I haven't been on here in a long time, so I would like ti say hi. I am an retired electrician. I been trying to teach myself about electronics. Everyone on here is like a genius so I just don't fit in. But I am here to say I finally got my 2nd Patent approved. I been waiting for like 6 years now. All about electrical products. I'm inventing all new products and some tools to make the job so much easier. I just invented 3 more things this year, 2021. Soon I will apply for 3 more Patents. These items just don't exist but I must say , brilliant. After that I have a battery operated tool that I'm going to patent too. All of these patents are going to change the world like the screw gun changed the screwdriver. House's n buildings will be able to be wired about 30 or 40% faster then using the products of today. All of my products are called, "The Whole Deal". My company I had to start so IRS gets their 50% of royalties is called: B.I.T LLC. Brilliant Innovation Tool Company. Wish me luck. School is great but hands on can be very very important. I wired houses when I was 13. I'm 68 now. Even at 13, I wanted to change how electrical work is done all because I froze my butt off wiring these houses in the winter. It took to long n most of it is so outdated. I'm speeding it up. A five year old will be able to install my stuff pretty much.

 

No time to show them yet?

 

No time to show them yet?

No way . Patent or no patent, I keep to myself. Thanks.

 

A patent does not protect your invention. It allows you to fight it in the courts and the lawyers on both sides win.

 

Congratulations on winning that second patent. Six years is the longest application period I ever heard of. Care to share any information about your latest patent, like the patent number?

 

No way . Patent or no patent, I keep to myself. Thanks.

In that case, why bother even mentioning it? Share your work so that others may learn. The product has already been patented after all.

 

Any words of wisdom for those who might be considering applying for a patent?

 

A patent does not protect your invention. It allows you to fight it in the courts and the lawyers on both sides win.

It's always a giant risk getting a patent. It means nothing until you sell it. But we keep making steps forward n you must never give up. Tons of negativity from lots of people but all inventors face that. To me, the more people who say you can't, then I know I will. Again, huge risks.

 

Congratulations on winning that second patent. Six years is the longest application period I ever heard of. Care to share any information about your latest patent, like the patent number?

My 1st invention , we were told, infringed on someone elses invention that was never made. His name is Swanson. His is a steel device that cuts out holes in steel electrical boxes and circuit breaker panels. Ours is a 2 part system, like a lock n a key. Can't cut any holes out. Only a guide and a template for drywall. It allowes a person to locate where holes have to be cut out without measuring. That's all I am saying. Our lawyer had to keep expaining over n over changing the language. It's funny how Apple n Samsung put out new phones every 6 months n they get patents that fast. And are not all phones pretty much look n do the same thing, yet ours looks nothing like Swanson's invention, nor can ours cut out holes in anything, especially steel. Our original explanation is 102 pages long, descriptions n drawings. I lost count of how many more pages of explanations were sent in. Took almost 6 years n I know Covid 19 held it up. Plus money talks, us poor nobodies walk. Thanks for you kind words. Our patent is all new electrical stuff n HomeDepot n Lowes can just throw all the other stuff in the trash because in 20 years from now, my invention will take over, all over the world. Why? Fast, easy , simple to make n who is going to pay 2 men $35 a hour, 3 days longer using what is used today instead of using my stuff. One may hate n despise it, but they will buy it n use it. But It's very attractive too. People love it.

 

Friend of mine has several patents, and makes good money from them, but they refer to other patents, to which he has to pay royalties. Not sure how that works.
If you had to adjust language, I assume to dodge existing patents, are the results practically attainable?

 

Any words of wisdom for those who might be considering applying for a patent?

Yes. Look, I'm not an expert but this is what I have been doing n still am doing. Never give up. Don't listen to nay sayers. When you fall, and you will, just get up n keep going. Believe in your invention. Work hard as if it's your job or you will get fired. If you don't seem to have space enough to work, find a space even if it's in a little corner of a room. Google a Non- Profit organization called S.C.O.R.E. They are retired people from all walks of life that will help you start a company. They have lawyers, patent lawyers, sales people, marketers. All for free. I do have a partner. He is far from rich. He works his butt off 7 days a week to pay the lawyer. I do the just the inventing. We both understand we are equals, both important. He has lost 25 thou in the past n survived, he said, so if he loses another 25 grand, he will survive again, so he believed in me, agreed to never stop, and so far so good. One step a a time. Don't know what else to say, but Do It!

 

In that case, why bother even mentioning it? Share your work so that others may learn. The product has already been patented after all.

People can still steal it but read on and I did explain in some detail of both ideas. Believe me, I wish I could tell the world. It's exciting. Plus I like feed back. Our biggest fear is that whoever buys it will sit on it. It is really going to cut companies sales in half or even more. That's one reason , companies that make items similar, should buy it. Installing devices, fans n lites are going to be installed in minutes, some in seconds. Why no one ever thought of this before, it's beyond me. My patent has an open door. Anything that attaches to my item, it will become part of my patent, and that will be hundreds of items. This is huge. I added numbers up a what we can make by one sale a month and it is unbelievable. And that is at 5% royalties. One sale a month from 800 stores will make us $4,700,00.00 a year. There are atleast 9 thousand electrical supply houses in the US that most likely will sell my things. So multiple 4.7 million times 8.4 hundred, at 5% , and that's what we can make with 1 sale a month. Now double that if 2 sales a month. It's astronomical. Mind blowing. A dream.

 

Patents are a fast way to go broke for an individual.
A patent doesn’t give you protection to make/market a product. Mostly because the patent office only looks out for uniqueness of your idea. They don’t care if your patent is a slight improvement on someone else’s patent because nearly all patents are an improvement on other technologies.

so, what happens if your patent improves a technology that is still protected by another company’s patent? You either have to negotiate a licensing agreement with the other company, or, wait until the other patent expires, or violate the other companies patent and hope they don’t find out (last option not recommended because there is an automatic calculation of damages equal to 3x of your sales that violated the patent or 3x the patent owner’s "damages".

so what happens if someone uses your idea (your patent)? If it is a big company, you’ll go broke trying to sue in court unless you can find a patent troll attorney that takes 50+% of you win but there aren’t many left after the patent reform law of a few years ago. It really isn’t worth filing an infringement suit unless you think the competitor has racked up $3M in infringement sales ($9 or $10M w/triple damages).

what happens if someone says, oh, his patent pulls wires through walls to construct a home but I’ve seen the same process used on a much smaller scale to pull wires through a lamp. Then your patent is borderline worthless - it only depends how hard your competitors are willing to push and get your patent thrown out by a judge in court or they can ask the patent office to re-examine the patent.

my favorite, is unclear patents. Free lawyers or inexperienced lawyers often don’t have patent search tools to look at what has been done by others, the words/phrases used, or leaving gaping holes in claims like simple permutations/variations that can accomplish the intended outcome without violating the patent.

it seems to make people feel good that they have patents but you are likely money ahead by racing into production and building a customer base instead of wasting your time and money on a patent as a sole proprietor business.

Finally -
Based on LinkedIn and Facebook profiles listing “B.I.T. LLC Co-owner” and patent office records, I only see one issued patent and one patent application. The patent took less than 4.5 years (not 6) to issue after the application. The patent office may have notified the inventor that the second application will be granted soon but hasn’t granted as of Tuesday (all patents are granted on a Tuesday)

 

People can still steal it but read on and I did explain in some detail of both ideas. Believe me, I wish I could tell the world. It's exciting. Plus I like feed back.

You make your design publicly available when you file the patent anyway. Companies in places like China and India scour patent filings all day long and do nothing but copy patented works and then turn around and sell those products in their own countries.

So all you're really doing here then is hurting your own transparency. Why? Because people use this very sort of tactic to lure investors into snake oil schemes. For all we know, this is nothing more than a social engineering campaign. I'm not insinuating that here mind you. I just want you to understand where I'm coming from. At the very least an explanation of what exactly your product does would be nice.

My patent has an open door. Anything that attaches to my item, it will become part of my patent, and that will be hundreds of items.

Patents don't generally work that way. You can create licensing terms which dictate things like royalties and such, but a patent alone isn't going to help you there.

This is huge. I added numbers up a what we can make by one sale a month and it is unbelievable. And that is at 5% royalties. One sale a month from 800 stores will make us $4,700,00.00 a year. There are atleast 9 thousand electrical supply houses in the US that most likely will sell my things. So multiple 4.7 million times 8.4 hundred, at 5% , and that's what we can make with 1 sale a month. Now double that if 2 sales a month. It's astronomical. Mind blowing. A dream.

I don't know what your current situation is but if you are in fact trying to attract investors, pie in the sky projections aren't the way to go about it. Your pitch should instead cover all of the important points. Material costs, overhead, and retail price point. Production capabilities. Quality control standards (reliability, reproducibility, etc). In other words, can you really deliver on your promises?

 

Any words of wisdom for those who might be considering applying for a patent?

A Must read for anybody considering obtaining a patent, by Don Lancaster: https://www.tinaja.com/glib/casagpat.pdf

If you have time, some of the other Don Lancaster articles on the subject on this page might be of interest:
https://www.tinaja.com/patnt01.shtml

 

My name is on about 14 of them.

Not a single one of them has netted my clients a single solitary dime

The legal fees, when added up total several million.

Don't bother.

The game is rigged for only the largest players.

 

The game is rigged for only the largest players.

On the other hand if the patent is "big enough" lawyers will sometimes accept the case on a pro bono basis. They might ask for 45% of the judgement of course, but that's another matter altogether...

 

Patents are a fast way to go broke for an individual.
A patent doesn’t give you protection to make/market a product. Mostly because the patent office only looks out for uniqueness of your idea. They don’t care if your patent is a slight improvement on someone else’s patent because nearly all patents are an improvement on other technologies.

so, what happens if your patent improves a technology that is still protected by another company’s patent? You either have to negotiate a licensing agreement with the other company, or, wait until the other patent expires, or violate the other companies patent and hope they don’t find out (last option not recommended because there is an automatic calculation of damages equal to 3x of your sales that violated the patent or 3x the patent owner’s "damages".

so what happens if someone uses your idea (your patent)? If it is a big company, you’ll go broke trying to sue in court unless you can find a patent troll attorney that takes 50+% of you win but there aren’t many left after the patent reform law of a few years ago. It really isn’t worth filing an infringement suit unless you think the competitor has racked up $3M in infringement sales ($9 or $10M w/triple damages).

what happens if someone says, oh, his patent pulls wires through walls to construct a home but I’ve seen the same process used on a much smaller scale to pull wires through a lamp. Then your patent is borderline worthless - it only depends how hard your competitors are willing to push and get your patent thrown out by a judge in court or they can ask the patent office to re-examine the patent.

my favorite, is unclear patents. Free lawyers or inexperienced lawyers often don’t have patent search tools to look at what has been done by others, the words/phrases used, or leaving gaping holes in claims like simple permutations/variations that can accomplish the intended outcome without violating the patent.

it seems to make people feel good that they have patents but you are likely money ahead by racing into production and building a customer base instead of wasting your time and money on a patent as a sole proprietor business.

Finally -
Based on LinkedIn and Facebook profiles listing “B.I.T. LLC Co-owner” and patent office records, I only see one issued patent and one patent application. The patent took less than 4.5 years (not 6) to issue after the application. The patent office may have notified the inventor that the second application will be granted soon but hasn’t granted as of Tuesday (all patents are granted on a Tuesday)

Thank you and it isn't official yet. But approved. They said in about 30 days after payment, it will be official. But anyway, understand I am trying to tell my story as best as I know it, not trying to be false. I'm exited. You information is appreciated.Thank you. Believe me, we know it's a hugh risk, but anyone reading this, please don't stop . Live your dream. Money is only money. It can be replaced.

 

Many moons ago I set out to submit a patent application and did the prerequisite patent search.
Then the legal fees started to add up. I promptly quit while I was still solvent.

 

Many moons ago I set out to submit a patent application and did the prerequisite patent search.
Then the legal fees started to add up. I promptly quit while I was still solvent.

$20,000.00 for a search is average. We have spent of 60 grand now but that is for 2 of them plus 3D solid CAD drawings. Other expenses. Had a couple of items made. It's scary no doubt, but so far so good.