YOU CAN'T DRIVE TOO SLOW

"Jack May" > wrote in message
...
> BTW I see that the hundred or so topic they want ITS papers on at
>
> http://www.itsworldcongress.org/submit_paper.php
>
> Of course submitting a paper does not mean it will be accepted. He can
> at least give it a try.

Sorry, my mistake. At the top of the page is says the submission process is
closed.

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 19:31:01 -0700, "Jack May" > wrote:

>
>"Jack May" > wrote in message
...
>> BTW I see that the hundred or so topic they want ITS papers on at
>>
>> http://www.itsworldcongress.org/submit_paper.php
>>
>> Of course submitting a paper does not mean it will be accepted. He can
>> at least give it a try.
>
>Sorry, my mistake. At the top of the page is says the submission process is
>closed.

If I had the switch patented I might consider it. The $8000 or so that a
complicated technical patent can cost has me put off a bit, so it remains a
design entirely in my head...

DPH
>

"Dave Head" > wrote in message
...

> If I had the switch patented I might consider it. The $8000 or so that a
> complicated technical patent can cost has me put off a bit, so it remains
> a
> design entirely in my head...

My understanding is that you do not need a lawyer to get a patent and the
submittal fee is only $75. In fact I think a patent attorney may not even
help under their new policies.

I think an idea is sufficient to apply for a patent. The patents I have
received at work were not much more than an idea.

There should be information on this on the Federal Patent site where ever it
is. There is also an ability to search for related patents on line as part
of the approval process.

Might as well give it a try.

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 20:10:52 -0700, "Jack May" > wrote:

>
>"Dave Head" > wrote in message
.. .
>
>> If I had the switch patented I might consider it. The $8000 or so that a
>> complicated technical patent can cost has me put off a bit, so it remains
>> a
>> design entirely in my head...
>
>My understanding is that you do not need a lawyer to get a patent and the
>submittal fee is only $75. In fact I think a patent attorney may not even
>help under their new policies.

You don't need a patent attorney to get a patent, but you need one if you don't
want some smart alec changing the design ever so slightly and building
something essentially the same, but not covered by what you wrote. You need to
cover all the probable modifications so they can't do that.

Its been about 4 years since I seriously considered patenting this thing, and
at that time fees were very much higher than that. There's also a hefty fee
at some point years down the road (8, I think?) that you need to pay to keep
the patent alive. Since actually making any money off the thing would entail
being able to sell it, since I have neither the business acum to attempt to
build something like a large railroad network, nor would I want to spend the
rest of my life working 16 hrs a day attempting it, I'm not wild about putting
much of my own money in it. The recent developments of ultra-high gas prices
with not much chance they're coming down all that much just has me thinking
about it again. Maybe I _could_ sell it.

>I think an idea is sufficient to apply for a patent. The patents I have
>received at work were not much more than an idea.

Yeah, I could likely get it...

>There should be information on this on the Federal Patent site where ever it
>is. There is also an ability to search for related patents on line as part
>of the approval process.

I searched the heck out of it about 4 years ago. Might have missed something,
but there was nothing like this at that time that I could find.

>Might as well give it a try.

Getting it all done for free would be the thing to try, I think.

Dave Head