Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am not sure I know enough about patents to know if I should patent my golf club head covers. I hand knit them. I am not sure if it is even possible to patent them or not. I have trademarked my name for them. Kewl Tubes. And I have registered my business with the state. But I am not sure if there is anything further I should do or not? Does anyone know?

You should speak with somebody that can help you protect those assets if you think those assets will make you money.

-------------------------

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

My headcovers are already making me money. I have been selling them on the internet since February of last year. I just need to know what else I should do to protect my products and my business. BUT I do not want to pay an attorney because we all know they will eat me out of money...........

is the invention easy to copy?  If it is making you money and it is easy to copy, others will copy it.  How much money are you losing each time somebody copies that invention?

-------------------------

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

Hi.  There is a great book called Patent it Yourself, by David Pressman, who is a patent attorney.  It goes through the different ways of protecting your stuff (copywright, trademark, patent - I may be missing one) anyway, I highly recommend this book to help you answer your question.  I goes through what type of protection is most appropriate, based on different factors, and also what it takes for a patent to be accepted.

-------------------------

Katie - Frequent lurker, sometimes poster, business is coming together slowly.

HI,I `d like to give you some suggestions. Although I am in china as a lawyer, not in your country, I hope it is helpfull for you.

If you think your product is very different form others, that means some qualities of your products have never thought by others, you can consider to apply patent for it. Actually, intellectual property is very importent for a company, whatever it is large or not. Therefore, it is realy a good way to strengthen your competition ability by intellectual property right. You can also contact me by email:ip312@126.com!

I sometimes recommend that people teach themselves some "basics" by reading the materials at the USPTO.gov website.  I would suggest you do that and stay away from the self-appointed lawyers.  They mean well, yet often give extemely bad "legal" advice and will not admit when they are wrong. 

-------------------------

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

I have several inventions that I would like to patent. I have David Pressman’s book Patent It Yourself but I have failed to act on my patents. I have done some of the patent searches on USPTO.GOV and actually discovered that two of my inventions had already been patented. I can use some help but I too am worried about the cost. Can I save money by patenting more than one item? Do patent lawyers give discounts? What is the average cost for one patent? Can I trust someone to advise me one which invention I should patent first? Anyone?

Brennan Mitchell

President/Founder FAMTAC.com

 

-------------------------

BRENNAN MITCHELL President/Founder www.FAMTAC.com Operator Designed Operator Tested

Some patent lawyers give "volume discounts."  I do.  You can trust someone to advise you on which invention you should patent first.  I don`t know the average cost for one patent.

-------------------------

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

You are a patent attorney and you don`t know the average cost of a patent? I have heard it can cost around $8000 from start to finish. Does this sound correct? Also, how long do you have to wait to start marketing your invention? Should you wait for the patent to be approved or can you start marketing it as soon as you have applied for the patent?

-------------------------

BRENNAN MITCHELL President/Founder www.FAMTAC.com Operator Designed Operator Tested