I Got My Patent!

Allow me.

Thanks Lyn.

Parents at Emily's school will be signing releases on Tues., and I'll be shooting video before the week is out.

It sounds cliche, but seeing little kids develop a passion for learning, is cool.

Learning should be fun.

Is the frame on the ones in the field collapsible ? Because they look rigid, and as such could pose a hazard if a child was to fall onto one of them....You can count on that happening....The ones hung on the fence look like they would make good frisbee's, another hazard...Good luck

If they hurt themselves, they can sue me.

While I can't patent it, I've also realized that you can't get blood from a turnip.

This sums up the thrill of a startup business nicely; compliments of a friend who knows:

In the year 2013, the Lord came unto Noah, Who was now living in America and said:
"Once again, the earth has b...ecome wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me."
"Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans."

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying:
"You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark."Noah!," He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed."
"I needed a Building Permit."
"I've been arguing with the Boat Inspector about the need for a sprinkler system."

"My homeowners association claim that I've violated the
Neighborhood by-laws by building the Ark in my back yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the local Planning Committee for a decision."

"Then the City Council and the Electricity Company demanded a shed load of money for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear none of it."

"Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the Greater Spotted Barn Owl."
"I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!"

"When I started gathering the animals, PETA took me to court. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space."

"Then the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on Your proposed flood."

"I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew."

"The Immigration Dept. Is checking the visa status of most of the people who want to work."
"The labor unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only union workers with ark-building experience."

"To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species."
"So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this ark."

"Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine and a rainbow stretched across the sky."

Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"

"No," said the Lord. " The Government beat me to it."

"You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"

"No," said the Lord. " The Government beat me to it."

Ain't THAT the truth!!

Yep. While it had a religious ring to it, I'm sure that everybody understands.

This is no joke...

In producing and selling this product, my biggest worry is breaking some law and losing everything I own, or going to jail.

It's a damned sad statement.

_{The land of the free!}

Then you have already set up an LLC specifically for 'producing and selling this product'....right?

.

Unless they have changed recently, NC laws concerning LLCs afford great protection, and unlike corporations the 'veil' is very difficult to pierce.

LLCs are typically very cheap and quick top set up and can protect you in ways that incorporating cannot.

Yes. I set up an LLC, (which took less than 1/2 hour), in order to engage in interstate commerce, which I specifically had to do to secure trademark protection...which is also easy.

Silly me; I never thought it would take almost 4 years to secure a patent on such a simple concept. The profit margin on the sets I sold was minuscule, and without patent protection, not only would none of the big manufacturers talk to me, but I also would not have been able to secure financing to ramp up automated production without using my house as collateral...which would have been crazy.

I'm still hand painting and selling a limited amount of sets, but my LLC was dissolved for lack of activity. I'm hoping I can partner up with company that already has the infrastructure in place, since I don't really feel like going through the learning curve of entering into full blown manufacturing and distribution on my own.

The other reason I started the LLC, is that it enabled me to write off the expenses associated with getting the patent, trademark protection, my supplies, etc.

Ah a license to litigate!

How much are you willing to pay me to not legally nitpick you for all eternity despite not having any grounds to stand upon other than just wasting your time and money?

I have a new house project going so lets start at $100K cash and work our way up from there?

BTW the work our way up part works like this. I say pay me $100k to leave you alone. You counteroffer $50K then I raise to $120K then you come back around 65K then I go to $150K and so on and so forth.

In the end eventually you come to the conclusion that if you had just paid me the $100K first you would have been ultimately time and money ahead.

So what do you say? $100K it is?

I just need $150 so I can turn a chest freezer into an air conditioner.

Fine put me over a barrel. Call it even?

Yea good deal on the patent! Even better that you have a free testing facility nearby too!

Personally I always like learning outside more than inside as well. I was one of those little monkeys that never took to cage life so well.

My epiphany came in 3rd grade. I realized that everything that was known to man, was written down. I consumed libraries a section at a time, and graduated high school with C's and D's. I grew up before they realized that some kids were "special".

Probably a good thing; now they dose them with ritalin.

Come to think of it, I almost didn't graduate. I ignored a social studies class for a year, and the teacher threatened to make me repeat 12th grade. So we struck a deal.

I wrote an essay on willful ignorance and the advent of the Nazi party. That A+ earned me a D for the year.

Wow! sounds eerily like my life story!

I too figured out that not all adults know what they are talking about or that they are always right.

Same C and D average student here as well.

Yep I too did a number of highly snarky but well done reports and the like to get teachers off my butt as well.

Given today's school system now they probably would lobotomize me then pump me full of ritalin and call it good. I was a handful and I knew how to use it.

I've felt a kinship with you from day one.

You're "special".

Problem is... once you start to get things figured out, everyone turns on you.

and I know that you know what I'm talking about.

To bad we can't erase the ugly. We cannot learn to forget. Probably for the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxizIrbcSuU

If you have nothing nice to say...

Come sit by me and we will compare notes.

Congrats!

Was this your first patent? It's a cool thrill to get one.

Enjoy! Take the family out to a premier restaurant and have a nice dinner to celebrate.

Thanks man!!!

Yeah, first one. So far it has earned me free drinks.

I'm talking to potential partners. If I take my pay in booze, I'll be dead before summer's out.

Congratulations. Anything to get the kids outside and away from their iPads is a good thing.

I don't even know why, but I have a problem with the "face in a tiny computer screen" syndrome. Maybe it's because people are either crashing cars, or walking into traffic while texting.

Congratulations.

Thanks man.

I just need to keep my head away from my ass, keep perspective, and work toward bettering our children. There is simply no excuse for turning out stupid.

Congrats man! I know how tough it is to navigate the process, hopefully you even make a buck or two

several years ago I had an idea for cars and trucks to make them safer. basically it was a pressure switch that was incorporated into the hydraulics of a vehicles braking system. under normal driving conditions it wouldn't activate but if you slammed on the brakes in increased pressure would activate a louder horn or siren to notify those in the area someone was in a panic stop ( works on wet as well as icey surfaces, on anti-lock systems too). I did all my homework and had a patent lawyer do all the proper searches. no one had a claim on what I was looking at. I went ahead with the application and once it was submitted I thought I had it made. it took months but my application was rejected, someone else had gotten in before me with a completely different idea ( which had nothing to do with my sensing idea but their claim overlapped mine. we'll never see his idea hit the mass market but I'm still waiting for the day I see something based on the work I did to show up in the real world

again, congrats, well done

Thanks!

I have invented a couple hundred things, only to find out they had already been invented.

There is an exact duplicate of the patent files in Sunnyvale CA. Before the internet, I used to spend days in there researching ideas. It sucked.

The entire process sucks....big time.

'...I have invented a couple hundred things, only to find out they had already been invented.

...'

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That really sucks, doesn't it? Especially if you missed the fact it had already been invented, somewhere early on in investigating and proceeded to put in a lot of time.

.

...but that apparently isn't the case for this one. Congradulations!

Congradulation

Thanks dude.

I don't know if you are old enough to remember those collapsible metal cups...kind of like an armadillo shell. That was one of my first ones.

I thought it would be a good idea for a truck shell for a pickup truck. Tracks on the edges, waterproof, and everything pushes up to the cab of the truck, making the things in the bed, accessible.

4 days of manual patent searching...and I was toast. It had been invented. I still don't know why I can't buy one. I need it.

I think I had a cup like that in a camping set.

I think it sounds the truck shell would be a better use than the cup ever was.

It may not be such a bad thing that it is already patented. If an idea is valuable, but the patent is not being utilized, you might be able to buy or license the patent for less money (and hours) than would have been required to patent the idea originally.

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There also might be the opportunity to improve upon a patent in a non-obvious way, as well.

....perhaps you will be able to get your collapsible truck shell after all.....

You could consider contacting the patent owner and make an offer to purchase. Only about 1 or 2 of a 100 patents ever get off the ground in any meaningful way. The inventor may be willing to take some cash that is real v/s dream of production. Never hurts to try. If you word the offer in such a way as to suggest that his design and yours are not identical but have similarities that person my sell or make an offer to cooperate. Communication is the key and one way or the other settles the issue or the dream concept. I firmly believe that 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

I had an idea to improve car safety once. It involved welding all the doors shut. It may or may not have been inspired by the behavior of one of my then teen-aged sons and one or more of his friends.

Oh; and before anyone starts thinking I'm really smart, I hired a patent attorney to turn my incoherent ramblings into something that made sense.

He got greedy....so I fired him about a month ago.

He had a good point; that his time is how he makes his money. I told him that everyone makes their money with their time....and I'm not willing to pay for repeated failures.

So how much did it end up costing you? And once you started the process how long did it take? Congrats, take $5 out of petty cash and the rest of the day off! (without pay)

kramarat,

Per aspera ad astra.

Ad maiora!

Vince

Hi kramarat, I was not there when you were organising your Patent unfortunately, however though I have not done so before I have a good idea of the problems. I wish you luck in the future I am short of time right now but will read the link you sent to me later. Hope it brings health, wealth, and happiness. Whatever happens, you now have the LAW behind, by the side and in front of you so someone can try but they might also end up in Prison if they do not get your permission to make or use! Take care, and yes you are right, that IS what this site and stuff is all about. bb (babybear)

'...they might also end up in Prison if they do not get your permission...'

.

Wow.

While technically not incorrect, truth be known, they also might:

-end up in prison even if they do get your permission...

-not end up in prison if they do get your permission...

-not end up in prison if they do not get your permission.

Hi tinap, gotta figure that one out ! ;-) Take care, bb

My point is that the relationship of patent violations to prison time is not a causal one.

So correlation of patent violation to prison time is unlikely to be significant.....so any of the outcomes could be probable.

I may have (probably did) missed something in the discussion, but it is worth noting that Patent Law is not Criminal Law, so a patent offense is not a criminal offense. And Prison time, at least in the US, is only for criminal offenses.

OTOH, if a judge assesses you a fine for patent infringement, and you don't pay it, while the fine is for a Civil Law offense, not paying it becomes a Criminal Offense (different parts of Statute Law) and makes you eligible for the prison time.

So patent infringement won't put you in prison. But ignoring the proper response to the court that finds you guilty of it might very well do so!

Yep. As impressive as a patent sounds; it just buys you the right to sue someone that tries to steal your idea. On the other hand, they also tend to prevent people from stealing your idea, because they don't feel like getting sued up the road.

I still haven't seen the movie about the guy that invented the intermittent windshield wiper. It sounds like a nightmare horror movie.

That's the point exactly....patent violation in itself is not criminal.... so very little correlation should exist between patent violation and prison time.

Here's the scenario.

You get your patent for $15,000USD, for example.

Your produce a product.

Competition produces a product that you believe infringes on your patent.

You hire attorney. He write$ a "cease and desist" letter to the infringer.

Infringer ignores first letter.

Attorney then write$ second, more threatening letter. _{(Infringer still chunking out copies of your work.)}

You may, or may not get a response. If you do, chances are they will tell you to pound sand.

Attorney file$ lawsuit naming Infringer as defendant. Add a few more $$$$$$$ for incidentals and those phone calls aren't free, either.

Court date come$ and their lawyer asks for a continuance, and get$ it.

Finally, after 6 months, you prevail! Hooray!! Infringer is instructed to cease production, or pay you a rolatly, neither of which he does right away.

By then, 5 Chinese companies have copied the design and flooded the market with cheap imitations and you are forced to file for bankruptcy, lose your house and family and become a drunken bum, living on the street.

There, I hope this cheers you up.

'...become a drunken bum, living on the street.....'

whew! I was worried there for a little bit.

Glad I'm not cooped up in an office....so stuffy. ...and thank goodness petty cash for refreshments hasn't dried up.

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Moreover, it is a good thing the (US) infringe-er stands little chance of going to prison for their trespass.

Meaningfully interacting with someone (who is imprisoned) in a satisfyingly impact-full fashion seems from the vantage of the streets, is likely daunting to bum. Luckily no such impediment would likely exist.

.

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BTW, I'm not completely comfortable with this tactic of trying to cheer each other up by detailing twisted scenarios for each other to consider. Before, I return the favor, and create a 'cheer you up' scenario with you as a main character.... are you sure this is a good idea?

The "good news" post was directed more at Mark, the Inventor, than toward you.

But, if it makes you feel better, go ahead and cheer me up. I could use a little cheering up right now, anyway.

Cheers!

That was pretty close, but there are some inspiring stories out there...like the young lady that came up with Spanx®. That is a good online story to read; she became a multimillionaire by essentially cutting the legs off pantyhose. Everybody thought she was nuts..................then she got Oprah. The rest is history.

Getting these up and running, is going to be tough.

Long story, short...I have to restart my LLC. From there, everything I produce, the government gets about 45% of my profit, from the rip. Not a pretty picture.

When the Bamster said, "You didn't build that", he wasn't talking about the small businessman that might squeak out a million or two a year; he was talking about the billionaire titans that control every aspect of our lives, and the politicians that have sold out the people, and sold their souls, to "pave the road" to make that kind of capitalism possible.

in the US everything is money....they take your money not your freedom for patent violations, after you PROVE damage

Congrat for getting first patent. But I could not view your invention. Can you display the same?.

Congrats Mark !

This seems quite similar to your idea, or is this part of your control group ?

"For this activity, we placed laminated alphabet cards (printed side down) all around the ground on the soccer field."

"

Then, we passed out small foam letters to each child.

Then, the kids were off searching for their letter! Since they were face down, the children had to turn each one over until they found their match.

They had an awesome time! This is a great way to take your literacy outside and get some exercise in the process. Learning to read and write doesn't have to happen sitting at a table.

http://preschoolteacher81.blogspot.com/2012/05/outdoor-letter-hunt.html

That was a good idea!!!

Mine is similar, but incorporates all educational material. I'm getting feedback from the teachers, and it sounds like I will need to offer more letters for spelling, as well as numbers, +, -, =, multiplication and division symbols, etc., as well as specialized sets for particular curricula.

It's also looking like using the chain link fence wires as "holders" is going to be key...at least initially. These ugly fences surround virtually every playground in the US, and possibly around the planet.

Congratulations! Well done.

Yep. Considering the painful process (as testified by others), a "well done" for you.

It's a great alternative to having kids stare into computer screens and video games!

Tell me what is the cost to apply and get a patent...

Congrats!

congrats...

Del

I've been following this for the past few days, and can no longer resist chirping in.

Firstly, a hearty 'congrats' on getting the patent. No easy thing to do from what I know of the topic.

As with all good ideas, the basic concept is easy enough to grasp - so much so that the reader can be inclined to think 'why hasn't this been done before'. Combining learning, fun, and exercise is brilliant. In the electronic age, this is very much the kind of thing the education system needs.

Being a Brit, I couldn't but stop myself thinking about the weather - no reason the idea can't be used in a school gymnasium area during Winter.

The emphasis is placed on children, though I can imagine this being of huge help to those with learning difficulties (of adult age) and also elderly people. Everybody quit laughing at the notion of elderly people racing around - this concept can be used at a slow pace, and also useage developed into memmory type games which can be of great benefit in helping elderly folk. I'll not digress on that point too much.

I've never had any real desire to be a teacher, but your idea has so many possibilities to devise activities that it's hard to resist thinking about what games I'd try to create if I was a teacher using the system.

Anyways, a big high-five from me. I hope this really goes places (for potential users, and also yourself) - it deserves to. Might take a while, but it would be brilliant to hear from you (even if it's a year or two) how well this does. I suspect you have a winning pony here.

'...Nuts are banned at public schools in a lot of states.....'

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Having a look around public school, I'd say that ban is not enforced very rigorously....

Reminds me of the joke I read recently about God creating a world in balance, and showing St. Peter what He'd done. He showed him deserts, balanced by rain forests, mountains and valleys, oceans and sand (yeah, I know, deserts, but work with me here). Then He showed St. Peter the State of Washington, and extolled the virtues of the hard-working, intelligent, industrious people who make software, raise cattle, log trees, etc., and stopped. So St. Peter says, but, where's the balance? I'm mean, that's all great, but where's the other side? Whereupon God says, oh, that, take a look at the OTHER Washington, over here in the Eastern part of the continent. You ought to see the lazy idiots I filled THAT up with.

A ban not enforced vigorously here, either.

Yep. Thought about the gymnasium angle...especially since we are now starting to ban dodgeball in the US.

I had no intention of filing for a patent. Once I made the set for my daughter, ( after searching for a week), it slowly dawned on me that other people might be interested in them. I was almost hoping that the concept had already been patented.

I;m late to the party, but congratulations!

I'm late too (traffic was murder, today) but congratulations. That is indeed a milestone for you. Keep us posted on how it does in the learning market, and wherever else you might find adaptations for it.

Hey guys. Just catching up...

I was celebrating the patent on Sunday, along with attempting to use, (consumed), alcohol to ease my back pain... it didn't work. I ended up blowing out my back so bad, I couldn't even make my way to the computer. It's still not right.

So the update is, I guess the director at my daughter's school is friends with the national director of Naeyc, which is apparently a pretty big deal. More importantly, the kids are really enjoying them in this nice weather, and word is spreading.

I guess for now, I'll keep hand painting them, and selling them one set at a time...it beats the hell out of painting houses.

I'm still researching various methods of mass production...silk screen, printing, vinyl, etc. The trick is I want them to last at least a few years.

I don't want to know how you hurt your back. Sounds like you got it caught in an awkard position?

On those cards. Don't forget the saftey disclaimers and instructions in Spanish, French, German, English and British English. Then there's flammabliity test certifications and OSHA requirements for workplace safety.

All that will take up at least one side of each card.

I'll see if LynDoor™Industries has any capacity available in our sweat shop low cost printing facility in Botswana. We can turn a job around almost immediately, if you can wait 6 weeks for us to start.

Ain't that the truth. Government compliance may make it a nonstarter.

Right now, I'm gimping my way through the last couple days of an exterior paint job, which is torture, and we'll see what happens.

One thing is for sure... having a patent doesn't mean much if you can't turn it into $$$$. The time and money invested so far, is more embarrassing, than it is, bragging rights.

I can't imagine a small timer trying to get a patent on something technical.

Have you tried laying flat on your back on a wood floor? Sleeping in that position can also help.

If you are carrying extra pounds, especially in the belly, loosing those pounds can be a big help.

A good sign shop with quality vinyl lasts and price can be good. Best shops use 3M (usual disclaimer) or equal. Tell them what it is to stick to and they will do the rest.

RE: the back.. when you go to bed if you can arrange for some one or something to pull on your legs to decompress your back relief is immediate. Traction should be for 2-4 minutes and about 1/2 body weight in tension. Worked for me I went from ruptured disc to working for another 30 yrs. You do have to prevent sliding so grab the head board and it helps to wiggle or flex the spine at the same time.. Do not get up or you will compress again. You heal when sleeping. Blessed relief..

Roy,

I took the liberty of adding a little something to the end of your last post.

Hope you don't mind.

"A good sign shop with quality vinyl lasts and price can be good. Best shops use 3M (usual disclaimer) or equal. Tell them what it is to stick to and they will do the rest.

RE: the back.. when you go to bed if you can arrange for some one or something to pull on your legs to decompress your back relief is immediate. Traction should be for 2-4 minutes and about 1/2 body weight in tension. Worked for me I went from ruptured disc to working for another 30 yrs. You do have to prevent sliding so grab the head board and it helps to wiggle or flex the spine at the same time.. Do not get up or you will compress again. You heal when sleeping. Blessed relief."

Oh and something else, lay off the hooch and quit acting like you're 25 years old!

Congratulations on the patent, and, I hope it develops into more than just the bit of paper.

On the back front (sic.): do you have osteopaths in the States? In the UK they are outside the official health system, but, they seem to have a much better understanding of the spine than any one in general practice. I and several people I know have had experiences in which we have limped in in agony and almost danced out 20 minutes later.

As far as costs go, there are patent searches to start with. Then the application...expect to pay fees to each individual country that you want patent protection in; you can use the same documentation, though.

The fees for a US patent can be found at uspto.gov, and a decent patent attorney will cost $250 per hour, and up.

This was an easy one, and it took almost 4 years and about $12K. I also did the drawings, my own searches, and most of the writing. The attorney was paid to turn my straight forward wording into complicated legalese, and if everything isn't worded perfectly, it will be rejected.

My impression, is that the system is not set up for the tinkerer.

$12K?__________(Insert appropriate cuss words) I am shaking my head. Could you have copyrighted instead? Might be a dumb question.

I worked masonry for years. When my back went out (slipped disc) I tried everything you could imagine. The only thing that worked was to rest for a couple days while scar tissue built up. I feel your pain. Hope your getting better.

Nope. It would have been nice if copyright covered it, but I believe that copyright only protects images and written words.

One company that has done an outstanding job at using trademarks to protect intellectual property, is Wham-o. I don't think they have one patent, and they have made a fortune from plastic discs, hoops, balls, etc. Some interesting online reading. Several years back, they won a trademark infringement suit, to the tune of over $4 million...all because someone copied the colors of the Slip and Slide™, and tried to sell a competing water slide that used them. The color scheme had been trademarked.

I didn't plan on spending that much money, (that I couldn't afford), but once I dipped my feet in the water, there was no turning back. My fixer upper house, is still a fixer upper.

The back is feeling better; down to a dull ache. I hope they can fix it. I don't have time for a thrown out back.

Next week, I move into guerrilla marketing tactics. I've got a nationally known university professor on my team, who's in early childhood development. I met him by crashing his FB page and sending him a PM.