dmp said:
One more interesting thing about this (for USA anyway) - I served on a federal jury for a civil patent infringement case. The plantif was an independent inventor who had acquired a patent. The defendent was a large company that produced the invented product which had been allegedly stolen from the plantif. There was an IP contract between the two parties.
Result? Lawyers, engineers, etc presented what they thought to the jury. All relevent documents were provided to the jury. But the JURY (7 ordinary folks including me) decided what the documentation said, who had a better case, and what $$ would be awarded. Lawyers didn't decide; the patent office didn't decide. This was a big revelation to me.
The result: the original inventor was awarded 6 figures in compensatory damages, and a multiple of that in punitive damage.
It's nice to hear about the little guy winning, usually the legal costs will squash the small guy right or wrong.
There is a triple damages clause if the infringement was "willful", i.e. the infringer knew or should have known he was infringing. If an IP contract goes off the page (expires but parties keep working together) it is basically a jump ball for lawyers.
One of my sundry IP related tasks when I was working at a larger company was doing due diligence up front, when releasing a new product that was competing against another deep pockets company with a patent. You don't mind paying any royalties due, but 3x is a bummer. We probably spent more on lawyers to be able to prove we rigorously researched the possible infringement and didn't, than the OP here wants to spend total.
re: costs, you should be able to prosecute a simple US patent for less than $10k, but that is just the US. The last time I checked the EU is still requiring applications translated for every member country, then there's all the other countries around the world... I used to get into disagreements with my boss whose name was on the building, that we didn't need to bother with patents in every country that has three lawyers and a patent office.
John, I agree... a well-conceived notebook (what, when, how) may be able to protect you from losing your IP, not stopping others from using it. But if you have this documentation, and you get a written contract in place with anyone you chose to disclose it to, (and obviously you don't enter it into the public domain, for instance on a DIY forum, haha) you have a chance to move forward with your invention, be it licensing, selling, etc... I think a patent really becomes necessary when you throw your invention into the public domain (i.e. start selling it).
The ballpark numbers I've heard are $10k for provisional, $100k for full. Niche markets would probably be less, however.
I am not advocating the engineering notebook as definitive protection... it is a good discipline for a creative engineer, but if you are serious about an invention, write a proper disclosure document and get it witnessed by somebody who understands and will be around if you ever need him to be around. Then start saving money because if you ever go to court, that cost money.
In the last year I have provided affidavits related to a lawsuit between my old employer and another name brand company over infringement of one of my old patents I got when I was working there.. I never heard how that turned out, it was pretty complicated.. I can't imagine a typical jury dealing with the nuanced way they tried to get around my patent.
Whatever, I got paid for a few hours work, but i would have just about done it for free... I really don't like people ripping off my IP, even if i don't own it.
JR
