow), but they were not so good if you did not.
My point! I know nothing about patent law, patents, intellectual property, marketing an idea, manufacturing, getting something to market, etc. Not yet anyway. Your input will be welcomed.
Thanks!
Today I start with an idea and want to get it to market. There are no landmarks I want to see or heavily trafficked areas I want to avoid (not yet anyway). The good thing about directions is you can change them along the way to suit your needs. If you are driving down the road and you see a sign for the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, you can go. After you are done analyzing the string you can double back or just get new directions. This will be my approach.
Idea > Record Idea > Patent Idea > Manufacture Widget > Market Widget > Sell Widget
When I was a child my parents had bought some land in Kentucky. This land was well off the beaten path. We stopped at the local market to ask for directions where I could hear the locals saying things like “turn right at the big oak tree” or “it’s about 10 miles as the crow flies”. I am sure these were great directions if you grew up in this community (or if you were a crow), but they were not so good if you did not.
My point! I know nothing about patent law, patents, intellectual property, marketing an idea, manufacturing, getting something to market, etc. Not yet anyway. Your input will be welcomed.
Thanks!
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