Let's discuss OPEN SOURCING any project

[magnetman12003]

Need real legal knowledge of the benefits and pitfalls of open sourcing a project.


I wish to know once you have open sourced a project can someone rush in with big money and
patent your freely given knowledge and time inventing.  That leaves you nothing for your time inventing a given project.  I don't have big funds to cover a patent and I am sure others do as well.  Comments here may clear things up.


This should open a lot of discussion but my hopes are that comments are legal and just not brought up as a fact without legal advice.   Please no s**t house lawyer advice.

[magnetman12003]

Need real legal knowledge of the benefits and pitfalls of open sourcing a project.


I wish to know once you have open sourced a project can someone rush in with big money and
patent your freely given knowledge and time inventing.  That leaves you nothing for your time inventing a given project.  I don't have big funds to cover a patent and I am sure others do as well.  Comments here may clear things up.


This should open a lot of discussion but my hopes are that comments are legal and just not brought up as a fact without legal advice.   Please no s**t house lawyer advice.

After 50 hits still no answers??  I have been told previously that open sourcing a project is the way to go and then no one could patent your project idea.  It certainly looks like that bathroom lawyers info was false right now.

[ramset]

Questionable legal advice ??
welcome to the snake pit.....

  There is a guy here Nink that makes his living this way { helping inventors market their inventions ,Mark Dansie does a similar thing ..[you could PM them for advice.

I always get a bit queasy around that type of relationship on an open source forum.

Aaron at energetic has posted much on the subject ,he is also very good at this type of thing.[the business end]

I believe this a deep legal issue with multinational components which can vary from country to country ,what Open source protocol will fit all the multinational criteria is I believe a part of the old Bathroom wall problem.

the good news is there is an answer ,and I am sure you will get very Helpful Peeps contacting you.

I recall you had a magnetic device which had potential , is that still the case ?
or am I confusing you with another member ? [he also used his name at times ?

I can assure you if you are indeed looking to open source a very special device ,we can make dam sure it will not be patentable
we do have people that can help you with this ,

I have probably posted enuff here to get some retorts and useful info ??

If not I can try to get the latest and greatest info on this Open source protection protocol.

You would think we would have this at OUR fingertips here ?? a bit embarrassing actually.

respectfully
Chet

[MagnaProp]

...open sourcing a project is the way to go and then no one could patent your project idea...

That is correct. If you publish your work publicly, it instantly becomes "prior art" preventing anyone from patenting your exact device. It does not prevent someone from making a modification to your work and patenting that improved modification such as Nikola Tesla's homopolar dynamo improvement patent on Michael Faraday's homopolar motor idea.

I know you didn't want any but that is my official s**t house lawyer advice. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go finish pinching this loaf.

[Nink]

Your legal advice is pretty good.  Any enhancements to the originally published design could potentially be patentable as long as the modification meets a few criteria. It needs to be a useful addition to the original design adding some level of value even if that value is trivial. The unique modification has to be novel so it cannot be known or used today by a third party, and finally it needs to be non-obvious, so others in the field would not have easily come up with the same enhancements to the original idea. That said if you disclose your idea, depending on the circumstances, you still have 12 months to file in the US after disclosure,but be careful in Canada and other countries there is a first to file law so if someone hears about your idea and they file it first then you could lose your IP.

I will publish an idea if it is for the greater good (example a new free energy source) and patent an idea based on the original publication as source of revenue (example developing a type of engine that uses that free energy source ). By publishing the foundational components and filing a patents only on the enhancements you will encourage innovation without hampering inventors with constraints.  People will then focus on how to improve the free energy source or how to apply and use this free energy source in various new methods. This way inventors can generate revenue from their inventions in a specific field or embodiment.