Thank you for the info
I admit that my knowledge with patents are limited (reading a bunch of books) but was at the conclusion that you can not patent ideas? You have to have schematics of how the component works? Feel free to correct me on this. But if he hasn't even created a patent on the same technology. Then it's still open for patent?
You also raise some fantastic points regarding market competition
Thanks again I really appreciate the (much needed) advice
My understanding (as a Lawyer and someone that has patents pending in Australia and USA), is that once an idea is public it cannot be patented (subject to exceptions such as your own dislcosure within a grace period).
You are correct that a patent isn't just an idea and it goes into how the product actually works, however if someone has released a multi function pen that has an eraser and highliter (such as an IndieGoGo campaign, regardless of whether the engineering is done), you cannot then patent a pen that has an eraser and highlighter unless your product takes an inventive step. The inventive step might be that the dislcosed product works with a spring action and your product works with a manual swivel. This is pretty random but I hope the point comes across. Keep in mind that the requirements of a patent vary greatly depending on the country.