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Protection for easy duplication?

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    brettrbrettr subscriber Posts: 3
    Ditto.
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    turnhereturnhere subscriber Posts: 2
    So let the Games begin.
    I`m new to the site & have enjoyed the debates, & info greatly. Our time as business entrepreneurs is very valuable, dividing by family, business, ect. ect. so protecting our ideas after months of work is very high on our list.
    Most of my ideas are existing products in the construction/home improvement industry, BUT need to be marketed a little differently (packaging), and/or very little changes to them needed if any. If we look at products with a twist & outside the box and ask want else can this be used for? It is (i think) possible to find products that the manufacture is not thinking of sell them for that use.
    For example the are several products that do not need any changes to them and could be use to store a wet piant rollor for days befor getting back to the job. I know as a home owner (with kids) who paints his own walls sometimes it takes day to get back to it. BTW I did find two manufactures that did tool&die products to do the same thing. 
    Someone came up with the idea to sell popsicle sticks in craft stores. That person (salemen) I hope is now on EZ street.
    SO THE QUESTION IS!!!! How do I introduce an idea to the manufacture, so that I`m not cut out of the deal????????????. I do not expect 100% of the new product profit, just a cut me a small piece and I`m happy. 
    Current project www.smallworldstories.net</A> is to collect stories for a future book. Stories such as, Karl who found his lab 5 years later and 2 states away by a man he went to high school with. Or Jerry who after 40 years met his boot camp buddy over a customer service call.  Just short stories, I do not have to write them I just have to collect them.   DO U HAVE A STORY 4 ME?
    Thanks! Have a great day!! & LOOK @ products & how they can B changed slitely if @ all. & marketed differently!
     
     
     
     turnhere2007-1-22 2:31:37
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    If the idea is new and useful - either in how it LOOKS or in how it FUNCTIONS, a patent should be considered.
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    What does the word "utility" mean in the phrase "utility patent"?  I appear to have fooled a lot of clients and judges and the USPTO - because they appear to believe I know what a patent is.  I have not retracted anything - and will leave it to the readers to decide.  I have stopped arguing about it with you.  At some point in Court and with the USPTO and in life in general, additional arguments become futile.   
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    Thank you for your concern about my reputation.
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    good point.  code can be protected via copyright law regardless of function - not via patent law.  Duh is right. 
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    sallygraysallygray subscriber Posts: 1
    turnhere:
    I looked at the story site you mentioned in your post and have a
    question. On the site, there was a sentence about the fact that no
    royalties would be paid if the story was included in the publication. I
    assume that means there would also be no payment of any kind. So, my
    question is this: What would one benefit for taking their time to write
    and contribute a story? SG
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    sallygraysallygray subscriber Posts: 1
    Now about the fiesty patent/attorney///you`re right/you`re wrong///no,
    I`m right and YOU`RE WRONG and I`ll tell you why thread.......
    At first, I wanted to say "Now, boys, be nice...." like someone`s mom
    but as I kept reading, something else came to mind. Because of the
    determination to prove who is right, you have given very important
    information. Had this tit-for-tat not happened, I would not have
    learned so much nor would I have gotten all the valuable links that
    have been posted. So, thank you all who participated.
    I would like to, if I could, say something about being right. In this
    case, preserving relationships and remembering the goal that brought
    you/us together is far more important than being right. Right?
    <GGGGGGG>
    If you`ll indulge me a bit more, I have a question and this seems the
    perfect place to do so. I understand what`s been said about patents,
    etc. and I realize that one minor thing can be changed by a competitor
    so that they can do/make the same thing without infringing. And it was
    a good point about who has the time to defend themselves in court
    regarding such. I am wondering this: Say you have an idea for a
    service, one that you could make money from doing and a business that
    you could also sell franchises for in the future (after the original
    proves valuable and solvent). So, other people see what I`m doing and
    want to do the same thing. Fine. But I would like to garner the rights
    to make money off that as well, since what I`m doing is NOT being done
    by anyone else in the area. Does that make sense? I mean the more the
    merrier, I would love multiple locations, I just want to be paid for
    being the one who conceived the idea and put it all together. Comments,
    suggestions, wisdom? Any helpful ideas welcome. No bummers or
    negativity allowed. Please.
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    The idea, in and of itself, is worthless - no matter what the idea is.  You need to identify the intellectual property and protect it via patent/trademark/copyright law.
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    One thing I don`t do is surf over to the dental website and whip up some opinions about the dental topics being discussed.  Do you know why?  Because I don`t know anything about the topics - and throwing something around would be pure waste - even if I started each sentence by saying "in my opinion ... " or "I just kind of feel like ..."
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    That is a completely valid point to having legal rights and property rights in general - including intellectual property.  There are certain costs to owning land and certain types of personal property as well.
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    brettrbrettr subscriber Posts: 3
    In addition, unless you are a large market and well known, it`s unlikely you will have infrigement problems.  Simply because most people (including potential competitors) don`t even know you exists.  Not to say it won`t happen just that the chances are lower. 
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    stonesledgestonesledge subscriber Posts: 608 Silver Level Member
    So is bigger always better, and better always ok> If a company enhances  a product that is currently marketed and patented further with more bells and whistles, then they can create a new "product"? And then patent that? I do know that this is not my expertise and there seems to be alot to know. It was quite a thread, and imformative for us folks who lack in this area. There is alot to know when working in this field. Great passion guys!
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    brettrbrettr subscriber Posts: 3
    I won`t say bigger is always better.  That`s too much of a blanket statement.  As with most things, it depends.  However, bigger is most always more complicated.  You eventually reach a point that in order to grow, you need specialist to help. 
    As a small company, you can`t really dedicate time and money to defend a patent.  A larger company on the other hand does have the money and people to send out just for that purpose.  Mean while, they can continue running their company as usual (assuming there isn`t just one product that has an injuction applied to it) for a limited time.  Eventually, defending the patent will start harming them, since it has been sucking resources from the start.
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    patentandtrademarkpatentandtrademark subscriber Posts: 103
    It depends on the extent of the changes- no simple answer.
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