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Computer-dependent inventors need an online inventor's notebook webservice. An authenticated, tamper-proof, version-controlled (inventor's must NOT be able to retro-revise old entries) encrypted-channel reputable third-part weblog service for inventors who want a secure online inventor's notebook,
with assured archiving, time-stamping, etc. <Some people do everything with the keyboard, lose paper, even computers.>
If you know of such a service (or want advice creating one), let me know.
practical and legal fundamentals of intellectual property
http://www.fplc.edu/tfield/plfip.htm
some points to consider when seeking intellectual property protection [X2Entendre, Oct 04 2004]
US Patent and Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm
One of my favorite sites, many useful links ranging from helpful links for inventors to information on how to apply for your patent. [X2Entendre, Oct 04 2004]
[link]
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Have you read the help file? |
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Buy a pencil. (Walmart, 10 cents)
Buy a notebook. (Walmart, 60 cents)
Buy a small, fireproof lockbox. (Walmart, $29.99) |
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Another graduate from the PeterSealy school of text comprehension, I see. |
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The suggested service lets an inventor prove that they had a certain idea by a certain date, without revealing the idea itself. |
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Technically, this can be done by publishing a hash of the idea somewhere public, for example a newspaper; I think there's a service that does this, although not quite at this granularity. |
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Great idea!
IMHO if you make such a site, the same could be used for online document tracking of any sort.
Now that service is something that organizations pay for! If it's secure and you can prove it, you have a money machine.
I might have the team to do it, I'll write to you directly. Moshe |
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or make a copy of your notes and send them to yourself in a temper-evident envelope, via certified mail. Then, keep the sealed envelope with the original notes and you can bust out it as need be. |
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I like the idea though. my engineering professors always said to keep a hard-bound invention/lab notebook and sign and date every page... but if it was worth millions, it would also be worth it to recreate an entire notebook with fake dates. |
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I could really do with something like that. Maybe some sort of big-brother log that could record all this sort of data around the world to make sure someone lazy who thought of it first didn't miss out? |
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If you are going to counter a patent, then the invention will have to be published, though it can be published in a strange language, or a very low circulation form (a doctorate thesis in a faculty library is considered publishing). It should be possible to publish in an encrypted form, provided the key is much shorter than the message to prevent the possibility of tampering with the key to retroactively change a few critical characters in the message. I was told that an encrypted description of an invention would not stand as evidence, while a statement written in an Amerind language that was good enough to be used as an encryption language during WW2 would be considered as publication. |
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At the time I used to have to know about such things, a newsgroup posting had not been accepted as evidence of publication. Anyone got any fresher info? |
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If you have a non-published document that proves you had prior art on a patent, then this can get you some rights for a royalty-free licence of the invention in the state you can prove you got it to, which isn't as good as quashing the patent, and might not be worth the court costs. |
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There is a big difference between small and large entity intellectual property protection. Considering the forum, I'll assume that we're dealing strictly with small entity protection not relating to an existing product line, etc. Unless you (the small entity innovator) have an innovation which you feel is worthy of winning a utility class patent, taking steps for protecting it is probably a waste of time and money, as a design class patent gives protection only to a specific physical form and appearance, to which any slight variation is immune to infringement claims. (but, on the other hand, if you want to impress your friends and tell them you hold a patent, a design class patent is very easy to get, hence the literally hundreds of design-class patented scissor handles, whoopeee!) Having satisfied that qualification, your idea must be developed to the point where you can claim at least one specific, unique and patentable innovation which would not be obvious to persons expert in the field of this innovation. First, gather all relevant information in your posession, and create copies to be sealed in a tamper evident envelope. Have the counter person at the post office hand date all seams and seals, and mail to yourself. This protects you somewhat, but only for a period of one year. Secondly, and more importantly, see your patent attorney. The initial consultation is free in most cases, and documentation is produced which will specifically outline your innovation and related claims. (The attorney is bound by confidentiality laws regardless of whether you use his/her services or not.) This documentation is probably the most valuable pre-patent protection you can have, and as mentioned earlier, it's FREE. In all cases, regardless of what protection you provide for your idea, you have only one year from the date of first disclosure to apply for your patent. |
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