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Post by ayezatulbrite on Apr 22, 2012 19:43:04 GMT -5
at some point I have to try and make some money out of this discovery / invention that I have made...
so I was gonna visit a company with an annual turnover of 60 million UK pounds (the wee "pound" sign ain't workin for some reason)
I was thinking I could ask them for 20,000. I don't really want a long drawn out legal process or any lawyers involved at all, just a one off big payment, the sooner the better!
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Post by StormInateacup on Apr 22, 2012 20:16:54 GMT -5
at some point I have to try and make some money out of this discovery / invention that I have made... so I was gonna visit a company with an annual turnover of 60 million UK pounds (the wee "pound" sign ain't workin for some reason) I was thinking I could ask them for 20,000. I don't really want a long drawn out legal process or any lawyers involved at all, just a one off big payment, the sooner the better! You need to have your patent set up first or they'll just get all your drawings and specs and make the fucker themselves, cutting you out of the deal. Seriously...a patent registration is not that expensive and it will give you a modicum of protection from corporate privacy....what does the doohickey do again?? Summat about your DVD I know.
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Post by ayezatulbrite on Apr 22, 2012 21:15:55 GMT -5
Well I could give the patent thing a try. Even a Patent Pending carries some weight in a negotiation. But I don't want to give them the details only to be ripped off. They could probably pick holes in the patent. I just want them to give me some money and then I tell show them what it is. But they might think "FUCK YOU!!!" For all they know, I could just be some nutter trying to collect 20 grand only to tell them about the capacitor or the inductor - which they already know about! On the other hand, if I tell them what it is and tell them that I have applied for a patent and then ask them for 20 grand, they might think: "FUCK YOU!!! we're not giving you 20 grand for that. That patent has got more holes in it than a Swiss cheese!" The problem is that it is very, very simple. A 12 year old could copy it. It has plausible deniability. It would be easy to copy it and then plead ignorance. It's just that I'm the only bugger that tried it and I'm the only bugger that knows about it! If I ask for more than 20,000 they might try to rip me off or challenge me in court. Maybe I'm not asking for enough? It's all a bit too much like Russian Roulette at the moment and I don't really trust judges either. I think they usually adjudicate in favour of whichever party spends the most money on lawyers. The question is: do I trust the company??? www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/Speakers/Overview.html
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Post by StormInateacup on Apr 22, 2012 21:28:23 GMT -5
Well I could give the patent thing a try. Even a Patent Pending carries some weight in a negotiation. But I don't want to give them the details only to be ripped off. They could probably pick holes in the patent. I just want them to give me some money and then I tell show them what it is. But they might think "FUCK YOU!!!" For all they know, I could just be some nutter trying to collect 20 grand only to tell them about the capacitor or the inductor - which they already know about! On the other hand, if I tell them what it is and tell them that I have applied for a patent and then ask them for 20 grand, they might think: "FUCK YOU!!! we're not giving you 20 grand for that. That patent has got more holes in it than a Swiss cheese!" The problem is that it is very, very simple. A 12 year old could copy it. It has plausible deniability. It would be easy to copy it and then plead ignorance. It's just that I'm the only bugger that tried it and I'm the only bugger that knows about it! If I ask for more than 20,000 they might try to rip me off or challenge me in court. Maybe I'm not asking for enough? It's all a bit too much like Russian Roulette at the moment and I don't really trust judges either. I think they usually adjudicate in favour of whichever party spends the most money on lawyers. The question is: do I trust the company??? www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/Speakers/Overview.htmlGet a patent in place..you need to see a patent attorney..or one of those inventor shows they have on the tele...you must have one of those. even we do.
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Post by Tofu DeBeast on Apr 22, 2012 21:52:43 GMT -5
Yeah a patent is recommended. Not sure where you are or what the process is like there, but here in the US you pretty much need a lawyer and it will be pricey. If you are serious about the idea and think it is worth it then go for it. But know that the deck is stacked against the individual inventors.
And just because you can get a patent on it doesn't mean the idea is any good. Not trying to judge your idea or anything (I don't even know what it is). To get a patent filed a lawyer has to write it up in legalese, and most the time they get it way off and you have to correct them, because let's face it they are lawyers not engineers. And the patent office half the time won't understand it either, and may grant it just because it isn't obviously bollocks and isn't a duplicate of something already filed. This has been my experience in the semiconductor field anyway, when I was working R&D.
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Post by Tofu DeBeast on Apr 22, 2012 22:05:53 GMT -5
Where I worked there was an internal patent committee that reviewed all of the ideas before they decided if they should be submitted. Sometimes they would deny an idea simply because it would be impossible to prove if the competition was using it. And once you submit a patent app, it goes into the public record for anyone to see. So instead they would keep it as a "trade secret" - meaning they would implement the idea (maybe) and just hope no one else found out about it.
So yeah, here are some things to think about: 1. Will the idea make money or at least save money (say by making a manufacturing process cheaper)? 2. If someone did steal your idea, would you be able to find out about it and prove it? 3. Do you have the money to go through the patent process? The lawyer will expect to be paid by you and only you--they won't hold out waiting for some business deal to make it all worthwhile for everyone. 4. Has this idea already been patented? There are public websites that you can look up existing patents. I think IBM has one with a good search engine, though it's been forever since I had reason to look at it. No point in hiring a lawyer if the idea has already been disclosed by someone else.
A good lawyer should be able to help answer these questions. Of course they might also not give a shit and push you through the process anyway, since they will get paid whether or not it works out for you.
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Post by StormInateacup on Apr 22, 2012 22:16:12 GMT -5
The thing to keep in mind is that if your invention works to the benefit of the consumer - if it will make it longer lasting, cheaper, less likely to need upgrading...they they wont want it on the market.
Anything which impedes the obsolescence of a consumer durable is commercially non-viable. They bury it.
Like the cars that ran on steam made in a boiler from tap water.
They spent millions making light bulbs that wear out you know?? Light bulbs used to last forever unless you broke them...now they blow.
That did not occur by accident. It was a co-operative research project by all concerned in the manufacture and sales of light bulbs.
It was in first the basis of the world's first cartel...to make a light bulb that didn't last long...and therefore ensure growing sales.
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Post by ayezatulbrite on Apr 22, 2012 22:22:36 GMT -5
I can patent it myself but I'd rather keep expensive lawyers out of it. That's why I'd rather just sell it as a trade secret, a kind of "consultancy fee". Do I need a lawyer to charge a consultancy fee? Because that is essentially what I would be doing.
Patents can be a minefield and I would rather be getting on with my life and the next project.
Maybe I could give them a demonstration and see how impressed they are. Then I could ask them if they would want to do an upfront deal or if they would be prepared to do a joint patent apllication of some kind.
It will be obvious once they have heard it. It makes the graphics card run faster. It even makes the DVD rom play scratchy CDs.
I had an idea about 20 years ago and I went to see someone to discuss it without telling him what it was. Eventually he got annoyed when I did no tell him what it was! I was younger and innocent back then!
OK I can speak to a patent lawyer but I can't properly employ one. Anyway, the original question was "does 20,000 sound a reasonable amount to ask for? Cause I dunno!
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Post by ayezatulbrite on Apr 22, 2012 22:23:49 GMT -5
Off to bed!
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Post by marisol on Apr 22, 2012 22:27:55 GMT -5
I don't think you need a lawyer to get a patent in the US. Have you checked? Call the Patent Office to be sure. If you are not in the US, then I don't know.
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Post by StormInateacup on Apr 22, 2012 22:32:26 GMT -5
I can patent it myself but I'd rather keep expensive lawyers out of it. That's why I'd rather just sell it as a trade secret, a kind of "consultancy fee". Do I need a lawyer to charge a consultancy fee? Because that is essentially what I would be doing. Patents can be a minefield and I would rather be getting on with my life and the next project. Maybe I could give them a demonstration and see how impressed they are. Then I could ask them if they would want to do an upfront deal or if they would be prepared to do a joint patent apllication of some kind. It will be obvious once they have heard it. It makes the graphics card run faster. It even makes the DVD rom play scratchy CDs. I had an idea about 20 years ago and I went to see someone to discuss it without telling him what it was. Eventually he got annoyed when I did no tell him what it was! I was younger and innocent back then! OK I can speak to a patent lawyer but I can't properly employ one. Anyway, the original question was "does 20,000 sound a reasonable amount to ask for? Cause I dunno! Oh nice. That's fucking priceless that is....a TBC reg complaining that I have derailed his thread.....you lot do like pots and fucking kettles as a topic of conversation don't you? Do nuclear fucking reactors ring a bell with you??...or amalgam fucking fillings? Whole milk familiar to you is it? ^^^^^^^ This is the size of the hump I currently have!! And I duuno neever!!
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Post by StormInateacup on Apr 22, 2012 22:34:26 GMT -5
Oh well righty-oh then - night night pet!! **snorts indignantly**
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Post by Tofu DeBeast on Apr 23, 2012 20:06:13 GMT -5
As I see it, the problem is that they won't want to pay anything until they hear the idea, and once they hear the idea they won't have any reason to pay. Perhaps you could get them to agree to some sort of non-disclosure agreement, such that you could tell them the idea and they would be legally bound not to use it without a further business deal being agreed upon. Not sure if that would fly legally.
You might want to post a question on Yahoo! Answers about this (OK stop laughing guys, I'm serious!). Perhaps someone with some experience in this field could give you some real advice.
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Post by StormInateacup on Apr 24, 2012 2:47:40 GMT -5
As I see it, the problem is that they won't want to pay anything until they hear the idea, and once they hear the idea they won't have any reason to pay. Perhaps you could get them to agree to some sort of non-disclosure agreement, such that you could tell them the idea and they would be legally bound not to use it without a further business deal being agreed upon. Not sure if that would fly legally. You might want to post a question on Yahoo! Answers about this (OK stop laughing guys, I'm serious!). Perhaps someone with some experience in this field could give you some real advice. No can do...... sorray.
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Post by ayezatulbrite on Apr 24, 2012 11:17:58 GMT -5
As I see it, the problem is that they won't want to pay anything until they hear the idea, and once they hear the idea they won't have any reason to pay. Perhaps you could get them to agree to some sort of non-disclosure agreement, such that you could tell them the idea and they would be legally bound not to use it without a further business deal being agreed upon. Not sure if that would fly legally. You might want to post a question on Yahoo! Answers about this (OK stop laughing guys, I'm serious!). Perhaps someone with some experience in this field could give you some real advice. I won't tell them what it is. I will simply give them a demonstartion and then say wanna do a deal??? No Disclosure Agreement?? Hmmm maybe.
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