Patent - Some Famous Patents

In this article we're going to discuss some of the most famous patents in history. These are inventions that greatly changed the world we live in.

To go over all the patents that have changed the world would take a month of Sundays and then some. What follows is just a brief look at some of the greatest patents in our history.

What is considered the most valuable patent is the one issued to Alexander Graham Bell for his invention of the telephone. The patent was number 174,465 issued in 1876. Ironically, early attempts to make the telephone popular were unsuccessful. People looked at the idea as nothing more than a novelty and didn't take its communication possibilities seriously. Try telling that to all the people walking around with cell phones today.

This one may come as a bit of a surprise. Thomas Edison didn't actually invent the light bulb. What he did was improve on a fifty year old idea. In 1879, using lower current, a small carbonized filament, and an improved vacuum inside the globe, he was able to produce a reliable, long-lasting source of light. This invention led to the creation of jobs for millions of people. Quite literally, without this invention we would all still be in the dark. Thomas Edison actually received 1093 patents during his life.

If you're into some really odd trivia you can tell people that Abe Lincoln was the only United States President to receive a patent. He did so for his manner of buoying vessels. He was issued this patent in 1849. It was patent number 6,469. When Lincoln was young he took a boatload of merchandise down the Mississippi River during a trip from New Salem to New Orleans. There was an accident when the boat slid into a dam. It took great effort to get the boat dislodged. Two years later Lincoln had a similar accident crossing the Great Lakes. These two incidents led Lincoln to come up with a solution to this problem. His invention consisted of a set of bellows attached to the hull of the ship just below the water line. When the vessel is in danger of an accident, the bellows are filled with air and act as a buoy to keep the ship afloat. Lincoln never profited from his invention but he was a very strong supporter of the patent system.

Probably the most famous patent was the one issued to Frederic Auguste Bartholdi for his design of the Statue Of Liberty. The Statue Of Liberty came to New York on June 19, 1885. It was a gift of friendship given to the United States from the people of France. It was intended to celebrate their 100 years of independence 10 years earlier.

The statue is constructed of copper sheets which are assembled on a framework of steel supports. In order to be transported to America the statue was disassembled into 350 pieces and was packed in 214 crates. It was then reassembled when it arrived. Nothing like this was ever done before and most likely will never be done again.

Your Independent guide to Patents

Patent - Making Your Own Patent Drawings

In this article we're going to discuss making drawings for your new gadget that you're trying to get a patent for.

In most cases, with a physical item, the patent office will require you to have drawings for your item unless you have a working prototype. So what do you do if you can't draw a straight line? Well, today there are computer programs that can do your patent drawings for you.

The situation you find yourself in goes something like this. You've just invented the greatest thing since sliced bread. You've made some rough sketches and even written some of the patent application yourself. You've saved yourself thousands of dollars by not hiring a lawyer. The only thing left to do is prepare drawings to go with your patent application. But you are no artist. What do you do?

Well, many inventors turn this part of the job over to a professional draftsman at the price tag of $75 to $150 per sheet of patent drawings. If you have a number of these the cost can add up in a hurry.

Fortunately, with today's technology, if you can do the patent application yourself you can also do the drawings yourself as well. You're going to need to learn some USPTO rules and the learning curve is pretty steep, but the rewards will be more than worth the effort. Besides saving money on the application itself you'll also be able to prepare brochures for prospective manufacturers or customers. Also, because nobody knows your invention better than you do, you'll have the best idea of what the drawings should look like. By doing your own drawings you don't have to explain to another person what your invention is about. The process of sending drawings back and forth for corrections is eliminated. Finally, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you did the whole patent process by yourself, which is quite an accomplishment.

There are various ways you can create your drawings.

The traditional way is with pen and ruler in black and white. While this may seem old fashioned, it is the least costly and is actually how the patent office prefers them, nice and simple. You're going to need to learn basic drawing techniques to do this.

If color is needed to accurately represent your invention then you can submit color drawings. If you plan to do this you're going to have to file three sets of color illustrations. Then you have to file a petition to explain why color is necessary. Finally, you pay a petition fee and include a statement in your application that it includes color drawings.

Another option is photographs. These are rarely used, only in cases where a proper illustration of the invention is not possible with drawings.

Finally, there is computer drawing software. The advantage of this method is that you don't have to worry about drawing a straight line. The program can do it for you. Many drawing programs have 3 D image rendering which make the drawing process not only easy but very professional looking. The downside is that some of these programs can run you hundreds of dollars.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Patents

Do You Need a Registered Trademark?

It's less of a need than a want. Registering a trademark is NOT mandatory. However, are you a business owner, or do you work with a business that does not currently have a trademark registered or pending with the USPTO? If this last statement in any way describes you, then YES, you may benefit from having a trademark. It is true that many businesses do not register a trademark with the USPTO, but this puts the business at a great disadvantage when compared to another company that does have a trademark.

Having a trademark notifies an individual that you have the corner on your market. It allows you to take court action if another business does attempt to infringe upon your name. You are essentially protecting your market upon registering a trademark by publicly individualizing your name. This protection allows a greater piece of mind for the average business owner, by ensuring that no one may interfere with your customer base by confusing their business with your own. The last scenario is a common occurrence, and many individuals have been forced to deal with legal repercussions because they did not take the time to trademark their name, while a competing business did.

Think about it like this; if your name was Tom Smith and you were a hard-worker, while there was another Tom Smith who was a poor worker, you wouldn?t want to be confused with that other individual, would you? As I mentioned above, this confusion is a common occurrence among businesses. This is why it is important to protect your name, and your products or services! While it is ultimately up to each business owner whether or not they want to protect their name, be aware of the potential ramifications that can come with not applying for a trademark. Whether or not your name is trademarked could have the ability to make or break your business; so why wouldn?t you apply for a trademark?

Marit Lee is a Researcher for TradeMark Express. Since 1992, TradeMark Express has met the needs of their clients with comprehensive research, application preparation, attorney referrals and trademark consultation. For further details, please visit us on the web at TradeMark Express or call Marit directly at 800.550.1520.

Free Trademark Search - Is it Possible to Search my Trademark for Free?

Yes and no is really the only way to answer this question. While there are some great preliminary sites anyone can access for free, that is NOT a clear cut indication of what's out there in terms of company names, service names or product names.

Only comprehensive research will tell you if a name is truly available.

Let's take a look at some free, preliminary sites and where they fail to be comprehensive:

• The USPTO Web Site: You'll be able to search some of the Federal trademark files at this site.

  What it's missing: State trademarks; Common-Law databases such as incorporation listings, DBA records, company directories, newspapers, product announcements, etc.

  What it lacks: Does NOT search intelligently (i.e. synonyms, spelling variations, word placement, etc.) unless you manually enter in those variations

• Your Secretary of State web site: Your state may have an online searchable database.

  What it's missing: Federal trademarks; All other State trademark listings; Common-Law databases

  What it lacks: Provided that your state does have a searchable database, you'll want to be sure to check how often it's updated and if it searches intelligently

• Yellow pages: SuperPages allows users to search nationwide. Simply enter the business name & leave the other fields blank.

  What it's missing: Federal AND State trademarks; Common-Law databases

  What it lacks: Does NOT search intelligently (i.e. synonyms, spelling variations, word placement, etc.) unless you manually enter in those variations

Take advantage of these free resources before hiring an attorney or private company to conduct a thorough search.

Yes, you can search your business name for free - just know that it's not comprehensive!

Shannon Moore is the General Manager, East Coast for TradeMark Express. Since 1992, TradeMark Express has met the needs of their clients with comprehensive research, application preparation, attorney referrals and trademark consultation. For further details, please visit us on the web at TradeMark Express or call Shannon directly at 800.340.2010.