p.2 #1 · Markins is playing with a lever release now
Steezus wrote:
I don't like the fact that you can patent such simple things like a lever release mechanism. It isn't like any lever for a head clamp has already been used for some other application for about a century now.
its not quite as easy as you think to do. and not cheap either. your must prove uniqueness and its got to do what you say it supposed to do. you as an individual need to willing to put up or shut up. patent pending by the way means we put in for it and we're waiting until its finally given the thumbs up by the patent office but we're putting it out anyway so think twice before copying it as it probable will go through. that can be an extended period of time too. and in the end you may not get it after all.
patents as you know only go as far as the ability to protect them via legal means. there are certain countries that have less then adequate control against infringement.
p.2 #2 · Markins is playing with a lever release now
jrand wrote:
Maybe one of the reasons there aren't a bunch of different lever releases available in the US is because of the RRS patent on theirs.
I'm all for competition, but not if it steps on someone's patent.
It's a big feather in your cap to get a patent on something you came up with. Defending it in court may cost more than the money you make producing the parts protected by it.
p.2 #3 · Markins is playing with a lever release now
sjms wrote:
its not quite as easy as you think to do. and not cheap either. your must prove uniqueness and its got to do what you say it supposed to do. you as an individual need to willing to put up or shut up. patent pending by the way means we put in for it and we're waiting until its finally given the thumbs up by the patent office but we're putting it out anyway so think twice before copying it as it probable will go through. that can be an extended period of time too. and in the end you may not get it after all.
patents as you know only go as far as the ability to protect them via legal means. there are certain countries that have less then adequate control against infringement....Show more →
Riiiiight.... But I am saying I do not like it. I can see for more complex designs, but a lever for these clamps are all based off of designs older than all of us here, they are just applied to a photo application. I just think that this is one part of our legal process that is ridiculous, just like the majority of lawsuits in our country.
p.2 #5 · Markins is playing with a lever release now
The only thing a patent guarantees is a paycheck to the lawyer that:
does the discovery research
writes the application
files the extensions
defends it in court
etc.
I'm not sure they return their fees if the patent is proven in court to not be valid.
Who wins in this situation every step of the way?
You can do all this without an atty.
Look at the intermittent wiper patent that the big auto companies stole. Just a dirt simple circuit that had a novel application.
Many times the simplest form of mechanical design can be the most elegant way to create a solution. Like the RRS clamp.
