Thank God for Replicators

[dan]

trademarks and goodwill are "assets", not protection of any business. yes, the word zerex, mobile oil, ibm, etc. are both recognized and respected for thier corp values. (good or bad), but these are not a form of protection for a business venture or an idea.

as good an asset as a proven quality trademark or a trade name or a time derived value of goodwill may be, neither of these will protect a given product or a production scheme. these are buisness asset values built up over time, not to be confused with current production, current profits, or current value. if a old recognized business is suddenly takenover and starts to produce a crap product that trademark,goodwill, and trade name will dive to the value of zero.

as long as profit and greed exist in the human heart there will be some yahoo that will either try to beat the your system or will outright kill and steal to procure your goods. the best way i see to win is to produce a given product and get in into folks hands. and do it cheaper, better, and faster than the guy that sits and says,"i have it and i will wait for a better price." there is an old addage that goes ...snooze and loose. remember, when the first iron stoves were made it was not the best one that made the consumer happy but the one they could both afford and get locally. some inventors had a superior item, but if it was not available the customer went to purchase a need. they bought from an inferior company and they bought an inferior product. in short if they need it they will buy it, whatever quality is available! you may have the best item, but if the customer can not get your product they will get another some where else.

note: as soon as there is just one working unit out there in the public domain, that unit is fair game for backward eng., so then the race is on to get more widgets into production cheaper, quicker, at a better price or better quality.

and while the 'windfall' profit motive is driving the big corps and stockholders, the 'profit' motive it's self ain't all bad (curently misdirected and abused, but not all bad). for this motive will cause each of us to get the construction diagrams and word out to all. everyone can sell plans or parts and construction methods, that is profit. and each of us can make complete items for sale, that is profit. then everyone can do for thier family as best as they can. if that private person in need can not build a unit for themselves, they should have access to buy either the parts or a complete unit at the cheapest price for a given quality. this secondary factor is our chance to be both a humanitarian (here are the plans and digrams for a very low price) and a businessman for profit (since you can not, or will not make it for yourself, i have it for sale).

a free and open marketplace and the customer's driving needs will force the creation and the distribution of the 'finding', the 'getting', and the 'making' of that needed item. to one and all, the needs of today drive all of us to find that new and novel idea.? if you can build my widget for less than i can; i need to review my supply chain, my overhead, and my goals. a sharp businessman is forever asking, " how did he do that, at that price?"

speaking of business is secondary to, and in contrast with, getting a new or novel idea (zpe) into the private hands that most need to have it.?

i see this as a driveing need that should be above all else to save lives and homes and also produce profit for the inventor. we can have our cake and eat it at the same time if we can seriously ascribe to the basic ideal of..." IF A CUSTOMER CAN NOT PERSONALLY BUILD A GIVEN ITEM, and that customer still has a serious need for it, they should be able to find a place and way to purchase/barter/swap/('work for food')/etc to have it for thier family". all prior cultures and countries were origionally founded on these principals. and as long as those given cultures worked from this basis, they grew in prosperity. we seem to have gotten off that track. when a person could not build a quality iron cookstove by themselves, they bought one from the foundry. if they had two houses, they bought two good quality cookstoves. demand drives production.

[PaulLowrance]

Hi,

I've read many times that the "poor man's" patent does not hold any weight in the court of law.

Over night you could get a provisional patent application (PPA) for $100.  I guess it only lasts one year, right?  If you make any money on your invention then you could get a complete patent.

I posted some information on this topic at

http://overunity.com/index.php/topic,106.0.html

Sincerely,
Paul

[Charlie Brown ARN]

I'm trying to avoid patenting creativity. Here's the poor mans read only pouch: Buy a binder pouch with a clear vinyl window. Insert 4x6 cocument so the important writing is visible. Zip closed. Apply sealing wax. With good technique, attach address label and postage to document its going through the mail.

The main thing is to run your enterprize with respectable competence.

Aloha, Charlie

[Jim_Mich]

Many times I hear people talk of making millions from their great ideas or using their great idea to solve the worlds problems. Then I see them try to weasel out of the time and expenses involved in making their idea grow to maturity. In some respects an idea is like a baby, you can choose to abort or abandon it. But if you're responsible you will feed and nourish it. You'll watch over it and spend money to protect it until it reaches maturity. If you're lucky it will grow into a productive member of society and return back to society many times your costs.

Just like raising a child, bringing your idea to maturity will consume lots of time and money. If you want to successfully raise your child and see the results, then you need to value your idea enough to spend time and money necessary to protect and nourish it.

Just my opinion,

Jim_Mich

[Kysmett]

Sorry guys for being so slow to respond, had a bit of a vacation there.

First off.  The poor man's patent thing.  Mostly worthless.  Unless you get the court to seal it the first time, it can be argued that the glue of an envelope is subject to tampering(ie. steaming). 

Second.  Screw this whole patenting fervor.  It is a tool now not of the common man but of big business.  The corporate machine is now driving the goverment and keeping the masses around an content only because the businesses need a consumer base.  Patent it, don't patent it, it really doesn't matter when you are playing with the big boys. 

Third.  Two words: Forman Grill.   This is where TM protection comes into play.  Everyone, in the States at least, knows and recognises this product.  There are knock offs and immitations, to be sure, but even then the item is refered to by the trade name of Forman Grill.  If two identicle items were sitting on the shelf and one said "forman grill" and the other said "fat reducer" the forman grill would outperform in a heartbeat. 

If someone wants to make it better and compete with what you have put out... I wish that were the most important concern for those of us on this and similar forums.  As it is, we are only praying that ANY product makes it to the market place.  If there are more than one manufacturer and there is competition, we have done our jobs.  We have brought the technology out of hiding.  My best advice in this realm is to not patent, but produce and build an inventory.  File a provisional patent, but without waiting for the confirmation (patent protection where proof of first concept is extended to filing date), launch the sales of the product locally and get some testimonials.  Infomercial, Infomercial, Talk Show, Talk Show, play the game.

At that point you will have a monopoly on the market for a short while.  If you can come up with a catchy name and TM that.  If you play the market launch right, you will have more name recognition than any of the big guys right out of the gate, and since you filed for a provisional only days before your launch, the big boys will have very little warning of the market invasion...what in American Football is called a blitz.

Just my thoughts and thanks for listening

Kysmett