Say I'm putting parts together to be part of a product I want to sell. This product specifically has GPS, Speed, etc..... It then sends the data periodically through mobile towers to a website. This website then does it's own analysis and charges the user a monthly fee to use this site.

Does anyone know of any patent problems? I've been reading into patents lately and a bit nervous about these kinds of legal issues but what I am proposing is so common that I'm not sure if I need to be worry.

Any thoughts?

 

Until you start making and accumulating enough money to be noticed patent trolls won't care what you do legal or otherwise.

You have to be worth something to be worth going after.

 

yeah I was kinda thinking of that too. Like.... it's probably ridiculous to sue me for 1million dollar when I don't have the money.

 

You can use patented items in something that you patent. Also, if it is so common, then why try to patent? What patent issues are you afraid of?

 

I'm not exactly aware of any specific patent pertaining to what I want to build, but I just don't know enough about patents so I'm just generally afraid.... The device is really just an apparatus use to send data.

 

Realistically I wouldn't worry about it being that technically every single component, sub component and piece of hardware and the very materials each and all are made from is in itself likely patented someplace.

The screws, whatever materials it's made from, the battery you use, the buttons, the wiring and so forth. All previously patterned items you are just assembling in a different way just like everyone else's complex device is made of that doesn't get questioned for patent infringement for having used them.

 

Here is the deal with patents. It depends on the holder. If it is an individual you can infringe to your heart's content and dare the holder to sue you. If he does sue you you can try to outspend him and break the patent or you can stop doing what you are doing. It all depends on what is at stake and how deep your pockets are.

If on the other hand it is a large corporation and their pockets are deeper than yours, then you fold your tent and move on, because you will probably lose.

 

The bottom line is that a patent is only a, "right to sue". The only thing that matters is money, as Papa said. Design something devastatingly profitable and a big corporation will steal it right off your patent application and laugh at you. Be too small to rob, and you probably won't have any trouble. Use parts made by other corporations in your product and they will most likely give you a discount for volume purchases.

 

You are doing post processing on outputs from patented devices. Once someone see's how you are doing it, they might do the same ... only presented differently. Your contribution is how you do the post processing. You could be opening a new market, or competing in an older market.

You know this forum software is copyrighted. AAC is one of many using this software in the same type of market.

 

The worst case scenario for infringing is that you'll be asked to stop, and to pay some portion of your profits (the part that was due to the infringement, as determined by a jury) to whoever sues you and wins. They can't take more than that unless there are punitive damages for being a serial infringer. It costs millions to sue for infringement. So unless you are making millions and have a lot at stake, there's very little concern.

 

If you are interested in United States patents, you can perform your own patent search on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.
https://www.uspto.gov/patents-application-process/search-patents

If you find that your invention has already been patented you might be able to get permission from the patent holder to manufacture and market the invention and the terms will probably very even easier if the invention is not in commercial use.

Even if already patented you can make and use the invention without need for permission as long as it is for personal use.

It is often better to know the status of your invention before you invest heavily in it. On the other hand, patent attorneys have told me that doing a patent search can lead to greater problems because if one knowing infringes on a patent one can be liable for treble damages (3X).

All of the above applies to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patent practices and laws vary from country-to-county.

 

Also note that the first page of a patent had a filing date. Any filing dates before March 6, 1997 are expired. Also, patents require a maintenance fee every few years. The patent office can tell you if fees on a particular patent are current. If not paid in a reasonable time, the US patent office considers the patent "abandon" and public domain - assuming there are not other patents in the assignees "patent family" with similar claims and current fees paid.

It can be a mess to get through. Big corporations have big office buildings for a reason.

 

If you are interested in United States patents, you can perform your own patent search ...

Of course that is true, but I gave up trying to judge existing patents. We lost a multi-million dollar patent suit once even though our technology duplicated prior art that had even been cited in a competitor's patent. Some of their claims should have been thrown out due to the prior art, but the patent examiner failed to do their job and the patent issued. Our competitor's lawyers were at least as stunned as we were when they won. They had patented prior art that they did not invent, and made millions by doing that.

In a related case, we invented technology outside the claims of the competitor's patent. They saw what we did (by examining our commercial product), and amended their own patent claims to include our new technology. They succeeded and once again the lawyers were stunned. We had to stop using an invention we had created because a competitor essentially patented it after we shipped product.

My point is that you cannot read a patent and make a solid judgment on its potential impact on your own business. There's so much more to it. Even a lawyer's opinion is just that, a guess on the odds.

A patent is a bit like a dog growling over a bone. It communicates that the holder of the patent is staking a claim in an area and warning you to back off.

 

Some of their claims should have been thrown out due to the prior art, but the patent examiner failed to do their job and the patent issued.

An issued patent isn't a guarantee of validity. Validity should have been tested thoroughly in court. Sounds as though your legal side wasn't as efficient as they could have been in challenging the patent if there was provable prior art.

 

An issued patent isn't a guarantee of validity. Validity should have been tested thoroughly in court. Sounds as though your legal side wasn't as efficient as they could have been in challenging the patent if there was provable prior art.

No question of that. Our company hired an outside firm and they screwed the pooch, in my opinion. I don't know to this day if it was because we chose losers, didn't spend enough for a top notch team, or just what really happened. One thing we DO know is that the judge wanted to run for higher office and did not want a "difficult" case in his records where he had ruled against the precedence that an issued patent is 'correct'. Exposing failures of the examiners would have been too risky for him.

 

Sounds as though your legal side wasn't as efficient as they could have been in challenging the patent if there was provable prior art.

I think that's a growing problem the legal system over all. Lawyers get paid whether they do their job and win for you or not so why put much effort into your job if you already know you're getting a fat paycheck regardless what you do or don't do properly or otherwise.

I for one would love to see a federal law made that states that lawyers services fall under the same rules and regulations of any service and they only get paid for doing what they were hired to do which is win the case. No win no money for them being most any of us can already legally represent ourselves in court and loose for free.