Schoee Loc: Europe

Just for interest I would like to have a look. Can you tell me your patent numbers? I think I should be able to find the detail with just the number.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Not sure. The idea was that he hired her for her ideas. I think it would make a good court case, though.

Toby

It depends on the country, time and idea. When I was still working, about 30-40 years ago, the company's attorney always told me to take my idea and "reduce it to practice". I don't know if that was an actual requirement (it was for a production process) or if he just thought it would be easier to get the patent. I did what he said and over several years received 5 patents.
The CalNerd is right. The requirements are complicated, and you should get your guidance from a pro.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

👍 👍

And don't prior signed, written company policy/contracts also apply?

lbrande

A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available.

The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the USPTO.

Filing cost of a provisional Application $100.00
Filing cost of a utility Patent $455.00 for a Micro Entity

Generally a working model is useful as it shows that the idea has been reduced to practice.

The cost of the Application to grant is minimal. The real cost is the protection of the patent.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Only company products.

When I was hired at R&D they gave me a dollar and said that that covered all patents.(Very long time ago) Those patents undoubtedly would be developed using company resources, including their patent attorneys who would do the footwork

Patents developed on your on time for a totally different use would not be included

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Wish I could recall more of the specifics off top of my head, but it isn't working right now.....
Something about a vehicle mechanic, on his own time at home, designed and received patents for a couple hand tools -- a quick-release ratchet wrench was one, second was a tester of some kind, I think, not sure on that right now.
He sold the ideas/patents (however that works) to a tool manufacturing company, with royalty rights......or whatever the proper term is for a percentage of the sales. When his employer found out, he demanded the patent and royalty payments as company property. Employee flat out refused and was fired.
It went to court for settling the matter of patent ownership... employer took it there if I recall correctly. Court said employer had zero, zilch, nada rights on those patents, the employee was not under any stipulated company policy to surrender rights to the employer and had not used any company time nor materials in his design and prototype.
That was in the late '70' or early/mid-'80's, as I recall.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Astroturf® ?? ☺️

mikenolan Loc: Lincoln Nebraska

Patent law is very complicated, and I tend to agree that there are a lot of things being patented that shouldn't have gotten approved, especially in the area of software. (A former business colleague of mine has several patents on software techniques.)

Years ago we did some analytical work for a patent firm that was involved in a major lawsuit against the auto makers over power steering pumps. They had already won, we were helping to analyze the damages. (You compute what the profit SHOULD have been, then triple it.)

I left that company before the issue was resolved, but one of the auto makers was on the hook for about $30 million BEFORE treble damages. (I think another settled out of court.) The head lawyer on the project told us that the automaker was making more money by delaying the settlement than it was costing them in legal fees.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

Thanks everyone.

I'll try sit on it and finalize the idea, then probably decide after to patent or just show the idea to the world if it helps advance our hobby.

Again my thanks to all responses.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

I might if it would help in the idea.

The abstract is a design that would allow removal of the bayer filter on a sensor but retain its capacity to capture in full color. The target is to have all individual pixels of a normal ccd sensor to be available as a 3 color unit, similar to the foveon sensor, so a 24megapixel camera would really produce 24 megapixel color resolution without the need for demoisaic.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

LOL
Sorry about that I responded to the wrong person, and you saw it while I was deleting it.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

That's an interesting conversion project!
Too much hassle to add dedicated batteries and charging for only occasionally needed wiper heaters, right?

clemente21

Here is an example of a (that I know) non-working device patent. In 1985 Chet Fleming applied and later received a patent to keep a severed head alive - patent no. 4,666,425. I wonder if this guy wanted to prove a point.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/good-news-everybody-someone-once-patented-plans-keeping-severed-head-alive-180963290/