The Patent Puzzle ?

Most of these items are common, and available from many sources. To make your application, you have to buy their products. They get the money - no problem. The problem arises when you copy a single source item or steal their ideas (and potential profit).

It would also be difficult to get a patent since there is no real new ideas or design that anyone with the basic common knowledge of control theory could not create.

Like Techno says...but
If your juxtaposition of components is somehow novel, unique or results in a new application then the configuration/process or whatever may be patentable.
So if an eggtimer a can opener and a door handle are somehow novelly configured to creat a time machine this would be patentable. (IMHO)

Del

Yes, it depends on your description of artwork, also this country (USA) patent does not carry that much weight, What carries more weight is proof when you did the improvement to the artwork and example if you developed an artwork (BTW there are (3) kinds of artwork) such as a notarize drawing of you improvement as long as that predates any other patent or artwork from other inventor your would carry precedence in court.

phoenix911

p.s.

So if an eggtimer a can opener and a door handle are somehow novelly configured to creat a time machine this would be patentable.

I tried it and it doen't work, but I am getting 93 MPG on my DeLoren with it.

Del, Would this devise make it possible to be 1st filer for many things?

Just last night i had this idea to put some round things under a heavy load...

Thank you guys for the information you all have submitted.I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions about various topics because of Prov.28:26 Those who trust their own insight are foolish,but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.

Thank you and God Bless

My opinion is that when you buy any item and pay for it, you pay for the right to use it as you want (of course without injuring people and things like that). I can use, for example, the Del handle to scratch my back and I won't pay any rights nor Del nor the handle designer.

Let me explain a more serious case I lived some years ago:

I designed, bought the parts and use a system to monitor the behaviour of motor operated valves. One of the desired measurements was the stem thrust. I use strain gages and a resistive bridge conditioner and amplifier (all off the shelf) and some time later the company for which I worked received a letter from a NY lawyers firm saying we have infringed the patent rights of their "client". I had to investigate the scope of the patents mentioned in the letter and were about a "sensor" which used strain gages too. But as I didn't make any "sensor", just apply the strain gages according to the instructions or the vendor (Vishay Measurements Group) I wasn't infringing any patent, just applying a common marketed item and some formulae and principles established centuries before (Newton and Hooke's laws).

I had to prepare a written answer, but fortunately the General Manager was a bit more polite than me and didn't send it. Just wrote that to our knowledge we weren't infringing any patent and asked for more details. We received none.

Kind regards

If you are buying these components then those company's will have their intellectual property rights built into the price you pay them. You will have no problems with them.

If you made a particular component yourself, let's say the rails, then if another party in the rail making business has rights to the design you use, they may find out about it, if they do, they may choose to sue you for infringement, or negotiate with you for royalty payments, if they want to sue you they will have to first let you know you are infringing on their rights, clearly there are a lot of links in this chain and any broken link prevents you being sued. If you want to worry about getting sued, consider who might be maimed or killed by your machine. That concern is worth a great deal of thought and contemplation, the one you mention is not.

Unless the machine you are building is completely unique and very useful don't worry too much about patenting it yourself. My personal rule of thumb is a million dollars. If the royalty income or profit potential of an invention is not worth a million dollars, its not worth patenting. It may be worth your time to build, but it isn't likely to be worth patenting. The only exception is if you are seeking outside investment, sometimes having patents helps investors regard your intentions as serious and your prospects as worthy.

Your design sounds complicated and your questions and statements indicate your a rookie. That is not usually a good combination. If your serious, and or funded, look at your team building / partnership issues. Who can you safely, comfortably, and productively work with to get the job done? Who is a buyer for your machine? Will they buy from you? Who will they buy from? How will you service the machine for them? Who are your competitors? How will you win market share away from them?

That is all the free counsel I've got in me today, I hope it blesses you.

Best wishes,

Mr. Gee

Mr. Gee,You hit the nail right on the head about the rookie.LOL.I am doing as much as I can with design and what-not and am going to build a scaled down proto.The proto will be of course to test the mechanics of it.Now when I get the mechanical bugs worked out with the proto.and gain as much knowledge as I can to get the structural design as close as a layman like myself can get,then I turn it over to one of you guys to either chunk it in the garbage or tell me we might just have something.I've been in both marine and or heavy civil construction for 32 yrs and picked up a little OJT.and one of the first things I learned was if you don't know something ask.I have been fortunate enough to find CR4 and you fine gentlemen to answer these very vague questions I have been posting.I am recovering from major back surgery and Have more than enough time on my hands.I gonna keep fishing until I run out of questions then I'll have to open the check book and see if all this mess merits a stamp.Again I thank you guys for the help.

Thanks and God Bless

Since you chose to share some of your background it makes it a little easier to understand you project.

The next piece of advice I give is to beg, borrow, or buy a computer work station and solid modeling software. Making mistakes is a big part of the learning process and whenever possible it is preferable to make several small mistakes as rapidly as possible so you can learn enough in a given lifetime to get some good stuff done.

Solid modeling is kind of a pain to learn but it will soon allow you to make a great many small, low cost, mistakes in a short period of time while you are recovering from your injury.

my prayers for your speedy recovery, and my best wishes for your projects success.

Mr. Gee

I'm patenting - and I'm an engineer.I can be reached at : markalfredsteele@yahoo.ca

or at marks@victoria.tc.ca