New Product

watergal

I have been working on a clothing acccessory now for the last few
years. I have seen variations of it on Qvc and in Oprah`s
maganize.  I think my product addresses concerns that I havent
seen anywhere for this type of product plus its nicer looking and 
more functional.   What I actually need to know is if clothes or
accessories are actually patented? I see on morning shows where they
have the expensive dresses and then the knockoffs so I think its not
necessary but dont know.  Any ideas for me please?

Next I guess I would need to find someone who I can contact to make me
a prototype of this.  I am worried that someone will finally put
it out on the market before me which may happen if I dont get
busy! 
Thanks

jo

theswaynester

Hey!I hope you don`t mind my unprofessional opinion. When it comes to whether an accessory or article of clothing can be patented, the answer is a definite "could be." There have been accessories and clothing that have received patents... I`m pretty sure. As long as it meets the standards of the patent office--nonobvious, unique, etc.If the product you have in mind is just a new dress design... or what have you... then I think it gets more difficult.Without knowing the specifics, and I understand why you won`t release that info, it would hard to render a definite opinion.But I would suggest you research it further. Conduct some searched on www.uspto.gov</A>... That might be a good first step.I hope this helps... Maybe someone with a deeper background in this are can help.

MrSoloInvntr

Watergal,
I can relate to your situation here. I am also working on at prototype for a product on the market. The problem is its not very user friendly so I am building a business around re-developing and re-designing it. There are design patents you may be able to pursue for your clothing accessory. Like the swaynester said, go to www.uspto.gov</A> for more information. I have a great industrial designer here in California who helped me design my product but I dont think he has done clothing design.

watergal

Thanks Swaynester and Allan for your comments! Appreciate your
help....

watergal

Thanks Chris for this information,  I didnt know about "if its
pictured or described in " prior art" you  couldnt not get a
patent. I thought  it was ok as long as no one
else put in a patent application..

watergal

Chris, thanks for the tips on patents, boy you show know a lot about patents!
Your "barett" sounds like something I would have bought! Especially since
my covers break a lot. I dont get it, how is a barett like a bathtub device? Does
that make any sense to you?
Im glad you mentioned the " image" link to see drawings. That will help. You know
it doesnt make sense to me that someone could invent something that will be
good for consumers but not patentable because someone else may have
thought of it at one time and decided not to patent it. That just
doesnt seem right! What about the blackberry lawsuit? That seems to go against it doesnt it?
well just my thoughts   Thanks !!