Free Energy prize money

[PaulLowrance]

Dear Jim,

That is terrific!  It's nice to see someone with some details.

For me, step A must be the smoking gun.  That is, a machine that runs by itself, self sustaining, forever or until it breaks.  So the machine must recirculates some of its excess output energy back into the input.

I really like your step B, "Take steps to insure the idea survives in case of calamity."  I would love to patent such a device if and when that time comes but if I am lacking step B then I cannot take the chance of something happening to me.  Therefore, at present I am trying to work on step B, and of course step A. :-)  In other words, if I don't complete step B before step A, then I'll be force to publish rather than patent.  For me patent is merely to keep the device free and for the public-- for controlling purposes.  Someone emailed me that if the Internet were not patented that it would no exist.  I guess it's important to control such technology.  A few weeks ago I was totally against patenting.  As far as Trademark, all the experts are saying the same thing that it will not protect the device itself, just the name, which makes sense.  So actually I think step A & B should be the first step.
Could you go into more details on step B.  Let's say that as far as you're concerned you could have the smoking gun in about one week time.  Would you find a group of people who would agree to keep your invention a secret unless you die or disappear?  Would you ask them to sign an agreement?  I think step B is one of the most important steps and should be well prepared in advance.

Step H is a big if more me.  It sounds very costly to patent for numerous countries.  In the U.S we have the "Provisional patent application (PPA)." For $100 you can get a patent overnight.  In a book review for "Patent Pending In 24 Hours" it says ->

"As soon as you file a provisional patent application (PPA) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you establish an effective filing date for your invention ? and you can use the term 'patent pending' on it. Best of all, you'll establish proof of your claim and not pay for a full patent until you figure out whether your invention is worth the cost. With Patent Pending in 24 Hours, you'll have all the forms and information you need to get the job done! This book will help you: *evaluate the seven hurdles to patentability *write a plain-English provisional patent application *prepare informal drawings of your invention *conduct a basic patent search on the Internet *understand patent law principles *complete all forms required by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office *file your application using U.S. Express mail Patent Pending in 24 Hours also includes a nondisclosure agreement, patent assignment, prototype-maker agreement and joint-ownership agreement to help you preserve your rights when showing or selling your invention."

Does Europe have something similar to PPA?  What about in Asia?  I like the 24-hour idea because I don't want to spend much time on this process, initially.

Step I is another one that can be prepared in advance.

Step K is hilarious!  Very good idea. ;-)

I love step L.  I am also a firm believer that you must hit the media HARD!  The world is not going to come begging at the inventors doorstep.  Like every business, it's the person that makes the difference, not the invention.  We need to be like Donald Trump and put 110% effort.

Kind regards,
Paul

[Jim_Mich]

I think the very best book about patents is 'Patent It Yourself' by Patent Attorny David Pressman, published by Nolo Press. The author covers everything and includes blank forms in the back of the book. This is a MUST read for anyone with an invention or idea!

Jim

[pinobot]

http://www.patenthunter.com/

I "accidentally" found this program.
Great program for patent search, makes a nice pdf-file from the results.

[dantini]

I have something to contribute on the concept of an "X Prize" for a free energy breakthrough, but since this is also my first post here, I should probably just start by saying hello to everyone!

I love the idea of a MAJOR prize for a free energy breakthrough with a well-defined criterion (as was defined for the X Prize).? It's my opinion that you don't need $10 Million US to offer a $10 Million prize.? Game shows that give away $1 Million have insurance policies against someone winning a really big prize.? For example, if only one player out of 100 wins a major prize with an average value of $500K, and in one month, the program cycles X number of players, the insurance company can write a policy for that.

Now, we're obviously talking about variables that are harder to pin down in this case, but I still think that this could be done.? Give a window of time (a deadline), define the terms for a "hit," and get some input from known scientists (here is one time where skepticism works in FAVOR of free energy, by keeping the costs down!) and there will probably be an insurance company that will underwrite the prize.? The disadvantage is that money has to be paid out either way.? The advantage is that maybe $500,000 US could fund a $10 Million US prize for 10 years!? (I am guessing about the amount, of course)

[atomiverse]

No luck scaring up heroes to fund new energy ideas. Sorry.

Incidentally, there are some competitions for kids listed on Google. But I haven't seen anything for grown-ups.

Edgar always struck me as a place to find folks interested in business and enterprise, though I've only made contacts with strangers through the D&B Billion Dollar Directory and then, only with a finished product that had a potential market in the millions.

I've posted some other stuff at answers.google.com