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Patent Research - Tethrd

iamcorey said:
So wait, you can have a general idea of something, patent it but never produce it, then when someone makes something similar you can come in and make money on it?
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www.investopedia.com

Understanding Patent Trolls

A patent troll is a derogatory term used to describe the use of patent infringement claims to win court judgments for profit or to stifle competition.
www.investopedia.com www.investopedia.com
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iamcorey said:
So wait, you can have a general idea of something, patent it but never produce it, then when someone makes something similar you can come in and make money on it?
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Yep. And people can patent simple stuff too. I deleted a post earlier today (don't wanna open too many worm cans), but Dan Infalt patented using machining to make aluminum tree stands. I know this is legal and part of the game, but it is just silly to me. Can I patent using a socket wrench?

Can you patent "rectangular or trapezoidal platforms when viewed overhead"? The toe thing on the Predator is so simple and common place in other items (a catch ledge) that only a lawyer would think to patent that.

Apple was in the news for patenting the gesture on the screen to "pinch" it to shrink images and also the length to width ratio of their screen.

I think patent law needs to be reformed.
 
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iamcorey said:
So wait, you can have a general idea of something, patent it but never produce it, then when someone makes something similar you can come in and make money on it?
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I have seen reports where this happens a lot. Get a patent on an idea and never make anything with the idea to sue a manufacturer later for a small cut. There are places that buy up unused patents.
 
Tjraley2 said:
Totally agree. This is the free market at work. I should have been more clear in my post to say the free market has two sides. The only point I intended to get at is to say they have a right to their side just as much as we do. I think keeping that in mind helps us frame the conversation in a more productive manner. I’m concerned the conversation will devolve into personal attacks rather than evolving into adjusting the utility we assign to their product, and thus the amount we’re willing to pay or our willingness to buy at all.
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Cool. This also answers folks that say "well, if you are mad they are making money like this, then why don't you just start doing it?". Somehow criticizing a business has been associated with being a bleeding heart.
 
Having been through the patent process several times, writing patents is more of an exercise in semantics than they are reality or even uniqueness of a product. If your lawyer can be creative enough, you can just about patent an existing product to the tee. Did Infalt really invent drilling holes in tubing for sticks (just walk around any warehouse in the world and look at how many metal tubing racks with holes existed long before he was born). This is a problem with the legal system and what it allows, not with Tethrd. Not sure what truly "new" ideas they have patented, but even if their concepts or products were already out there, others did not patent them, so they won that legal game, so you have to give it to them for beating them to the punch.

That said, the quality of ideas shared openly on this and other sites has significantly degraded in equal proportion to the rise of Tethrd and other commercial saddle companies and saddle hunting popularity, in large part to the concerns that they will take the ideas and patent them. Why would anyone share a truly great concept in public now that will be used for commercial gain by someone else? When is the last time you saw something truly innovative on here that is not just a tweak of something already done in the past couple of years? A stick is a stick, platform is a platform, linesman loop is linesman loop, and on it goes! You are either buying or DIYing, and buying just keeps the patents coming.
 
Gator said:
Could you elaborate on what this recent infringement is about so we can quit speculating?
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I doubt he can openly share that info.

But what would be really cool is if he could highlight some of the key aspects of patent design and application....how to go about it...pitfalls...you know the insider stuff that could help some of the ingenuitive folks on this site if they ever wanted to get a start up going with "new ideas to make saddle hunting better for all."
 
raisins said:
Anyone know if Sandor27 got any cash for this?

DIY sub-1lb climbing stick adventure!

How are you attaching to the carbon tube? Any field tests yet? You're my hero.
saddlehunter.com

See post 62 in that thread.

If not, then I think Cruzr should settle and make Tethrd squaring up with Sandor27 part of the agreement.

Sandor27 actually had an original, complex idea and you can see that the Tethrd One stick is a refined version of it. There's around zero chance that his stick did not influence the Tethrd One stick.

This is way more obvious than adding a little toe ledge, which is so simple that people could easily, independently invent it over and over.
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@Sandor27
 
Cant blame tethrd for trying to be the Amazon of saddles but also cant expect to get big without having some fallouts. I hope the greed doesn't take over too much tho. They have definitely put saddle hunting out in the main stream.
 
Robert loper said:
Cant when it pops open every time i log in son.
I see how this forum is going nowadays shame cause few years ago it was one of the best but i guess when ya get people who love dramma in one spot. Drama will win over.
Seems to me the top dog needs some sort of social life rather than trying to pry rumors and bs from people.
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Well Robert once again, if a thread does not interest you the choice is real easy pick another one to read, posting such comments as above with zero pertaining to the thread topic in an attempt to stir the pot is not very productive for anybody, I wish you the best of luck this coming deer season and I mean it!
 
Here's a free idea for Cruzr to get around the patent.

Put a small tapped hole at one or more location where you can thread a bolt in there and now you have an adjustable/removable toe grabber.

Oh...patent pending....except if you are Cruzr.
 
drew13 said:
BassBoysLLP is a really good dude. Super smart and was always willing to share his knowledge on the site back in the old days. I agree that it is smart business to protect your ideas with patents and that it is a lot of work to do so. But it is undeniable that adding business and money to the mix fundamentally changed the content and tenor of the site from the free sharing of ideas. Some people profited from it. The rest of us are jealous. Myself included!
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I like everything you are saying here, except when you project envy onto everyone. I sense frustration rather than jealousy from what many folks have posted. And, as we've seen, there are some who are completely indifferent too.

I appreciate protecting ideas.

From what I see, the primary differences between the Predator platform and earlier Assassin platform relate almost entirely to platform geometry (specifically the frontal wings) and the grip on the vertical perimiter, with the exception of utilizing a beam support rather than a tube (which doesn't appear to be strongly protected in the filed patent). Language supporting this is as follows:

1. The toe receiver is formed by an obtuse angle formed in the outer surface of the rear section, wherein the obtuse angle is less than 160.degree.. The toe receiver provides an engagement point for a hunter's foot as the hunter rotates laterally away from the platform.

7. The support assembly according to claim 6, further including a plurality of gripping protuberances extending outwardly away from the outer surface of each of the first and second lateral edges, the gripping protuberances being positioned on each of the front and rear sections.

I have absolutely no problem with Tethrd protecting these two aspects as they were unique design features so far as I know when they applied for the patent.

People should be rewarded for their ingenuity, IMO. What's tough is when ideas that aren't one's own find their way into the mix (I won't speculate on that) as well as this reality, patents can bog down continuing progress.
 
Plebe said:
People should be rewarded for their ingenuity, IMO. What's tough is when ideas that aren't one's own find their way into the mix (I won't speculate on that) as well as this reality, patents can bog down continuing progress.
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Double edged....patents also promote progress because no one would do serious R and D if their ideas would be stolen immediately.
 
raisins said:
Double edged....patents also promote progress because no one would do serious R and D if their ideas would be stolen immediately.
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Potentially. I read that there is some protection from infringement (up to 12 months) if you sell product while working up a patent request. I might be misinterpreting what I read though.

In this instance, if true, it can be a space race. And history tells that tale.
 
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Plebe said:
I like everything you are saying here, except when you project envy onto everyone. I sense frustration rather than jealousy from what many folks have posted. And, as we've seen, there are some who are completely indifferent too.

I appreciate protecting ideas.

From what I see, the primary differences between the Predator platform and earlier Assassin platform relate almost entirely to platform geometry (specifically the frontal wings) and the grip on the vertical perimiter, with the exception of utilizing a beam support rather than a tube (which doesn't appear to be strongly protected in the filed patent). Language supporting this is as follows:

1. The toe receiver is formed by an obtuse angle formed in the outer surface of the rear section, wherein the obtuse angle is less than 160.degree.. The toe receiver provides an engagement point for a hunter's foot as the hunter rotates laterally away from the platform.

7. The support assembly according to claim 6, further including a plurality of gripping protuberances extending outwardly away from the outer surface of each of the first and second lateral edges, the gripping protuberances being positioned on each of the front and rear sections.

I have absolutely no problem with Tethrd protecting these two aspects as they were unique design features so far as I know when they applied for the patent.

People should be rewarded for their ingenuity, IMO. What's tough is when ideas that aren't one's own find their way into the mix (I won't speculate on that) as well as this reality, patents can bog down continuing progress.
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Pretty sure we have discussed this at one point...but the original Treesuit platform(before treehopper started making it) had "wings" too....probably 15 years ago? The one I sold @Nutterbuster can be seen here if you're interested...
 
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