| AMS's exhaust manifold design but Mike Smith beat them to the shelf? Or did ebay invent the supersplit expansion downpipe, then China stumble across it one day, and then Greg Dupree catch wind of the concept via telephone signal bleed through and produce it (while also understanding Chinese to boot)? With all the current developments, or should I say, Rob and Duplication (that's automotive aftermarket definition of "R&D") going on within our little community, I've personally (and officially) taken a step I should have taken long ago with some of my products previously released: Provisional Patenting. It is an inexpensive, short term solution that ensures your legal right as the sole producer of your product(s) and enjoy the benefit of your creation(s) without fear of being undercut by some unscrupulous individual or company that simply copied your product. There are many companies that offer this service and at very reasonable rates and within incredibly short timeframes (like, within 24 hours - fast). "A Provisional Patent is a fairly new US Patent filing (available since 1995) and allows the inventor the quickest, least expensive federal protection (patent pending) for his or her invention. " "A Provisional patent application lasts for 12 months and cannot be renewed or extended without filing a Utility patent application before the Provisional expires. The inventor should use this time wisely and begin marketing and developing his product as soon as he has filed the Provisional filing. The inventor should file a full Utility application within the 12 month provisional period in order to continue his or her patent pending protection." This approach to protecting yourself, especially with the "free for all" practices that we have seen as of late (although this is something that has been ongoing for a long time) fits rather nicely into our niche market. You'll have one year of "coverage" to determine if your product is financially lucritive enough to apply for a full patent. For less than $200 you can have this security. In the recent past we have seen some products released by companies which are highly questionable WRT who "designed" it (I'm not pointing fingers as that is not the nature of this post) and have seen rebuttal from said companies where properties of simple economics were quoted to rationalize the actions. Two things I see here: Without a patent on a product, any individual releasing a new design is giving that design away for free - a "free for all". In this scenario where a product is blatently reproduced, the inventor must rely on how they rationalized not getting at least a provisional patent in the first place. However, there is a bigger picture. One of my initial thoughts a few years back about patents was that we aren't dealing with products on scales where predicted sales and profit margins offer assurance to enable covering the cost of obtaining a patent as well as legally pursuing an infringement case. A provisional patent solves this conundrum. Bottom line is: having the ability to stamp that infamous "Patent Pending" notice on your products will certainly provide the peace of mind that the large majority of individuals who would pursue copying and selling your product will likely be discouraged from doing so. "The primary part of financial damages which an infringer will have to pay is money to compensate the inventor for the infringer’s wrongful use of the patented invention. The specific amount, which can be determined by either a jury or the court, is typically calculated by figuring out what the infringer would have had to pay if he had legally licensed the invention, which is known as a royalty rate. Under special circumstances, the court can take this royalty amount and award triple the amount, known as “treble damages.” This is done where the infringer was found to act willfully, that is, knowing there was a patent in existence and infringing anyway. The reason treble damages are awarded, giving the patent owner three times what he is entitled to, is to act as a deterrent to infringers. Otherwise, someone could find out about a patent and infringe thinking that one of two things happens - they do not get caught, or they get caught and simply pay what they would have paid as a royalty anyway. In addition to the money intended to compensate the patent owner, the infringer is also likely to be required to pay interest on the money owed as well as the patent owner’s court costs.
The old "unspoken respect for fellow Z32 product developers" approach which has somewhat worked (and that is even a stretch) obviously isn't cutting it anymore." Pretty stiff penalties.. The beauty of this is...... well, what else can I say? Provisional Patent - what a wonderful idea! :) See:
[ http://www.24hrpatent.com/provisional_patent?gclid=CM7qgsb-kZICFQ58PAodPWzhhQ ]
[ ashspecz.com ]
[ agpowers@bellsouth.net ] Enthusiasts soon understand each other. --W. Irving.
Are you an enthusiast? If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.
Albert Einstein
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