I have an invention that I think could change the world (a better toilet). I went to a patent attorney.
His advice: File a submarine patent, wait til someone else has the idea but is stupid enough to manufacture, sue him for low enough that he wants to settle.
Why not manufacture? He explained that the patent system is designed to help the incumbents. If you manufacture, the big players will make some minor change, file for a patent as an improvement to the original, and ignore you. If you go to court - who has more lawyers on call?
At some point, you may iterate on your original product. At that point they will sue you with the patent they have obtained for their improvement. It doesn't matter if you infringe, it doesn't matter anything. Guess who has more lawyers? If you are lucky, you can settle for just giving them your IP plus your legal fees.
Many many inventions and improvements have been created by small guys, but they don't go to market. Because if it will disrupt an existing big player they will be sued. For any reason under the sun. Because the legal system favors the side with the funds.
And that is even without considering the companies in China et all that will just copy your idea wholesale, at a fraction of the price, and are untouchable.
The patent system helps the incumbents, but does nothing for the little guy.
A better system would be to use the money currently spent on the patent system to give grants to anyone who comes up with a new idea. [And you can even perhaps have some way for the general public to weigh in.] The smaller the company, the more the grant available. With funds, you could actually try to develop a brand, and the competition across the board would help everyone.
I'm not an expert on patetnts, but that seems backwards to me. If I get a patent for something, someone else can make a trivial change they call an improvement, admit their work is derivative, and get a patent for that without any cooperation or licensing from me?
And then if I iterate and get sued, even though I can show I hold the original patent it's not a slam dunk win for me in court?
His advice: File a submarine patent, wait til someone else has the idea but is stupid enough to manufacture, sue him for low enough that he wants to settle.
Why not manufacture? He explained that the patent system is designed to help the incumbents. If you manufacture, the big players will make some minor change, file for a patent as an improvement to the original, and ignore you. If you go to court - who has more lawyers on call?
At some point, you may iterate on your original product. At that point they will sue you with the patent they have obtained for their improvement. It doesn't matter if you infringe, it doesn't matter anything. Guess who has more lawyers? If you are lucky, you can settle for just giving them your IP plus your legal fees.
Many many inventions and improvements have been created by small guys, but they don't go to market. Because if it will disrupt an existing big player they will be sued. For any reason under the sun. Because the legal system favors the side with the funds.
And that is even without considering the companies in China et all that will just copy your idea wholesale, at a fraction of the price, and are untouchable.
The patent system helps the incumbents, but does nothing for the little guy.
A better system would be to use the money currently spent on the patent system to give grants to anyone who comes up with a new idea. [And you can even perhaps have some way for the general public to weigh in.] The smaller the company, the more the grant available. With funds, you could actually try to develop a brand, and the competition across the board would help everyone.