[HN Gopher] Crowdfunding Backer Patented My Project (2018)
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       Crowdfunding Backer Patented My Project (2018)
        
       Author : optimalsolver
       Score  : 68 points
       Date   : 2021-07-30 21:41 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (patentpandas.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (patentpandas.org)
        
       | breck wrote:
       | Shameless plug: Help us pass a constitutional amendment to
       | abolish patents and copyrights (https://www.reddit.com/r/ifa/).
       | 
       | Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.
        
       | dang wrote:
       | Discussed at the time:
       | 
       |  _Crowdfunding Backer Patented My Project_ -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18568641 - Nov 2018 (46
       | comments)
        
       | asxd wrote:
       | Wow, what a journey. I'm glad the original authors took such a
       | rational and mentally healthy approach to such a frustrating
       | situation.
       | 
       | On the plus side, I'd never heard of Chibitronics, but it seems
       | so approachable that I am now strongly considering getting some
       | of the starter kits for my 8 y/o nephew :)
        
       | toss1 wrote:
       | Nice lesson that a patent, other than some possible value to the
       | marketing dept, is nothing more than a a ticket to start a
       | lawsuit.
       | 
       | It does not actually prevent anyone else from infringing or doing
       | what they want, unless and until they hire the lawyers to attempt
       | to enforce it.
       | 
       | Having a lot of published prior art may form a decent moat. Sure,
       | you'll have to defend, but if you fold, they get nothing, and if
       | you sustain the defense, they'll likely lose the patent entirely.
       | 
       | She also makes a very good point about bridging patent- light and
       | patent-heavy sectors/cultures.
       | 
       | Also relevant is Musk's choice with SpaceX at the other end of
       | the scale -- to forego patents entirely in favor of the trade
       | secret route. He figures that publishing in a patent would just
       | be tantamount to publishing manuals for the Chinese and also be
       | unenforceable...
       | 
       | Patents sometimes seem almost magic, but they're really quite
       | limited.
        
       | jwilber wrote:
       | Wow, what an actual leech of a human this Jill MacKay.
       | 
       | Disgusting sense of greed and lack of morals.
        
         | darig wrote:
         | Did you do any research of your own to validate these claims,
         | or do you just spout libel on command?
         | 
         | Disgusting.
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Please don't fulminate or call names on HN. You may not owe a
         | rogue patenter better, but you owe this community better if
         | you're participating here.
         | 
         | Please review the site guidelines and stick to them:
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
        
           | jwilber wrote:
           | Sure.
           | 
           | Wow, what an actual leech of a human, the literal subject of
           | the linked essay.
           | 
           | Disgusting sense of greed and lack of morals.
        
       | musesum wrote:
       | You can sue in Pro Per(son) -- essential act as your own lawyer.
       | I know someone who studied the Law so he could sue his former
       | business partners. Most of it was a reverse deep pockets kinda
       | game: "It will cost you $300K in legal fees to defend yourself
       | ... or settle for a fraction of the cost." As a result, I and
       | colleagues ignore this troll. But, there are intriguing
       | implications ...
       | 
       | For example: register the site patent<patent#>.com and use the
       | site to link to the facts. Maybe add the legal definition of "In
       | Pro Person." Thus, when someone does a search on the Patent #,
       | your disclosure site will appear.
       | 
       | Another example: Claim copyright on the expression of the idea.
       | Thus, anyone attempting to express the patent would infringe on
       | the copyright.
       | 
       | Disclaimer: IANAL. I could be off-base here. Get a valid legal
       | opinion to save yourself some grief. And good luck!
        
       | SV_BubbleTime wrote:
       | [2018]
       | 
       | I think the author was also a guest on the Embedded.fm pod cast
       | where she or someone from PatentPandas explains the story more.
       | [0]
       | 
       | Patent law on all topics can be summed up with one simple phrase.
       | Doesn't matter if you're applying, fighting, buying, all your
       | prior art, the number of sealed envelopes you mailed yourself,
       | testimony, claims, or anything else on the topic.... When it
       | comes to anything patent:
       | 
       |  _" You're going to need a lawyer"_
       | 
       | EDIT: Found it, https://embedded.fm/episodes/277
        
         | plumeria wrote:
         | What about "Patent It Yourself: Your Step-by-Step Guide to
         | Filing at the U.S. Patent Office" by David Pressman?
        
           | kens wrote:
           | I applied for a patent after reading that book but was
           | unsuccessful (for various reasons). I successfully obtained
           | different patents with an attorney. I found what I learned
           | from the book to be very helpful when getting patents with an
           | attorney.
        
             | plumeria wrote:
             | Thanks for sharing your experience, I want to try to patent
             | something by myself. How much did you spend using an
             | attorney?
        
               | kens wrote:
               | Nothing, since I did the successful patents through my
               | employer :-)
        
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       (page generated 2021-07-30 23:00 UTC)