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Product patenting questions - Q & A

Aaron calls from Fla. with some questions about patenting and protecting his product.

Rich Sloan:  We're going to Aaron in Miami Beach.  Welcome to our show, Aaron.

Aaron:  Rich and Jeff, good afternoon.  How are you?

Rich Sloan:  Doing great.  Let's attack your question.

Aaron:  My question is as follows:  I'm looking to go into a business where the product that I'm going to use, to incorporate in my business, is a standard product that I would buy off the shelf in the store, similar to a piece of plywood or a piece of metal tube or a piece of paper, which that product in itself is not patented.  It's just a piece of plywood.

Rich Sloan:  Okay.

Aaron:  Now, I'm going to take this piece of wood and utilize it for a certain purpose in my business.  How do I protect myself?  I cannot patent the product.

Rich Sloan:  First of all, a piece of plywood you can't protect.  But sometimes the application of a piece of plywood and unique methods or -- and unique forms of utility, that can be patentable.  So just make sure that you consult a patent professional to get to the bottom line on that.

Jeff Sloan:  Well, and the other thing is if you take the quote, unquote, piece of plywood and you modify it slightly so that it best serves your intended purpose, those modifications, which by the way, might be the key to making the product work in your application, those things might be able to and likely will be able to be patentable.

Aaron:  And what about if the item that is being used -- let's say it's a piece of wood or a piece of pipe.  Now, this piece of pipe is used, also, let's say, for things that I'm interested in doing; however, I want to do something better than what is being done with it currently in a different way.

Rich Sloan:  Yeah.  Right.  Well, first of all, the fact of the matter is you may not be able to protect this.  That is a true possibility.  And in that case, we've got one -- two words for you:  Number one, don't infringe on someone else's patent.  Make sure that's the case.  And number two, be aggressive like you've never been aggressive in your life before.  And get out there and be the best in the business.

Jeff Sloan:  I'd add a number three:  Check with a patent attorney.  He or she will tell you exactly whether or not it's patentable.