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Hey everyone, I'm posting this here as I feel the question may get taken more seriously than on the outside. Let me know if you disagree.
Anyway, please see the background, my concern/problem, and inquires I have. Any *opinion* on this would be greatly appreciated, I really want to pursue this idea, but want to make sure I'm not wasting time/money/taking unnecessary risk.
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Background: I'm developing a product which I intend to bring to market granted all prototyping/pre-marketing/demand & material testing goes well. My intent is to file a provisional patent application shortly after a prototype is created which should hold while i go through testing/pre-marketing phases.
Problem/Concern: In the past, I was not able to find anything similar in terms of a patent when I did searches on my own. When I performed a search again, I found something very close to my idea in the form of a Patent Application. It was filed in 2004, with a publication date in 2004 as well. In further research on PAIR (Patent Application Information Retrieval), I found that the Status of the application is "Abandoned -- Failure to Respond to an Office Action" as of 2008. It is likely important to note that the assignee of the application (not the inventor) is a major corporation. Also important to note that this idea is not on the market as far as I can tell after searching in many many diff ways/contexts.
Inquiries:
1. After fairly extensive searching (on my own), I found nothing as close to my idea as this abandoned application. How can I be sure this is the case, and this is the only very similar idea out there? Should I be concerned about this? (I don't have $1K+ to spend on a search until i'm making money on the idea)
2. Assuming this is the only IP piece that is close enough, can I still get a provisional patent application on the idea since the previous applicant's was abandoned? If yes, would I have to make any modifications in my PPA? My understanding is that since the application was abandoned, it is still considered prior art so I would have to at least make an improvement? Are there any other options to get this done?
3. If I can't PPA the idea in any way/circumstance, can I still create and sell the idea/product? If I do, is there risk of anything coming back to me with this abandoned patent application that exists?
4. After reviewing this situation/concern/inquiries - is the idea (in your opinion) worth moving forward with? I would still need to demand test (although the idea is virtually validated already, a better way of doing it is what this is) / validate margin structures, etc. Or cut my risk/losses and pursue other ideas/venues.
Thanks guys
I'm in the process of trying to get a quick consult from a family friend patent attorney, but that won't be anything official either. Looking for advice.
Anyway, please see the background, my concern/problem, and inquires I have. Any *opinion* on this would be greatly appreciated, I really want to pursue this idea, but want to make sure I'm not wasting time/money/taking unnecessary risk.
---
Background: I'm developing a product which I intend to bring to market granted all prototyping/pre-marketing/demand & material testing goes well. My intent is to file a provisional patent application shortly after a prototype is created which should hold while i go through testing/pre-marketing phases.
Problem/Concern: In the past, I was not able to find anything similar in terms of a patent when I did searches on my own. When I performed a search again, I found something very close to my idea in the form of a Patent Application. It was filed in 2004, with a publication date in 2004 as well. In further research on PAIR (Patent Application Information Retrieval), I found that the Status of the application is "Abandoned -- Failure to Respond to an Office Action" as of 2008. It is likely important to note that the assignee of the application (not the inventor) is a major corporation. Also important to note that this idea is not on the market as far as I can tell after searching in many many diff ways/contexts.
Inquiries:
1. After fairly extensive searching (on my own), I found nothing as close to my idea as this abandoned application. How can I be sure this is the case, and this is the only very similar idea out there? Should I be concerned about this? (I don't have $1K+ to spend on a search until i'm making money on the idea)
2. Assuming this is the only IP piece that is close enough, can I still get a provisional patent application on the idea since the previous applicant's was abandoned? If yes, would I have to make any modifications in my PPA? My understanding is that since the application was abandoned, it is still considered prior art so I would have to at least make an improvement? Are there any other options to get this done?
3. If I can't PPA the idea in any way/circumstance, can I still create and sell the idea/product? If I do, is there risk of anything coming back to me with this abandoned patent application that exists?
4. After reviewing this situation/concern/inquiries - is the idea (in your opinion) worth moving forward with? I would still need to demand test (although the idea is virtually validated already, a better way of doing it is what this is) / validate margin structures, etc. Or cut my risk/losses and pursue other ideas/venues.
Thanks guys
I'm in the process of trying to get a quick consult from a family friend patent attorney, but that won't be anything official either. Looking for advice.
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