ARC and patents

Peter, I just checked in the USPTO's database at www.uspto.gov, and it doesn't appear that ARC has any patents in their name.

Given that some of your designs are quite unique and original, why not?

I'm sure you frown somewhat upon patents as a result of the Mag incident (a perfect example of the system being abused), but nonetheless it might be useful if ARC had their own patent portfolio. Even if your intent is not to use them to aggressively harass other companies, a stack of patents is VERY nice for defensive purposes. Companies are less willing to go after a rival that might be able to sting back. (Rumor has it that Mag might be working on an LED light - Wouldn't it suck if it were an ARC ripoff and you couldn't do anything about it?)

Don't confuse patents with registered trademarks.

I believe Mag's beef was w/ the placement of product logo and logo design being too close tho that of Mag's registered trademark on a similar product.

Not that I agree with mag, but they have a right to defend against alleged infractions upon that trademark. I'll refrain from posting my opinion here, as its a dead-horse subject.

Oh, and patents typically take years to file. So if ARC had any pending patents, you probably wouldn't necessarily see them.

We have several patents in the works...

Peter

Good to know, Peter. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Danger_Mouse said:
Don't confuse patents with registered trademarks.

I believe Mag's beef was w/ the placement of product logo and logo design being too close tho that of Mag's registered trademark on a similar product.

Not that I agree with mag, but they have a right to defend against alleged infractions upon that trademark. I'll refrain from posting my opinion here, as its a dead-horse subject.

Oh, and patents typically take years to file. So if ARC had any pending patents, you probably wouldn't necessarily see them.

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The USPTO now allows you to search through pending applications. Didn't get any hits for Gransee. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And wasn't Mag also suing based on some patent they had on the shape of a light? (i.e. they think they have a cylinder patented?)

Either way, good to hear that ARC has some patents in the works. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

it all depends, in many cases, if you "infringe someone elses patent, and it goes to court, the older patent is ruled as not....errm....watertight, can't think of a lawers term!
in one case that i read the people in question tried to patent all contact lenses made with all of the FDA approved polymers!!! the fact that people were making them at the time is quite unbelievable, its put down to the patent claims officer being a bit poo really. not that i'm an expert on patents, i'm just a scientest!!!!who can't spell

You're not making that much sense here.

Things that are definite: If you don't enforce a patent in ALL known cases, it becomes unenforceable. This doesn't necessarily imply legal action in the courts. Back when my father worked for the intellectual property division of a large company, it was very rare and considered a last resort for an infringement case to go to court. Usually negotiations outside of court were sufficient. In many cases, a letter saying "We believe you're infringing our patent/trademark" followed by a reply of, "We aren't, and here is why" is sufficient "enforcement" - Just as long as one can document that a letter was sent and got a sufficiently satisfactory reply. (Mag has clearly gone way beyond this.) In some cases, a patent license can even be given for free, as long as it is done with appropriate terms and conditions. (For example, a number of people have issued permission to use their patents without royalties in any software that is licensed under the FSF's GPL.)

Second, a patent becomes null and void if it can be proven that there is prior art. So ARC has nothing to worry about if Mag decides to patent an LED light similar to one of ARC's designs - ARC only has to show records showing that they were selling their "infringing" device before Mag even filed for their patent.

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Things that are definite: If you don't enforce a patent in ALL known cases, it becomes unenforceable.

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NOT TRUE.

That applies to Trademark but not Patent.

Well, I'm not a patenet or trademark lawyer.

But then again there are some pretty asinine patents out there... (See the 'One click to buy' patent that Amazon possesses.)

Patents you can enforce at will really. Trademarks must be enforced to reinforce brand identity. For quite a long time Apple computer was paying royalty rights to Apple Music for the name. Even though an apple is an everyday object, in how it was applied, it was ruled to be a violation of a standing trademark.

Same reason McDonalds sues anyone w/ the name of Mac or Mc in their products...

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Danger_Mouse said:
Same reason McDonalds sues anyone w/ the name of Mac or Mc in their products...

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Like McLux /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif