Klarinet Archive - Posting 000141.txt from 2000/08

From: "Keith" <100012.1302@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] RE: klarinet Digest 8 Aug 2000 08:15:01 -0000 Issue 2453
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 09:06:01 -0400

Hi Doug,

Good advice from Scott. My company also patents things. It costs about
$30,000 to get sufficient worldwide coverage (USA, Europe, Japan), plus some
$1000 a year to maintain a patent, plus whatever it costs to defend it in
court. As Scott says, don't divulge things that you are going to patent. US
law actually allows you a year from "full completion" of the invention
during which you may disclose things without losing your right to patent,
but this completion may have already taken place in your development - it
does not have to be public (the ramifications of this are not clear, as it
was a recent Supreme Court decision that changed current practice). But
European law is draconian - ANY disclosure except in total confidence will
void a patent application.

And note that patent law is very, very heavily slanted in favour of the
large companies.

But I sense this is not what you want. By the above laws, full disclosure
will stop anyone else patenting it even in the USA. The best way is to
publicise your ideas widely, so nobody has an excuse to claim originality.
Technically, web publication will do, but you'd be better off doing an
article (The Clarinet?) so that it is solidly in print. You will then have
design copyright on your ideas, which won't get you any money but should
achieve your objective. Make sure the disclosure is complete and not just
partial throw-aways.

Cheers

Keith Bowen

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 20:37:09 GMT
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> From: "Scott Morrow" <scottdmorrow@-----.com>
> Subject: patents
> Message-ID: <F74xrhpKk2v1kF5JMyH00003fe1@-----.com>
>
> Doug,
> I've just been going through this process myself (but not for
> clarinet-related products!)
>
> First: DO NOT POST OR DIVULGE ANY INFO about your invention!
> Search the following website for prior art (patents for
> inventions that are
> similar to yours):
>
> http://www.patents.ibm.com/
>
> You will have to be able to explain why your invention is better
> than these
> (find about three prior patents for examples). Ultimately, it is
> up to the
> Patent Office to decide if your invention is "obvious" or not.
>
> It does cost lots of money to get a patent. (I'm doing mine through Johns
> Hopkins, which will pay for the cost in exchange for having the rights -
> though they do give a percentage to the inventor!). You might
> check to see
> if your place of employment has similar programs. If not, you
> might want to
> contact a clarinet manufacturer (again, without divulging details of your
> design at first!) to see if they might be interested in pursuing it with
> you.
>
> Good luck!
> -Scott
>
> >Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 13:13:08 -0700
> >To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> >From: "Doug Sears" <dsears@-----.net>
> >Subject: patents
> >Message-ID: <009801bfffe2$bd626fe0$420424d8=bigd>
> >
> >I'm coming up with ideas for improved keywork that I think might be
> >patentable, but my intention is for them to be available for
> anyone to use.
> >What would it take to make them public and keep anyone else from
> patenting
> >them? Would putting some drawings up on a web site and
> mentioning the URL
> >on
> >Klarinet be enough?
> >
> > --Doug

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