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I was going through some stuff in my attic this evening and found a patent application I had made back in 1995 for one of my many brilliant ideas.
I applied, was rejected, ammended my applicaiton, was rejected, appealed, and was finally rejected. Here’s the one page of drawings for my application. I made several when I first had the idea and have had one of my home made ones on my keyring ever since, use it every day.
anybody else ever applied for one? what was it for?
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We'd been selling some of our products for more than a year when we looked into getting patents on them in the early 90s, so we filed for a trademark instead. We were rejected because they said the name was too general, that we were trying to "usurp the field". No foolin', my federal friends, why you think we wanted a trademark in the first place? Only time I've ever been in a lawyers office, and I hope the last. There went a fast thousand bucks.
My sister is a programmer for IBM and has a few patents to her credit. Her husband too. I guess it's pretty common in that profession, they are pretty non chalant about it. I think it makes them smile when no one's looking, though. Kinda like getting published, an honor more than anything else.
*Ryan,It needs a bottle opener on the other end. I'd like to have one anyway. Got a spare.
*Here's hoping that one patent boy doesn't read the title to this thread.
*I went and had a laywer do a patent search for me. cost was around $600.00 at the time. I never did apply for the patent. The search wasn't favorable so I gave up. I was going to make an insulated compost reactor. From this I would extract excess heat and pipe it into the house. This would act as a secondary heat source only. sounds like a really good idea and looks good on paper. However getting it to work is another story. Someday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*Ryan- You should go ahead and make those things- it's like one of those impulse items at the hardware store checkout!
*I agree. Just because you couldn't get a patent doesn't mean that you can't make money on 'em.Rich Beckman
*Dale, couldn't you just keep the compost pile in the basement? Save a lot on plumbing I'll bet. Joe H
*I get ad mailers on a regular basis with sample advertising give-a-ways with my company name embossed or printed on them. This seems to fall in that catagory. You might be able to display them in a clear jar at the checkout counter of the local hardware or automotive store for impulse buying, right next to the display of the 6-in-1 screwdriver and the bulk tips. Display card pointing out that the other tips are totally interchangeable with your tool. I'd give a couple to my wife and son to keep them out of my toolbox.
*I work in high tech, and patents are pretty common in my profession. I have 8 US patents, mostly in the areas of computer chip design and computer graphics. They are assigned to my employer, but it is a nice feeling to see your name on them as the inventor. I also have plaques which are etched with the first page of the issued patents... they are nice office decorations./Jim Pappas
*One "Urban tale" is that the "usurp" clause was due to someone having gotten a patent on the basic shovel and wheelbarrow in the early days of the patent office. Similar situation to Jim P. Success rate is only about 1 in 20. Had one rejected 'cause essentially the exact same idea was patented in 1916, it just couldn't be built economically then and the idea forgotten for 70 years.
*I'm with Ken and Rich. I'm a sucker for gadgets, and would probably buy a few just for the heck of it.
*2 patents here, paid for by the company. One of the primary reasons for the patent is to further the evolution of design and technology. If someone else already has a patent on a design to solve a problem, it forces one to come up with a better way to solve the same problem easier using another never before tried approach. Often, as the result of your research/trial and error, you'll get a few more ideas out of it...The patent prevents repetition, and forces people to find better ways to do things.Well, perhaps I should say it is supposed to do this but considering its a program run by the government I'm sure there is plenty of repetition... :>P-B
*Not having a patent should not keep you from producing. Even those with patents often find a successful product imitated by cheaper foreign manufacturer. I'm not certain how universally respected "foreign patents" are but do know that long legal battles often ensue. My personal experience with the patent process was not refreshing: Had patent attorney do a search, he recommended to go ahead as nothing similar could be found. Patent office rejected application several times based on very old patented mechanism. Attorney felt he could "fine tune" the application to overcome the the rejection. He fine tuned until I became weary of writing the checks - he never did tire of cashing them (is interesting how thought of a patent hanging on my wall appealed to my ego, which may have overwhelmed my good sense). No patent ever resulted. I read later that many get in on the ground floor with production and name recognition even if no patent is pending or awarded. Copy cats come along if product is successful but hopefully yours has right mix of price, quality, name recognition to beat off competitors. Just some thoughts. Randy
*Side note,I heard a program a month or so back on NPR, about a guy selling the original paperwork for old (Ben Franklin type old) patents on ebay I beleive it was.Pretty sketchy what I remember. Something about the patent office archiving records on to cds or something, and just throwing the originals out in the trash. This guy got on to it and was going through the trash regulaly. Got some great, old, original patent applications by guys like Franklin and Edison.Like I say, REAL sketchy on the story, and never heard much more about it. Anyone else know what I am talking about?
*Ryan,I'd buy one of those. Start makin' em.Dale,Some guy locally is doing this compost idea on a grand scale for farmers. Instead of just residual heat, he's taking cow "Byproducts" and fermenting to get methane. Burns the methan to produce electricity which not only powers the farm but sells back to the uitlity for a profit.I'm sure he's got a patent pending on that one though!
*Guess you'd call that b "cow power"
*About the patent for ego thing - the reason we finally pursued a patent, after ignoring advice from virtually all our friends who suggested we should apply, was these words from another friend "well, if you don't file for a patent, and someone else starts making these things, what's to stop THEM from filing for a patent and stopping YOU from making them?". But, as we later found out, once stuff has been in the public domain for a year or more it's not patentable. Our experience with the patent attorney was similar to yours, Randy, except when we first filed he said "It's boderline, but it's got a fighting chance. It's worth a try" Then, when they rejected it he said "yeah, just like I thought, it's too general a name, let's modify it and resubmit". Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We thanked him for his services and left the office.
*or some serious bull xxxx.
*Stray, Methane can go boom very easily.... My process would be aerobic, less odor and not as dangerous. You also have to filter the methane for moisture and hydrogen sulfide. Its not dificult to do its just a maintenance problem. Jim, If you can prove your design was created first, you would win. To prove this send yourself a certified letter with all the information about your invention. Do not open this letter, keep it sealed in the event it comes into dispute.
*Sorry if this was already posted (I didn't read the entire thread), but this is the search engine for patents. http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.htmlThe search formats are strange and you need to install a plug-in to view images, but it works...
*Here's another useful site to search for patented inventions:http://www.delphion.com/
*Yup, anaerobic digestion. I've seen pilots where they pipe the methane through a fuel cell (or just burn it in a generator), and then route the exhaust into a greenhouse to do CO2 enrichment. Talk about squeezing out the last drop.
*Dale/RogerI believe they burn it, generate steam, and push a turbine for the power.Not cheap. $300,000 the newspaper article said. I think he had to fight for a grant to build it, but now that he's got one up and running and can prove payback schedule he's had no problem finding banks to finance the construction. If I remember correctly payback was about 10-15yrs.I think you also need like a 400 cow minimum or something.Neighbors LOVE it because it virtually eliminates the farm stench. Once the waste is processed, the resultant stuff is still spread on fields but doesn't stink. Sounds like Win Win...
*Roger, You must have the story mixed up. Burning methane would yield CO not CO2. Pumping CO into a green house would be certain death for those people working inside the greenhouse.
*Show it to REI (Recreational Engineers Incorporated) they like stuff like that. Camping catalog and co-op located on the west coast somewhere. Little gizmos you might want in your pocket while hiking or climbing mountains are popular, I have one on my key ring that has the phillips-regular combo along with a tiny plier.
*CH4 + 2O2 ---> CO2 + 2H2Obut if there isn't enough oxygen present, you can end up with CO instead of CO2. Of course, if the burning is inefficient, you can end up with Nitrides of Oxygen, Carbon, Unburned Hydrocarbons, and alot of other stuff.
*Many years ago, my best friend designed a better way to fill up on engine oil. This was a purely mechanical device that overcame a weakness in the way engine oil bottles were designed. He decided to pursue a patent, partially on business and partially to learn more about the process. At the time one of our local colleges had an industrial development program you could take advantage of. Essentially, they used your patent process as a class project and you saved the cost of a lawyer. Well here is what he learned.1. Patents are about paranoia. We believe we should protect ourselves or get screwed. While we are paralysed by paranoia, good ideas become somebody else's commercial success. This did not happen to him, but the learned it from others in the program.2. Patents are about paranoia. Others believe your patents threaten them. In his case the word oil was in the description of the invention. He quickly learned how many lawyers the oil companies keep on retainer for stopping that word in it's tracks. The funny thing is, and this sounds like a conspiracy theory, these same lawyers are looking for the word electric too. Big bucks these guys get!3. Patents are about paranoia. Before applying, he had a few manufacturers interested in his idea, patent or no patent. After running into difficulties with the oil boys, they did not want to touch it. I guess it is better to not have tried than to have tried and lost.IMHO, you have a good idea, start making money with it. By the time the sticky wheels of bureaucracy turn, you'll have made some money rather than waited for someone else to leapfrog you.
*Sorry Roger, Thank you Ryan.Duhh on me!!!!!!!!
*Ryan,I am very interested to know what reason was given for your denial of a patent.I have a slew of "great" ideas, many of which I would like to have patented. However, I think I would have to be a millionare to afford them all.Pete "always thinking" Draganic
*I was thinking about an idea for a little air tight globe with wires in it that you could screw into a device on the ceiling and light up a room.
*Pete:I was rejectec because they felt my idea was obvious.The reversable screwdriver was already invented and they found some random patent that showed a can opener with a "broadened end" that looked like a key, and found a patent (which I had already found and even mentioned in my application) that was a complicated reversable screwdriver you had to unscrew parts to flip blades but did have a hole for a key chain.The patent examiner said that if anyone "skilled in the art" looked at these three patents, mine would become obvious.I appealed on several reasons, one was that you're not supposed to combine three patents as a test of obviousness, it's okay to do it with two but not three, also, in a "crowded art" such as tools, even a small advance is patentable.But I suspect that because I was a pro se applicant The lawyers at the patent office didn't appreciate me trying to do it myself.(I was just out of engieering school at the time and was able to use alot of resources at the school to do it myself and had some people to help me) But, maybe that's just sour grapes and it's really not patentable.
*Astrid:REI is R (Equipment) I, HQ in Kent WA, stores all over. Wife was corporate librarian there for 11 years. I doubt they have a single engineer working for them, at least not in an engineering capacity.
*Ryan.... forget the patent. Lets make it at a machine shop out of Titanium, and then sell it for way more than it costs to people that just like things because they are expensive. It does need the beer opener. And it does need a name on it. French or German... Like Thule ski racks. Or go grunge.... jack off! comes to mind... Rip off! is another... i Ripoff your tops!i Ripoffs!i Screw off!i Ready to screw!?i Screw me!i Lets's have a brew & Screw...Conservative...i Readymatenear the stream,ajCopywrites to all above names reserved.
*I feel there are two kinds of patents. Ones that are useless, commercially. And ones that make you spend all your time in court. And that the second kind does not neccesarily earn you any money.I'd rather keep coming up with clever ideas for my clients than hope for the elusive "big idea" to retire on.It is annoying how the patent office slaps "obvious" on applications for familiar arts, but they let a lot of obvious stuff through in new areas. There has also been a trend recently to issue patents more easily and let the patent holders fight it out in court (on arguments of obviousness, prior art, etc).Yes, if something is in the public domain for a year, it can not be patented. More precisely, if you can find it in the public domain, then you can ignore the patent and should prevail in court. -David
*Thanks Art. I guess someone was kidding me.
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I was going through some stuff in my attic this evening and found a patent application I had made back in 1995 for one of my many brilliant ideas.
I applied, was rejected, ammended my applicaiton, was rejected, appealed, and was finally rejected. Here's the one page of drawings for my application. I made several when I first had the idea and have had one of my home made ones on my keyring ever since, use it every day.
anybody else ever applied for one? what was it for?