I agree with those who have already cited the likely waste of funds in pursuing a patent on sundial. Of course, I did not follow that advice years ago in obtaining my sundial patent. I had obtained the book on writing a patent application and did a patent search myself. However, I realized that application language must be 'just right' to avoid the rejection/reapplication cycled that one can get into. The attorney I hired did get it right and the patent went through on the first pass which even he admitted was not the norm.
Why did I pursue the patent. First, I had been burned by a major retailer (The Nature Company...now Discovery Stores) who, after being presented the opportunity to sell one of my moon phase calendar designs, hired an artist to create a ripoff version. Attorneys estimated that it would take a minimum of $20,000 to get them to court and that I would likely lose. Without that kind of funding, I proceeded to try to outdo them in the marketplace. As of this year, Discovery appears to not have produced a year 2000 version - which may mean that I did ultimately beat them in sales. A second reason I pursued obtaining a patent on my sundial is that I intended to mass market it (still in the works). Under such a circumstance (a mass marketable sundial), I thought I would have a better shot at licensing the design or seeking protection against likely copycats if it proved successful. All of this remains to be seen. I highly recommend the publications from NOLO PRESS (www.nolo.com). They have legal self-help publications including excellent ones on Trademarks, Copyrights, and Patents. In one or all of these are forms and boilerplate for various situations. An important one that can be used in conjunction with approaching a potential partner, manufacturer, investor, etc. is a non-disclosure agreement. While this document can provide some legal foothold if the other party runs off with your idea, I believe its main use in providing an indication that you are serious about your work and that you would pursue legal efforts if they violate the rules. Even though I am attempting to widely market a sundial design, I highly doubt there is a possibility of any sundial making a 'killing' in the marketplace. I have found dialists to be highly enthusiastic in sharing ideas and methods to improve their dials. I would hate to see the development of deliberate attempts to 'steal' from a fellow dialist and not acknowledge the contribution (by word and/or compensation). FYI, my patent application and attorney fees were around $2,500...over 10 years ago. Larry Bohlayer All MAIL: Celestial Products, Inc. P.O. Box 801 Middleburg, VA 20118-0801 UPS/FEDEX/RPS/AIRBORNE shipping: Celestial Products, Inc. 20659 St. Louis Rd. Philomont, Virginia 20131 U.S.A. USA (Eastern Time Zone or -5 UT) EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] VOICE: 540-338-4040 FAX: 540-338-4042 ORDER LINE: 800-235-3783 http://www.celestialproducts.com
