Re: Securing PCBs from pirates

From: Luhan Monat (x_at_y.z)
Date: 02/17/05 

Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 23:15:00 -0800

keith wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:03:00 -0800, Winfield Hill wrote:
>
>
>>Luhan Monat wrote...
>>
>>>1. Make and sell a few of your devices without patent or any other
>>>protection. Document all development and sales.
>>
>> Right. But you'd have to publish or disclose enough design details
>> to allow reproduction, i.e. schematics and program listings in the
>> manuals, sent to every customer, etc.
>
>
> Selling the device, with enough details to show the operation will protect
> it for *your* use, but it deosn't do anythign to otherwise "protect" the
> widget.
>
>>>2. Wait until some large company rips off your design and creates the
>>>market for the item.
>>>
>>>3. Approach the above company threatening to give aid and assitance to
>>>a direct competitor of theirs. Their competetor can get a patent using
>>>you as the intial developer. The company that stole your design is
>>>barred from ever getting a patent do to your 'prior art.'
>>
>> The one-year time limit for applying for a patent after a public
>> disclosure would have run out.
>
>
> ...and that one-year "bar" is only for US patents. Be careful with that
> "public disclosure" too. "Disclosure" includes "recieving commercial
> value". If you've told a potential customer that you have a widget that
> does "framis", even though you haven't told how it does "framis", the
> clock has already started.
>
>
>> Perhaps you could attempt to sell your
>> documented design info to a competitor who was being sued for patent
>> infringement... if you knew about it (quite a number of "ifs" in
>> there), but remember, you had previously disclosed this info to all
>> your customers, and made it public. OK, you could be an expert
>> witness, but that's just a little pay by the hour.
>
>
> If it's the same idea the prior art (the opponents "patent") will nullify
> his. he won't even get the little pay.
>

My suggestion was a bit tongue-in-cheek. Just like to inject a
different line of thought. I have been envolved in some very testy
patent battles. Mostly, its a game of get your product to market hard
and fast; setup offshore manufacturing from the getgo; leave your
competitors eating your dust. 

-- 
Luhan Monat (luhanis 'at' yahoo 'dot' com)
"The future is not what it used to be..."
http://members.cox.net/berniekm

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