A question about patents... lawsuits

[Garageaholic]

This whole M30 cooling Fiasco i had been dealing with for the past couple years let me to a great idea in order to cool the engine. I looked for the patents online and it turns out that a patent had been created for an idea VERY SIMILAR in 2006. In fact, a similar patent had been created back in 1921 about the same principle, but the system was different.

How can I get around this to get a patent? Is it even worth it getting a patent? I know it's not a multimillion dollar idea. I'm just trying to make an extra buck here and there. I just don't want to get sued. I heard that all I have to do really is slightly modify my invention from the previous invention and call it my own.

Any Ideas???

It was an incredible coincidence that the system i came up with was so so similar to this other guy's patent last year.

[BeirBrennerE30]

you know its gonna cost you multi-thousand dollars to get your patent right??

[JasonC]

you know its gonna cost you multi-thousand dollars to get your patent right??

That what i was thinking, i thought it was aroung $12,000. But maybe i was misinformed?

[Justin B]

You can do your own patents then have a patent lawyer just look over your work and sign off on them for a hell of a lot less than letting a lawyer do all of the work themselves. However, it is a LOT of work, and still will cost a couple G's. There are BIG BIG books out there telling you how to do it yourself, what different kinds of patents there are, how you're protected by a patent and how much you have to change to make a new patent of your own off an existing idea.

[LINUS]

I had a friend look into this when he was trying to patent a corded assembly that plugged into your cordless power tools & then a 110v outlet when you got ahead of the charge cycle on a project.

It came out to be $4K and that was with him doing all the legwork, and just having the patent lawyer review & coach him.

[Garageaholic]

Wow, i knew it was alot, just didn't hear any stories like what you're talking about. That's pretty crazy.


What if i say, Fuck it, and build a prototype myself. I know i leave myself open to a lawsuit, But for the most part, would it be worth it to sue me?, especially if i'm not making thousands of dollars a week. Would it be worth it to the patentee? The financial ramifications of suing somebody over a patent...

[bmwpower]

And don't forget, that even if you have a patent, other companies can still copy your idea completely or partially and call it their own. It's your job to then go sue them for the rights. If this was a big company, guess who wins.

My father-in-law is going through something similar and it's not fun watching all your hard work being swallowed up by a bigger fish.

...and I believe it was around $10-15k for his, too.

[Garageaholic]

Hahaha, i checked the current patent. it's just a guy, not a company. But you're right, anybody can copy my idea and call it their own as well. If a big company does it, then I guess that I lose....

It's not marketed at all. The patent itself consists of a couple of PDF drawings highlighting in rather rough detail highlighting the overall principle. I can EASILY call it my own by putting many different twists in the design. I already have alot of ideas to change the design pretty dramatically.

[bmwpower]

Not 100% sure, but the person listed may work for a big company and they will protect their employee. I'm not sure if this is the typical way patents are listed. I guess you may never know who the current patent owner works for, if anyone, unless you do some digging.

[Justin B]

Go find yourself a good patent book. It's an interesting read if nothing else. The one I was looking through at one time was called Patent It Yourself by David Pressman (12th edition ['06 I think]). It's a good investment if you even have an idea of going after a patent of your own. The books are between 60 and 100 bucks, but if you're serious, it can save you a lot of money.
Here's a link to the most popular patent books on amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/Most-Popular-Patent-Books/lm/3JFPKTNP9T022

I'd look around to be sure its the most up to date edition though, as the one I saw was 12th, whereas the one there is 8th..

[Jscotty]

When it comes to patent laws, you can only patent a product and a design for a product. You cannot patent an idea. So if you come up with a method for changing the oil without having to get under the car and pulling the plug then it is essentially not infringement even though someone else has already made such a device. You only have to be concerned about it is if your design is identical to a design that someone else already thought of.

Like when Bell invented the telephone, he did not infringe on the guy who actually invented it 6 months earlier. They had the same idea but they had two completely different designs. You could legally create a device to communicate with someone using wires, microphones, amplifiers and speakers but if you cracked open a 500 series desk phone and used the exact same components and marketed it as your own invention then THAT would be infringement.

[Fanzotti]

You can get a patent pending for like $600 bucks that will protect you for a year. You can pay a lawyer to patent your Idea for probably around 10-20,000. If you're Idea has a design change to the old one it is patentable. If you're selling on a small scale and are somewhat infringing on someone else's patent the most they're gonna really do is get you to stop, in reality it is to expensive for them to sue you.