I recently designed some clasps and vaguely thought about trying to patent
them. Now other people are suggesting it, too. I know nothing about this,
and wondered if any of you have patents or know the pros and cons of taking
this step.
Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
Candy
Hi
Pantenting…if you have a company do it can cost thousands of dollars,
I have a friend that had a company patent a video case holder 2 yrs or
more ago it is costing her $8,000 plus interest and still to this day no
prospects, I on the other hand went to the library and got a really
great book that has step by step instructions for you to do it yourself,
and at a fraction of the costs it tells you in the book what it costs to
patent and has copies of the forms you need to fill out. I know of one
such patent that cost $365.00, that is the cheapest. And you have all
the power to advertise your product to whomever you please and in
complete control, Please do it yourself it is not hard at all.
I’m sorry if I step on any patent Attorneys toes or Invention/Patent
specialities Company, But I know too many people that have been taken to
the cleaners with nothing in return.
On Monday I can go to the Library and get the books name if you need it,
It is a blue book.
Love & Light
TJ
P.S. You’ll also have to write to the patent office In Washington DC and
they will send you the packet for patenting yourself you will need that,
I can give you the address if you want, I don’t have it handy at this
very moment,but I can get it for you.
I recently designed some clasps and vaguely thought about trying to patent
them. Now other people are suggesting it, too. I know nothing about this,
and wondered if any of you have patents or know the pros and cons of taking
this step.
Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
Candy
Kia Ora,Candyce
Quite a few years ago I invented a successful gadget for use in laboratories in order to fill a need, and like you, I was told to patent it.
Step one is to see if anyone had patented the same idea. Step two is to write a specification, and claim it does everything you can think of! You also pay a fairly small sum and register your invention - the Patents Office will tell you what to do. This does not protect your invention: all it does is to create what they call, “Prior claim” You must not meanwhile tell anyone else details about your invention. Now the work and the cost really rises. You have only so long to complete the patent. Which COSTS! The searches have to be very thorough - IN EVERY COUNTRY YOU WISH TO HAVE PROTECTION! Usually the best thing to do is what I did - find someone interested in investing in it and sell them the idea and let them spend all the money. I got $250 for the idea - and was very glad of it at the time. But this was in New Zealand, though I don’t think your country’s regulations would be all that different. Good luck, though,
/\
/ / John Burgess
/ /
/ /__ johnb@ts.co.nz
/ / \ \
/ (___) \
(_________)
I know about 60 words… Put your document, drawing, model, patterns, in a
certified package, letter, and mail it to your self(saving an exact copy at
home/work)… don’t open it, on arrival!!!.. you should remember what’s
in it!!!.. Then, depending on your wallet size… contact a patent attorney,
or obtain a ‘do it yourself kit’ from the Gov. and or local document shop.
‘60 word Jim’
At 09:50 PM 10/26/96 -0400, you wrote:
I recently designed some clasps and vaguely thought about trying to patent
them. Now other people are suggesting it, too. I know nothing about this,
and wondered if any of you have patents or know the pros and cons of taking
this step.
Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
Candy
Candy: you might post this letter to rec.crafts.jewelry. Jon Rolfe once
told me getting a patent is only for the rich who have good lawyers. There
is a famous and sad story documented on PBS a few years ago. A man invented
a headless guitar with the tuning pegs at the bottom of the guitar called a
Steinberger. (His name I think). He spent alot of money and got it
patented and started making guitars and selling them to some big names. The
guitars were expensive and utiliized special strings. Suddenly cheap
guitars from Korea started hitting the market that were identical though
pretty crappy quality. So he was protected right? Wrong. He lost his
company and his shirt in lawsuits trying to get the Koreans to stop their
infringement. Today Steinbergers are made by Gibson guitars and he just
about never made a dime off of years of pain and frustration. Yes, maybe a
good idea would be to sell the idea to someone and eventually the Chinese
will copy it !! Dave
Art Jewelry for Conscious People
http://www.opendoor.com/stephensdesign/crystalguy.html
I thought about getting patent for one of my ring design before. I changed
my mind after I realized I had to pay a couple hundred dollars (or more) for
it, and also, there were just too many guidelines to a patent. Anyone can
still copy your design as long that person doesn’t have the exact measurment
or color.
Candyce05@aol.com wrote:
I recently designed some clasps and vaguely thought about trying to patent
them. Now other people are suggesting it, too. I know nothing about this,
and wondered if any of you have patents or know the pros and cons of taking
this step.
Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
Candy
My uncle Just recently got a patent on his vacumn assisted centrifical caster and the whole process was lengthy, lawyer is necessary,several thousands of dollars etc. etc, etc.best of luck. M.
At 09:50 PM 10/26/96 -0400, you wrote:
I recently designed some clasps and vaguely thought about trying to patent
them. Now other people are suggesting it, too. I know nothing about this,
and wondered if any of you have patents or know the pros and cons of taking
this step.
Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
Candy
Candy,
You can get most of the and download the needed forms at the US
Patent and Trademarks web site; don’t know the URL offhand but it pops up
under a search engine if you search for “patent”. Don’t know all the
ramifications since I’ve only used it for trademarking…
Good luck,
Susan
C Gems
Original Designs and Period Jewelry
Candyce05@aol.com wrote:
I recently designed some clasps and vaguely thought about trying to patent
Candy
My uncle Just recently got a patent on his vacumn assisted centrifical
caster and the whole process was lengthy, lawyer is necessary,several
thousands of dollars etc. etc, etc.best of luck. M.
I disagree with “you have to have a lawyer” if you have the means to a
patent library you can do the research yourself at no cost, the
librarians are most helpful, I went to State college PA and spent 5
hours researching my product with great success. the only cost in the
process was I copied other patent info for my paperwork I had to fill
out, if there are similiar items as your you have to include as your
research to why your might be a better design or product.
Patenting will not always protect you tho all someone has to do is
change one thing in your design and your patent is no good, like someone
stated before about china duplicating and selling at a fraction of the
cost and poor quality.
Love & Light
TJ
This list has had lots of good info on the patent process. I’ve looked into
this process as well, and found that it generally takes about three years (in
Canada) from the time you register, during which time every scrap of your
is open to the public domain. That means that any Joe Blow can
essentially copy your idea, change one minute thing and then flood the market
with a knock-off before you ever get your patent registered. Unfortunately,
there are sharks out their who without blinking make their living off of
stealing other people’s ideas. Unless you are really keen about getting a
patent, you are better off registering it as a copyright or an industrial
design, both of which offer similar protection, with less expense.
Forget the companies that offer to register your patent for you - they’re a rip
off. They charge outrageous fees and take a percentage on top of it!
Even once you receive your patent, the protection is only good for something
like 17 years, and only in the country of registration.
I do the “mail it to myself” route & it works quite well. It is perfect for
establishing a “date of origin” for the purposes of copyright or industrial
design, which could be key if you ever have to go to court. Write a note in the
upper left corner to remind you what the contents are.
Regards
Dianne Karg
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
103125.1115@compuserve.com