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breathmint
Aug 26, 2010, 9:20 PM
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My brother seems to think you can get a "new use" patent on any novel configuration of hardware and stuff which was manufactured by someone else.
I'm skeptical, does that actually happen (or do people have to manufacture all of the stuff which comprises their nifty use of it)?
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johnwesely
Aug 26, 2010, 10:24 PM
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No.
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djlachelt
Aug 26, 2010, 11:26 PM
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breathmint wrote: My brother seems to think you can get a "new use" patent on any novel configuration of hardware and stuff which was manufactured by someone else. I'm skeptical, does that actually happen (or do people have to manufacture all of the stuff which comprises their nifty use of it)?
I'm not a patent lawyer, but have been through the patent process for products before.
I think you could, conceivably, get such a patent. Most patented things are built-up from previously existing things, some of which may already be patented themselves.
But I think you'd have quite a hurdle to get over in this case... is it something that someone "skilled in the art" would not be able to figure out if they were presented with a situation in which the assembly would be useful?
http://en.wikipedia.org/...ary_skill_in_the_art
And then, why would he want to patent it? Is it something you really think you could make money selling? Is it something that someone else could make money selling... and you want to make sure they don't do so without paying you for the right to sell it?
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sspssp
Aug 26, 2010, 11:33 PM
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That would have been correct 30 years ago. But today, if you have a good enough team of lawyers, you can get a patent on just about anything. Say the idea of using a mouse click to buy something...
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johnwesely
Aug 26, 2010, 11:36 PM
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sspssp wrote: That would have been correct 30 years ago. But today, if you have a good enough team of lawyers, you can get a patent on just about anything. Say the idea of using a mouse click to buy something...
Give me an example of someone patenting a specific use of climbing gear.
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breathmint
Aug 26, 2010, 11:57 PM
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djlachelt wrote: But I think you'd have quite a hurdle to get over in this case... is it something that someone "skilled in the art" would not be able to figure out if they were presented with a situation in which the assembly would be useful?
I guess it might be a question of whether various kinds of equipment can be considered "parts", as would nuts and bolts. For instance carabiners are on all kinds of products these days.
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iamthewallress
Aug 27, 2010, 12:15 AM
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If it was novel, non-trivial, and non-obvious, you could patent it, but you'd need a liscence to sell the already patented components.
If the existing patents were written very broadly, the can include uses that weren't very clearly conceived or reduced to practice.
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edm
Aug 27, 2010, 1:10 AM
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iamthewallress wrote: If it was novel, non-trivial, and non-obvious, you could patent it, but you'd need a liscence to sell the already patented components. If the existing patents were written very broadly, the can include uses that weren't very clearly conceived or reduced to practice.
This is basically correct. To be patentable, an invention must be novel, useful, and non-obvious. Many (if not most) patents are improvements on existing inventions. But just because you get a patent does not necessarily give you the right to make, use, or sell your invention if it relies on someone else's patented technology. A patent only gives you the right to prevent others from making, using, or selling your invention.
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fenderfour
Aug 27, 2010, 6:26 PM
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