Patent

Makethemost

Hi,

I was looking into an idea i had and found that there is a patent in place to cover exactly what i was thinking. I dont know a lot about patents but it seems that it is an international one.

Has anyone else experienced this, and is there any way around it?
I know people may suggest to slightly change the product from what is patented but at the moment i dont think i can.

Cheers for your time guys.

CapedCrusader

Makethemost wrote: »

Hi,

I was looking into an idea i had and found that there is a patent in place to cover exactly what i was thinking. I dont know a lot about patents but it seems that it is an international one.

Has anyone else experienced this, and is there any way around it?
I know people may suggest to slightly change the product from what is patented but at the moment i dont think i can.

Cheers for your time guys.

Can you put an MP3 player in it? :-)

Joseph

What is the idea? If it's patented internationally should be no problem to say it, it'd give us a better idea anyway i guess

515

There is no such thing as an 'international patent' as such. The product must be patented in each country individually. So, if there is no Irish patent you can make, sell and use the idea here without a problem... but you cannot get an Irish patent for it yourself since the idea isn't novel, so anyone else can use the idea too.

If there is an Irish patent in place then you need the permission of the patent holder to use the idea here. Why not license the invention from the person who owns the patent? You would agree to give them a percentage of your sales in return for being allowed to use the patent. You could negotiate an exclusive license for Ireland, meaning only you could use the invention here.

Makethemost

Thanks for the info; what I need to do now is determine if I will have enough interest throughout the process to see it to the end.

What ever I choose to proceed with I want to ensure the idea is something that interests me as it will be easier to work on.

Have any of you guys taken an idea and brought it through from start to finish, including patents?

Cheers

515

Makethemost wrote: »

Thanks for the info; what I need to do now is determine if I will have enough interest throughout the process to see it to the end.

What ever I choose to proceed with I want to ensure the idea is something that interests me as it will be easier to work on.

Have any of you guys taken an idea and brought it through from start to finish, including patents?

Cheers

That depends on what you term the 'finish'. I have taken an idea from concept, through patents, investments, licensing negotiations etc.

Inventing is difficult. There will be times of despair. If you don't have 100% passion and belief in it you will give it up. You might get lucky and get to a deal quickly, but that (especially in this climate) is extremely unlikely. You have to want it with every fiber of your being.

The process is varied, which I love. But if you only care about the technology you won't want to do the accounting (which is even more important)... if you only care about the sales you won't focus enough on the production... You have to understand/learn every aspect of the business.

Long story short I lost a LOT of money... but I enjoyed it and wouldn't change it. If you want a quick buck it's not for you, but if you really want to develop the idea, go for it.

Hope that helps.

Pines

Whoa there.

You have found what you call an "international patent". That's almost certainly an International (PCT) Application. You can tell by looking at the number on the front which will be something like "WO2008/012345" - the WO tells you this is what you're dealing with.

Next step: establish what happened (or is currently happening) with this patent application. There's a long way between applying for a PCT application and getting a granted Irish (or European) patent. As 515 said, only a granted patent in force in Ireland can be used to sue you ... but after it has been published, the inventor may have some provisional rights (i.e. at the end of the day he might be able to claim damages for infringements happening right now, even if the patent is only granted in a couple of years time.

antoinolachtnai

It would be very foolish to start a business where there was a prospect of a patent knobbling you later on.

Why don't you get some advice from a patent lawyer and/or an experienced engineer on how strong and progressed the patent or application actually is (a european patent has to be technical, not just a business method or idea) and then go and find the guy who made the application.

Then do a deal with him if you can.

This is how many successful commercial inventions come about. (For example, this is more or less how the well-known test for animal hormones was developed by an Irish company.)

Even from meeting him, you will benefit from his experience and knowledge. If you don't do business, at least you know what you are dealing with later on. If you do go on to do business you'll probably succeed better together.