Tom Kirkman wrote:
By the way, something is wrong with the quote button - I didn't write the statement contained in the quote box above.
My idea, on the other hand, is functional, developed and in use.
I am the person who is responsible for the quote, so I guess that makes me the idiot. If name calling makes him feel better about himself I'm ok with that. I don't think he noticed the ideas I have posted are all protected by patents by people who had the idea first, thus being an idiot I chose not to perspire anymore over the idea. I am just complaining that for some reason these idea's have yet come to market. Why hasn't the rescue balloon come to market? Wouldn't it save lives? It doesn't seem like it would be expensive to produce, I did look into it and found the gas cylinders if purchased in bulk could be had for about $3 each, add the housing, line and a mylar balloon and you have a low tech, very reliable rescue device...how much is an epirb by comparison?
Tom, have you looked into whether or not your device could be patented, is there another patent that your device would infringe upon that would prevent it from receiving a patent? From where I sit it looks like a winner, but then again I may be an idiot.
Perhaps any idiot can have an idea and get a patent is what he meant
and prevent others from developing the idea. Why don't zippers have a little v shaped plow in front of the carriage to prevent fabric from getting caught in the teeth of the zipper? I have become frustrated by the patent system and think there needs to be some change, so I for one will make some of the ideas I have public and maybe they will get developed or maybe not. The way it is now I have all but given up hope.
So much for my remote release lobster pot buoy which eliminates the line being in the water column where whales and boats could get fowled causing loss of the gear, also eliminating damage from storms where the pots are picked up by waves and slammed back down because of the float/buoy. I thought you had to have a protoytype and I had a prototype almost complete. Then I found a guy in Maine got a patent that was so vague it covered my idea, years after I began making a prototype. I still haven't seen that either, so to the guy in Maine who no doubt has a problem with the battery, try a multi day timer so the receiver is active only during a preset window and troll the antenna emitting the recovery signal to deploy the float/line for retrieval.
It is very frustrating having ideas and not knowing who or where to go with them, and not having the financial ability to take a shot yourself.
And as far as a patent expiring, why isn't there another coca-cola made by another company now that the original patent has expired? Does "classic coke" actually prevent this from happening?
I honestly feel patents get in the way of progress.