Patent It Yourself - PDF Archive

ChaPter 7 | What SHOULD I do Next? | 173
commercial advantage in the marketplace that competitors
can’t readily copy and obtain. A patent provides a very
highly privileged position: a 17- to 18-year (approximately)
monopoly. Thus if you have a patent application that
already covers your invention, manufacturers may be far
more likely to buy your invention (with its covering patent
application) than if you offered them a “naked” invention
on which they have to take the time and trouble to file a
patent application for you themselves.
Tip
An Exception. Although, as stated, it’s usually
best to file your patent application as soon as possible, it may
be to your advantage to delay and keep the invention secret
or take your chances approaching manufacturers “naked”
if your invention is so innovative that it’s not likely to be
commercialized for many years. Gordon Gould, the inventor of
the laser, did this unintentionally when he delayed in filing his
patent application because he mistakenly believed he needed
a working model to file. His mistake worked to his great
advantage, however, since his delay postponed his monopoly
period so that it coincided with the laser’s commercial period,
thereby turning what would have been a worthless patent into
pure gold.
Common Misconception: You shouldn’t patent your
invention, since someone will see your patent, copy your
invention, and make it more cheaply.
Facts: Copiers rarely use patents as a basis for their
activities. Usually they copy successful products in the
marketplace by reverse engineering. They’ll be less likely to
do this if it is patented, and a patent will enable you to stop
their production or importation, or get royalties from them.
Filing before marketing is so important that I’ve made it
part of the Inventor’s Commandment 9 at the beginning of
this chapter.
D. If You Have Commercial Potential
Without Patentability, License
or Sell Your Invention to a
Manufacturer Without Filing
(Chart Route 16-24-26-28-30-B)
If your invention isn’t patentable (that is—the decision
in Box 16 is negative), don’t give up; there’s still hope.
Many fortunes have been made on products that weren’t
patentable. For instance, the Apple computer made its
designer-promoters, Jobs and Wozniak, multimillionaires,
yet lacked any significant inventive concepts and never was
awarded a major patent. Ditto for Henry Ford’s automobile
and George Eastman’s Kodak camera.
Thus you should now decide, on the basis of your
commercial potential and patentability evaluations,
whether your invention nevertheless possesses “significant
market novelty” (Box 24). If so, it may in fact be quite
profitable if introduced to the market. Put differently, if
your patentability search produces close prior art, but not
a dead ringer, this indicates that probably no one has tried
your specific, particular idea before, although someone has
come close enough to preclude you from getting a patent.
However, if you feel, looking back on your commercialpotential
and patentability evaluations, that it doesn’t have
significant market novelty—that is, there’s little chance of
commercial success—then there isn’t much hope and you’ll
have to try again (Box X).
Assuming that your invention does have significant
market novelty (Box 24) but does not qualify for a utility
patent, there are several ways that you can use to obtain
proprietary rights on your invention and make it more
attractive to potential manufacturers. Let’s take a closer
look at these.
1. Record Conception Properly
While recording conception won’t provide you with any
rights against independent creators, or “reverse engineers,”
it will establish (a) you as the inventor, and (b) the date of
your invention, so you’ll be able to prove that you invented
it and when you did so. This will be of great help in stopping
any invention thieves who copy it illegally before it’s out.
(Chapter 3, Section C.)
2. Provide a Clever Trademark
One good way to make your invention more attractive
is to provide a clever trademark for it (Box 26). As stated
in Chapter 1, Section O, a trademark is a brand name for
a product. An excellent type of brand name is one that
suggests the function of the product in a very clever way.
A clever trademark can be a very powerful marketing
tool—that is, a tool that will greatly enhance the value and
salability of your invention and give you added proprietary
rights to sell to a manufacturer. Examples of clever,
suggestive trademarks are Ivory for a soap and Hushpuppy
for shoes. Also consider Sunkist citrus fruit, Shasta soft
drinks, Roach Motel roach traps, Heavyhands exercise
weights, Sun Tea beverage containers, and Walk man
portable tape players.