Imitation is the sincerest form of flatery.Got a call 6 months ago from one of their employees for a can of my silver rust sealer He used his name with Eastwoods address. I told him to get lost.This company has been copying other vendors ideas for 40 years and charge more money for it .They call it Platinum rust encapsulater 3 times more powerfull than their previous encapsulater. I knew that 30 years ago .Oh well dog eat dog.
yeh, I've had a swiveling mailbox for 10 maybe 12 years... snow plow snapped off every box up the street, hit mine, but it spun, saving it... now I see one local town will require them for any future builds or replacements... wish I had that patent...
I am not sure what you're saying. I get that Eastwood has reverse engineered your product. Is it patented or otherwise proprietary? Companies copy stuff all the time-capitalism, you know? BTW, I found Eastwood's product right away, but when I looked for your price-sheet/on-line order form, my server blocked access saying your security certificate had expired on March 12. You might want to look into that.
Speedway, Eastwood, all do it and the sheep support it, but call for tech and you get a card reading "yes, may I help you?" then comes the silence.....
Wow, so you can get the mail without going into the street? That's pretty cool. Invent one with an underground vacuum tube and you won't even have to go outside.
I don't know when you "invented" that mailbox, but in 1966 my first dent in my car was made when I was taking a curve too fast in the rain and slid into a row of mailboxes....which were on pipes made to swivel. Owner said lots of people had been hitting them on that curve so he put them on a swivel.
Thanks for letting me know.I will take care of it.As for patents. change one item or ingredient is all it takes.Trademarks ,somebody copies your name you will spend thousands for lawyers fees and the best you will get is cease and desist.dog eat dog
A bit of a search shows that you can buy Pat's product from Pat through Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B07FPM2WZ1/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new At the same time I see you can get a swing away mailbox stand too. https://www.amazon.com/Plow-Resista...71KQ6F9VMG9&psc=1&refRID=TZXKTBTV271KQ6F9VMG9 I got tired of having my mailbox smashed so I made one that swings away. It's about due for a coat of Pat55's rust coating though.
IP is an odd thing. While I understand your point about the costs to defend, US patents apply to processes, devices, or compositions of matter. "Recipes" (such as a rust inhibitor product) would only be allowed patent protection if they exhibit "new, useful, and unobvious" properties. Simply changing a single compound in the recipe without making a clear and obvious NEW benefit would not be patentable under USPTO rules. Eastwood can't just add some paprika and avoid infringement. As for defending your IP, you're right from a practical perspective. You'll spend lots of time and energy and Eastwood will dodge, duck, dip, dive... and dodge until you get tired of chasing them. At that point, legal protections you may have (such as patent or trademark) could be challenged because you, the owner of those rights, "failed" to protect them. In "recipe" cases, it seems the best protection is to go the trade secret route. If you can show due diligence in protecting your secret, you can make legal (including criminal-- ie, did they break into your secret recipe vault?) cases against someone ripping off your product. Unlike patents, which REQUIRE public disclosure in order to gain legal protection, trade secrets are protected by their very concept... they are SECRET. Someone gaining unauthorized access to your secret may have civil and/or criminal culpability. However, if you never invoked IP protections on your product in the first place, well, as you say... dog eat dog. "Failing" to protect IP is effectively an offer for others to use it. This is one way that so much ends up in the public domain. /2 cents from someone who has spent decades dealing directly with IP rights (winning some and losing others) Also, next time I need some rust inhibitor, I'll be buying your product as I figuratively flip off Eastwood.
XXX_ is so correct. Several years ago I looked into getting a Patent on an item. For starters it is very expensive to research to see if a Patent hasen't already been filed that your item would / could be overlapping on. Then there is the additional cost of getting the Tee's crossed legally. More $$$$. OK now you have everything in place. Your Patent is only as strong as your ability $$$ to defend it. It is all pretty complicated and stacked in the Big Boys $$$ favor.
Thats a cool mailbox. We must armor plate our mail boxs here in North JerseyThey like to hit them with a bat
Thats a cool mailbox. We must armor plate our mail boxs here in North Jersey They like to hit them with a bat
Im sorry i am not very good with message boards as you can see .XXl and woodeye thank you for your thoughts.The big guys have taken over front page listings. It used to be pennies a click to do ads now its dollars
Coincidentally the other day I was reading the story of Robert Kearns, intermittent wiper inventor who won patents lawsuits against Ford and Chrysler, but apparently at a cost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kearns
Blowby can we mass produce that mailbox? The paint busines is wearing me down. That would be a big seller here
Copying is one of the lowest forms of human life. The only ones that think its ok are the ones who do it and can't come up with their own ideas so they steal others time and hard work. They are the same lazy bastards that leaned over your shoulder in school and copied your school work. They make theirselves feel better by saying others do it or its done all the time. Others rape and steal so that must be ok because others do that too. Patents are a waste of time as mentioned above. If I can't come up with something of my own , I go to work for the guy that did. Integrity is very rare. Nothing new. There have been low lifes since the beginning of time.
My dad recieved a patent for ride off Harleys in 1960. I've still got it pretty cool, all the research, lawyer papers, and a #. No patent pending. HD didn't like and never made any either.
Done a long time ago! You guys surely remember the vacuum-tube transfers at department store cashier counters to their accounting departments? This was done if you used a personal check and or when you needed change for a larger bill. I'm not clear how long ago this started but know there was one in my small hometown Penny's store in the early 60s. - EM
Yeah, I remember them...my small town bank has this at their drive up. Drive up has been inop for 2 months now. 'Vacuum problem'. IT SUCKS!!! (or it doesn't?)
Pat, I see other Hambers have a little blurb at the bottom of their posts about their products or services, maybe you should look into doing this.
I have a friend that came up with the idea and built the windshield wipers that come on when it detects moisture. Ford contacted him and had him come to ford for a few months to show how it worked, sent him on his way with a "we'll let you know". Next thing you know Ford has a brand new feature of automatic wipers, while all my friend got was food and housing for those couple months.
The Jalopy Journal
