Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Only file a PA or PPA if
1) you have $500K to sue eventual infringer
2) have enough money to take your invention to the market
3) your invention has good mass market appeal and be sold at 6-10 times its cost.

A contract is easier to enforce than a patent, which at present rate takes up to 3 years from its application to get allowed.  In  3 years many things can happen, including better mouse traps.




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Go Green and put more money onto your bottom line with award-winning LED-based light bulbs PearlLED. If you manage a good sized store/business and want to boost the bottom line, call us!

a contract is only good against parties to that contract - maybe one or two people.  a patent is good against any infringer of it.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

better mouse traps can and regularly do, infringe patents.  what is the basis for believing that contracts are easier to enforce than patents?  i see no reason why this is necessarily the case or even often the case.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

Many invented products don`t have market appeal for long, before better stuff come along.  In those cases, patented status (or not) doesn`t make any difference, especially in view of cost of patent litigation for typical entrepreneurs.

Really patents are for large companies, to defend themselves against other large companies.

Trade secrets may be more advantageous in many cases, such as Coke formula.  And they can last forever.

Personally, I put some secret sauces in an FPGA whose code is virtually impossible to break.  Cost? very little, <$1, considering I need to use many logic gates anyway in my system.  I was not thinking when I applied for a related PPA but now I`d let it stay secret and rely on trade secrets embodied inside an FPGA.


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Go Green and put more money onto your bottom line with award-winning LED-based light bulbs PearlLED. If you manage a good sized store/business and want to boost the bottom line, call us!

There are many different protection strategies and each inventor or business must determine the appropriate method at the appropriate time with the appropriate people.  In most cases, filing a patent at the outset of your venture, before any promise of returns, does not make much sense.   It`s too costly and lengthy a process. 

Also, one must assess the person or entity they are dealing with, and the risk associated with disclosing your idea.  Most inventors believe their idea alone is worth millions.  But the truth is, million and billion dollar ideas come and go in a heartbeat.  Equally, and more important, is the ability, resources, and drive to get the idea out of your head into a successfully selling product on the market.  It`s important to gauge whether the people you`re dealing with have those things, thus disclosing your idea is a risk.  The reality tends to be, we`re all a little more busy than we think we are, and probably don`t have the time to drop what we`re doing and run with someone else`s idea.  Strategies other than a full patent filing, such as the provisional, or time to market, might be worth pursuing for the time being.

However, if you have strong market data that supports the success of your product and you approach a company who both has the means and might have the interest in quickly running with your idea without you, then filing a patent requires much more consideration. 

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy.  It`s a matter of risk and return.  You pay your money and time when you feel the return is worth it.

Anyways, food for thought...




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I`m always interested to see people`s interest in litigation costs with patents.  Almost no patents are litigated - very few.  One reason for this is that BOTH sides need to spend the money.  You could just as easily say "dont infringe a patent unless you`ve got millions of dollars" as you could say "dont get a patent unless you`ve got millions of dollars."  The cost of litigation is a deterent to infringement - at least knowing infringement at the very least.

If the cost of a patent is spread over the life of the sucecssful product, it is usually a fraction of the total costs - much less than advertising, insurance, etc.  True, you have to do more than just get a patent and go to the mailbox and look for checks to roll in.

Trade secrets do make some sense in situations where things can be kept secret for a long time.  When somebody can buy your widget and take it to the lab and make a copy, there is not much of a secret to keep.  "Secret formulas" and the like make sense for trade secret law.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

The challenge for all inventors is that ideas are born as a very crude concept, with no real understanding of how it will work, if it will work at all, can it be manufactured and distributed at a profit and will consumers want it in its present form.   What if you need to do a focus group?  

In my experience over the years, we have never, not had to change the original concept based on input from persons knowledgeable in engineering, manufacturing, R & D, and marketing.  If these resources are internal, then not a problem.  But the typical inventor is an individual and they need to seek  (disclose idea) advice of someone expert in that field.

So, a provisional application and even a design patent won`t get it because if concept changes, they`re no longer any good.

No argue here that a (utility) patent is no doubt the best way to go.

My question is, how can you evaluate the concept for manufactuability, marketability and profitability without spending thousands first on a patent application?

I say... Non-compete/Non-disclosure agreements and as Ashton said, know who you`re dealing with to minimize the risk.  And move quick!

The existence of a legal problem does not mean there is an easy and affordable legal answer.  What if you have AIDS and can`t afford the medication, yet make too much money to qualify for medicaid or the like?  Well, aspirin is cheap, BUT IT AIN`T GONNA HELP.  Well, aspirin is readily available, BUT IT AIN`T GONNA HELP.  Well, I know a guy who took aspirin once, BUT IT AIN`T GONNA HELP.  There is no cheap and easy "work around."

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

"Patent It Yourself" has a section on invention assessment, and many organizations offer that service for a small fee, a couple hundred bucks.

Inventing rhymes with investing.  An idea requires a lot of money and time before showing any return if at all.  This is not a game for the neophyte.


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Go Green and put more money onto your bottom line with award-winning LED-based light bulbs PearlLED. If you manage a good sized store/business and want to boost the bottom line, call us!

Here is a simple set of facts regarding use of Non-Disclosure Agreements:

1.      Able invents something.  Able thinks it is patentable.  Able does not want to, or thinks he can’t afford to, hire an attorney to prepare and file a patent application.  Able obtains an NDA.

2.      Able knows a guy named Baker.  Baker is a manufacturer.  Able gets Baker to sign the NDA.  Able discloses the invention to Baker to obtain prices for distribution and manufacturing.

3.      Baker discloses the invention to Carol – accidentally, intentionally, or whatever.  Carol does not know about Able or the NDA.

4.      Carol discloses the invention to Dan – accidentally, intentionally, or whatever.  Dan does not know about Able or Baker or the NDA.

5.      Dan discloses the invention to Ethan – accidentally, intentionally, or whatever.  Ethan does not know about Able or Baker or Carol or the NDA.

6.      Ethan begins to make, use, and sell the invention.  Ethan gets rich.

 

Questions:

1.      Who can sue Ethan?  What is their cause of action?

2.      What does your answer to question 1 tell you about Non-Disclosure Agreements?

3.      Who can Able (the inventor) sue?  What is his cause of action?

4.      What does your answer to question 2 tell you about Non-Disclosure Agreements?

 

 

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com