CS Enthusiasts, I have a few thoughts on patents to add to the good suggestions several have put forward. What Marshall says about having one year to make application is important, and after that it can be necessary to make several periodic disclosures, to update any new knowledge about the invention. For example, just before we reached my one year deadline we filed the application, then afterwards I got a new understanding about why the filter is permeable. So I had to send that information to the patent office.
Then a year later, when the examiner looked at the patent he decided it should really be two patents, his reasoning not very good, but I won't go into that. It turned out that mounting a challenge would not be very cost effective, so we began the process of applying for a second patent. That covers our new understanding of permeability, as well as those parts the patent examiner objected to. And who knows what he may object to the second time around. It's important to understand that getting a patent can become a continuing process, a bit more cash down each time. Then there are the international patents, each country or grouping of countries having a somewhat different approach to patent law. For example, I recently returned from a trip to neighboring Myanmar (Burma) where there has been no legislation concerning intellectual property since 1947. So the operative law is what was written in India at that time, questions remaining as to whether or not their government recognizes this. So in Myanmar, for example, publishing to a number of local newspapers is the only way to seek recognition of intellectual property. But whether in Myanmar, the U.S. or wherever, patents don't really mean much until one gets to court. A big part of the whole deal is giving would be competitors the impression you're holding a big stick. But this also means that if in court someone comes up with an embodiment of your invention that you did not anticipate, you could be in trouble, losing part of the legal battle. As to publishing on the internet this is also important. But to add to what's been said I think it's also important to print the web site. Some undependable web servers have glitches that cause the material not to be presented as one intended, or your html was not skillfully rendered. And firmly establishing the date of publication is important. It is not considered excessive to get hard copy of your publication then seal it in an envelope and mail it to yourself. Go to your local post office and make sure the date of cancellation on the stamp is legible. Then the letter should only be opened in court, when the legal action is happening. I suppose a lot has to do with how good an idea went into your invention. The more profitable the more worth stealing, then all the seemingly nit picky details of protection become well worth it. If someone has illicitly been making money on your invention, part of the award will be all of their profits. I suppose this could appear to be rather a money grubbing approach for someone who claims not to be in it for the cash dollar! A little story here: ten years ago a patent examiner rejected two applications of mine, saying the inventions were too similar to earlier ones of my own for these new ones to be patentable. My attorney was incensed and appealed. The appeal examiner came back with much the same ruling. My attorney was incensed a second time and appealed to Federal court, the last possible venue. This time it was a judge who knew a lot about patent law and he overturned the earlier rejections. He even went out of his way to bash the examiners a bit, though quite eloquently. Anyhow, got a good idea you want to patent? Doing so does not make it a done deal. Verbose Reid -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
