Hi Luke and everyone: You wrote:
> As far as patenting a sundial design, >I would say don't bother. Firstly, it will cost you about $5k to file it >yourself and a lot more should you need to enforce it. I seriously doubt >any sundial designer could afford such litigation. A patent gives you a >legal recourse but not the cash to peruse it! If you want something nice >to hang next to your diploma(s) then go for it but it will cost AT LEAST >$5k, not that the diploma(s) were any less expensive... An artist friend told me of an easy and inexpensive way to protect your intellectual property: Instead of spending a small fortune to get a patent for your sundial, you can apply for a copyright instead. The way to do this is to register your sundial as a "Sculpural work of the visual arts". You must use the copyright registration short form VA that is used to register "published and unpublished works of the visual arts, including pictoral, graphic, and sculptural works". A copyright only costs 20.00 $ ! For more information, call the U.S. copyright office 24 hr. hotline at (202) 707-9100 or go to the Copyright Home Page at: <http://www.loc.gov/copyright> But this doesn't solve the dilemma of "co-inventors". They would still need to come to some agreement as to who owns the copyright. A couple of possible different solutions come to me, but I don't know if they are legal or not: 1) The original author of the article could sell or give his property rights to the manufacturer. 2) Both parties could seek joint ownership of the copyright. 3) Both parties reach a gentlemans' agreement, sealed with a handshake and a free sundial. (Then the original author dies and his wife sues the manufacturer for rights!) Perhaps there are other solutions? Thanks for your thoughts, John > >-Luke > >
