U.S. Patents

[Wingnut]

There seems to be some pretty slick members on this website.  Good ideas floating around everywhere.  Is there any member who has a U.S. petent or is appliyng for one?  Went and looked into it myself at one time, kind of costly I thought.  Lets here about it.

Thanks,
Chuck

[CraigArizona85248]

I've been through the patent application process for a number of consumer electronics related items.  It is expensive, time consuming and in general a headache.  But if you have the right idea it's worth it.  In my case, the company patent board and the lawyers did all the interaction with the patent office.  I just had to give them all the documentation and do the write-up for the patent.

-Craig

[tireater]

My dad has a bunch for electronic inventions...He even got paid big money when GE copied one of his inventions...
He had hundreds more patents when he worked for Delco...in their name...Great ideas need patents...
It still may not save your idea...The 'weed wacker' patent was overturned as being 'too obvious'...

[Lino]

I applied for and received a patent a few years back. I went through a patent attorney. If you are not familiar with the exact requirements as far as
wording and drawings it can be a pretty frustrating experience. I can't remember what the cost was-

[Hybredhog]

   I looked into it at one time on a tool I made for Harley work, but you've got to be realistic on how many pieces will actually get sold to justify all the trouble. I'm going to take a JIM's cam bearing puller for example, probably not the most original idea, but moderatly well selling. theres an estimated 700 francise dealers, and probably twice that in independents, and it might be safe to say 90% have one of those tools. Now Jim's as a manufacturer makes pretty good coin at approx.$100 wholesale, but after overhead, labor, advertising, matierials & California bullshit tax,ect... I'd be suprised if he cleared $10 per tool, and thats just at curent prices, not past sales. So after maybe $20k over the last 10 yrs., its a lot f work, & I don't believe they have a patent on it..Jeff

[Panzer]

First off, I can give you a little insight into inventions/patents.
Here's a story relating to Tireater's "weed wacker" blurb.

I was the service mgr. for a large distributor in Pa.
Before I had that job, my mentor, who ran service schools there, told me that one guy told the service school class he was on the verge of a patent to cut/trim grass incorporating a spool that had 100 feet of monofiliment line.
The mono line would spin and cut the grass...........he said everyone laughed.
One guy in class said you would have to jump over the line as it spins if it's 100 feet.
Little did they know.
A year later, the Weed Eater was born, called the first model, Needy, then came the Weedy Weed Eater.
The company was the first to distribute the Weed Eater.
Over the period of years till now, look at all the variations that grew from that idea.

I came real close in making drawings and a patent of a 6-8 inch PVC tube to carry skis on a roof rack to stay out of the rain.
I let the time slip by and six months later I saw my idea on a plumbers truck to carry black pipe, as you see many today.

Crap, missed that one........oh well.

Not intended to hi jack your post Wingnut, just a story of what can be done with some imagination.

Panzer

[Guitarplayer]

I have one as well for a Mid-Engine Custom firetruck that I designed.  even though the patent has my name on it, it also has my company's name and went thru their patent attourneys.  Still looks good on the resume though

[Evo160K]

Wingnut,
If you have an idea you'd like to explore, one option is a Provisional Patent.  It's much less expensive, protects your idea for a year while you "shop it around" to see if it's viable.  I believe I paid about $300 to get one.  If the idea has promise, you can then apply for a regular patent.  I did the Provisional patent myself, wasn't very difficult.  The link below to the Patent and Trademark Office will give you details of the provisional patent.  I have two regular patents which were very, very expensive, attorney fees accounted for the majority of the expense.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office offers excellent information, they're highly customer focused.  They'll also speak with you and answer some questions or connect you to the department that can.  Good luck with it.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm

[truck]

Do you guys have any ball park figures for the cost, not that I have any good ideas, just wondering.

[mark98012]

Went through 4 patent applications, 2 were awarded (1 u.s., 1 European). All were through my company so it didn't cost me anything but the co. did compensate me. I'm sure it is a big ticket item.

Mark

[nc-renegade]

There seems to be some pretty slick members on this website.  Good ideas floating around everywhere.  Is there any member who has a U.S. petent or is appliyng for one?  Went and looked into it myself at one time, kind of costly I thought.  Lets here about it.

Thanks,
Chuck

I have one, got it in 1987.  Started to apply for several others, but did not think it was a good use of my $$.. Plus, it exposes your idea to everyone.

The company I work for now has many, many patents, other than feeling good about yourself, you must be prepared to defend and protect it for it to be of any good.

[HenryJ]

Check the book store.  I was looking at applying for a patent at one time and found Patent it Yourself.  That was years ago so it may not still be in print but I'm sure you can find a counterpart.

The book gave laymans terms for the different kinds of patents like , design patent, utility patent, trade secret, copyright and others.  It also explained the application process and the meaning of different terms such as , Patent, Patent pending, Patent applied for.  Even the forms you need to fill out and send in were included with instructions on how to do a drawing.
How to submit an idea detailed enough to cover your idea but vague enough to cover variations that might be done by others.  Information such as the patent office obligations. The patent office is set up by law to help you through the process but it is still government which means its still a slow process.  Much cheaper than paying a patent attorney but you get to learn from your own mistakes. 

[Dennis The Menace]

My company pays for ours, and we get awards for patents and disclosures.  Patent does not mean you have to invent something.  You can get a patent for an idea, as well as a tangible product.  My current effort is to merely add a feature to an existing product.  A little bit of time to wrie up the technical docuemtn, and daigrams, but that is what I do all day anyway.

Also, dont think you need to have a market for something to be patented.  Licensing the patent is a money maker, so you dont have to plan to sell or market anything.  Bonus: if you patent an idea and someone uses it without your permission, it can be a money maker when you sue.  The courts tend to side with the patent holder if its copied...the violator has to prove they could not have known their idea/product was previously patented.  Happens every day, especially outside teh US, where a lot of our engineering is copied/pirated ruthlessly.

My company also pays us if we identify a product that uses features/fucntions that we have already patented.  There are a lot of nuances to patenting, and it is easy to infringe if you arent careful.

BTW, my company has had the most awarded patents in the country for over 11 years straight.  We have a very profitable program (revenue generation) as a result.

Dont be discouraged to file your own.  The hardest part is documenting your idea.  After that, its all about following the process and the fee.  Patent attorneys can help, but they just charger a lot for what you can do yourself.  And, you will still need to document stuff on your own.  I learned that about 20 years ago with a personal patent.

HTH

menace

[ssls6]

I have about 40 patents and the cost is around $4000-$5000 using an attorney (which I recommend).  The patent office is backed up so it can take 3-4 years.

[codyshop]

I did it a little differently.  I discovered two obscure patents that were about to expire and bought the rights to them as they were up for grabs.  Ray