What was the process like?
Never one related to surveying. Do you have an invention to help surveyors, or are you talking about a land patent?
When I worked for a large corporation I submitted several patent applications for modest improvements in electronic implementations. They had an attorney on staff with some patent training, who rewrote what I submitted to use the proper lawyer terms and sent it to a full-time patent lawyer to review, research, and file.
I'm sure it cost them a lot of money, which they spent to build up their list of patents as a defense against other companies. In the event of a dispute, they basically played "patent poker" and usually each had enough things to claim against each other and called it a draw.
The patent process is supposed to weed out things that are trivial and not novel, but it doesn't work. A guy got a patent on the use of a laser pointer to entertain a cat, just to prove that. Even the good ones are hard to enforce unless the infringement is obvious in someone else's product - what's buried inside a gadget is often hard to determine. Sometimes, but rarely, is a patent worth a lot of royalties.
Just like writing deed descriptions or benchmark recoveries, there is a "style" to be followed. Read some patents in the field of interest to get the flavor and see if you can claim you have something unique.
There is a general description so a reader might understand what you did, and then the important part, the claims. It is important to claim all the easy variations on your creation. The list of claims looks highly redundant, but must cover every variation you can think of. Don't say made of plastic if metal or wood could be used. Don't nail it down to right-handed if it can work left-handed, etc. Don't say two when you can say multiplicity.
Months or years after filing, you get a list of similar patents that already have been issued, and you have to go through pointing out how yours is different from each one. Sometimes you wonder why they had to ask, and sometimes it is hard to point out a significant difference.
After a few years, if things go well, you get advertisements from companies wanting to sell you a plaque with your patent cover page on it, and you know it was issued.
This is getting long. What was the question?
I had a potential client a couple months ago who wanted to file a patent claim against the Feds to gain sole possession of their property. I'm talking 2.5 acres in BFE desert in NW AZ, no elec or water. Ok, not so great to live but as a surveyor it's a great place to survey.
They wanted to get the original land patent back from the grantors. Opps, it was subdivided in the late 60's. All those people are dead. They own 2 lots with public road frontage, including utility rights.
I told them that they can't do that. You bought a lot in a legal subdivision. You cannot "vacate" your lots via whatever somebody told you to release you from the provisions set forth in your subdivision. Short of that you need to re-subdivde and I can help you with that. Retainer is $$$$ Period. End of story.
They called back a bunch of times and I did not want to be involved. Kind of political I suppose? Pick and choose, right all you other croonies out there.
As far as getting a patent or copywright on your surveys. Notta. You are bound by your state laws. When in doubt - record your survey. Worry about the fallout later, but you'll still sleep better
Thank you, good info and enjoyed the read. It is a device related to improving surveying. I have been reading prior art, as they call it.
I had an idea that I thought about patenting. "Rod Condoms": basically really big rubbers for level rods for when doing sewer inverts.
For some reason I talked myself out of it.
I was advised once to document, in detail, the plans/drawings, descriptions, pictures, etc. and send a certified copy to myself and never open it to prove you had the idea first should that issue arise.
I did pursue a patent once while at Unisys Corp. They had a legal department who dealt only with that kind of stuff and were happy to help. I ended up leaving the company before the process went much further.
If your thing is an improvement on something that already exists, you'd better be ready to back up why your claim is a "substantial" improvement and not just something cosmetic. [as an example]. I was advised that as well.
In my case, it was more of a software engineering and implementation deal which was super difficult to get back then. Not so much anymore.
Occasionally I hear a caller on Herman Cain's show going through this and are asking him his advice. I imagine Clark Howard would have something about his well. Check their websites. I'm sure they'll have info posted.
One thing I have heard both of the say is to NOT, EVER, go through a patent broker.
Good luck.
Eric.
Just an FYI: When I was researching the filing a patent about 15 years ago my atty specifically told me that although lots of people do the mail the plans to yourself routine, that it will give you no protection in the future against claims. It is no better then just having a set of plans notarized.
I "invented" an adjustable highway curve drawing tool. It could draw a geometrically accurate curve up to an infinite radius based on the fact that the angle at any point along the curve between the beginning and the endpoints remains the same. So 2 arms with an adjustable angle and a pen or pencil at the vertex would slide along a fixed base.
I first did my own patent search and found an old patent that was somewhat similar, but mine was much better. Then I paid a few hundred for a search that found a few patents that were also similar, but not as good, but did not turn up the one that I found myself.
At the time (late eighties) I was starting using cad and could see that drawing highway curves by hand was not the future, so I gave up.
A few years later, I invented what I thought would make me rich and famous. My Orbital Clock had the minute hand mounted on the end of the second hand and the hour hand mounted on the end of the minute hand. I won a design competition at the Watch and Clock Trade Show in NYC Javits Convention Center. Art galleries in New York and Boston were selling my clocks. It was an Alexander Calder Mobile on a horizontal axis that kept perfect time.
So I went for the patent. My own patent search and a $1K search turned up nothing. I spent about $5K for a patent application. It was rejected because there was in fact an existing patent. My Atty. pushed me to re-apply for all the ways my clock was better than the existing patent. But I was getting ready to move back to St. John from Mass. I didn't have the $$ and was discouraged. The lawyer tried to bill me for the time he spent trying to get me to spend more money.
It was quite an education. I learned that the patent business is mostly a rich man's hobby. The actual value of all US patents is exceeded by the money spent on searches, applications and marketing.
If you have a great idea, go for it with low expectations, and you might get great satisfaction out of it.
I've been retained as an Expert on some patent squabbles regarding photogrammetric concepts and stuff. Patent Law appears to be written by Martians, as far as I'm concerned. To my amazement, the big deal in squabbles is not the gizmo itself but the CLAIMS that are spelled out in the patent regarding the potential possibilities.
The minutiae attorneys go through to explain and justify phrases in patent claims are astounding.
They would have me read a patent and ask me to explain what it meant. Based on a half-hour's explanation from me, they'd then run up a month's worth of billable hours and then come back to me for another explanation, and so forth. They pay good, but it's a pittance in comparison to what they probably bill the client.
i have filed for a patent. the system does not actually require you to hire an attorney, but you will save months or years and even money by hiring an attorney, if you can shell out the 5k retainer. my process has been ongoing for 4 straight years. I have contacted all the major survey tool companies and have found this process of looking for a manufacturing partner very discouraging. my claims have been rejected and that is discouraging also - but I'm still in the process because the USPTO gives you many chances to make it work. good luck!
ww co pls
- Have a nice day! or may your monument prevail over some guy's touchscreen.
