Dear Uncle, I am currently researching patents in rural fences in Australia (posts, droppers, spreaders, wire, machines, etc.) I have looked at all Australian patents for fence-related material from 1904 to 1995. In the course of this dreadfully tedious research, I amused myself by looking for sundial patents. I found about five or so. When I have some time in the next few months, I intend writing a small note on them for Bulletin of the British Sundial Society.
Patents are basically about money: you want a monopoly on your new idea so that you can benefit from your intellectual property. When the patent expires, then the IP is public domain. Most government Patent Offices have really good information on the procedures and benefits. Most also have web sites which are all linked. But remember that you may spend a lot of money patenting a dial in US or France, but I can legally make it and sell it in Australia unless you have protected it here as well. Ask yourself how much money you can make from the design. Then ask yourself how much it will cost to protect it with patents. THEN ask yourself how much it will cost to take legal action against an infringement. My guess is that the answer is that patenting a dial is not worth the money involved. Of course, if you develop a new drug like Viagra, then the stakes are a bit different!! Dr John Pickard Senior Lecturer (Environmental Planning) Graduate School of the Environment Macquarie University NSW 2109 Australia Sabbatical leave July - December 1998. You can't contact me by phone or fax as I am on sabbatical leave in arid and semi-arid Australia. Please contact me via email or post material to the above address. It will be forwarded regularly.
