Levis has money to spend on lawyers that most small garment manufacturers do not. Whether or not a patent applies to something probably shouldn't be based on how much money the litigants can afford to spend.
But, this does lead me to another conclusion I have drawn over the years. Often, the more applicable intellectual property protection, is probably a Trademark.
The example I like from our community is "hybrid" construction, typically meaning S&G hull with a strip deck on a kayak. I believe this term was coined for kayaks by the late Michael Vermouth at Newfound Woodworks. Now, everyone (in our tiny little world) uses the term.
After the fact Michael wondered if he should have patented the idea. We can argue over whether it is a novel innovation, but it was probably novel enough in the early 1990's that a patent would have been approved. The thing is, it is very expensive to get the patent, and expensive to defend.
Much easier would have been to Trademark the term "hybrid" in relation to kayaks. This wouldn't stop other companies from selling kayaks that have S&G hulls and strip decks, but they would not have been able to call them "hybrid". They would have had to call them something else.
It was quite some time between when Newfound Woodworks released their first hybrid design and when other companies started offering them. The term had become established and the new offerings would be at a disadvantage from the marketing perspective because they would be unable to use the term.
To me this is a fair way to deal with it. For example, Joe Greenly has the "rolling recess", this is a form of recessed cockpit. If he had a trademark, he could stop anyone from having a rolling recess, he just could stop anyone from having a recess suitable for rolling.
Messages In This Thread
- S&G: first multi-chine kayak
warren williamson -- 8/17/2015, 10:41 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Etienne Muller -- 8/18/2015, 3:44 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 8/18/2015, 8:12 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Justin -- 8/18/2015, 10:38 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 8/18/2015, 11:04 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Victor -- 8/18/2015, 11:41 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
warren williamson -- 8/18/2015, 12:17 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Justin -- 8/18/2015, 1:36 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
bsoderholm -- 8/18/2015, 3:08 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Justin -- 8/18/2015, 3:57 pm
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Bill Hamm -- 8/18/2015, 10:19 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Pete -- 8/18/2015, 11:00 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Jay babina -- 10/20/2015, 11:43 am- Patent Foolishness
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 10/21/2015, 11:21 am
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Patent 6779477 *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 8/19/2015, 8:48 am- Re: Patent 6779477
Bill Hamm -- 8/19/2015, 5:07 pm- Re: Patent 6779477
Bill Hamm -- 10/20/2015, 3:26 am- Re: Patent 6779477
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 10/20/2015, 9:59 am- Re: Patent 6779477
Bill Hamm -- 10/20/2015, 2:00 pm- Re: Patent 6779477
Björn Thomasson -- 11/1/2017, 6:03 pm
- Re: Patent 6779477
- Re: Patent 6779477
- Re: Patent 6779477
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
mick allen -- 8/18/2015, 7:02 pm- Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
warren williamson -- 8/19/2015, 1:15 am- Recessed Ckpt Patent: the Guy
mick allen -- 8/19/2015, 3:47 am- Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
Bill Hamm -- 8/19/2015, 5:12 pm- Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 8/20/2015, 8:15 am - Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
- Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 8/19/2015, 8:56 am- Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
Rod Tait -- 8/19/2015, 11:37 am- Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 8/19/2015, 1:04 pm- Re: Patents
Rod Tait -- 8/19/2015, 8:17 pm- Re: Patents
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 8/20/2015, 10:22 am- Re: Patents
Daniel Thaler -- 8/20/2015, 12:58 pm- Re: Patents
warren williamson -- 8/20/2015, 2:39 pm
- Re: Patents
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 8/20/2015, 3:52 pm- Re: Patents
Rod Tait -- 8/20/2015, 4:40 pm- Re: Patents
Bill Hamm -- 8/20/2015, 5:46 pm- Re: Patents
Shawn Jones -- 8/26/2015, 4:34 am- Re: Patents *PIC*
Shawn Jones -- 8/26/2015, 4:59 am
- Re: Patents *PIC*
Dan Thaler -- 10/11/2015, 6:47 pm - Re: Patents
- Re: Patents
Alex Ferguson -- 11/2/2017, 6:20 am- Re: Patents
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/2/2017, 10:20 am- Re: Patents
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/2/2017, 11:01 am
- Re: Patents
- Re: Patents
- Re: Patents
- Re: Patents
- Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
mick allen -- 8/19/2015, 10:11 pm - Re: Pygmy Recessed Ckpt Patent
- Recessed Ckpt Patent: the Guy
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Brian Nystrom -- 8/19/2015, 7:30 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
daan Daaniels -- 10/18/2015, 2:53 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
daan Daniels -- 10/18/2015, 2:55 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Marc Upchurch -- 10/18/2015, 3:44 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 10/18/2015, 8:56 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Björn Thomasson -- 11/1/2017, 6:44 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
mick allen -- 11/1/2017, 7:41 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Björn Thomasson -- 11/2/2017, 4:15 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/2/2017, 8:36 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
mick allen -- 11/3/2017, 10:40 pm
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Letters from Attorneys
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/2/2017, 9:14 am- Re: Letters from Attorneys
M A Bielski -- 11/3/2017, 7:55 am- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/3/2017, 9:19 am- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/3/2017, 12:26 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/3/2017, 5:01 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/3/2017, 5:19 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/3/2017, 5:21 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
M A Bielski -- 11/3/2017, 11:40 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Etienne Muller -- 11/4/2017, 6:26 pm
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Jay Babina -- 11/4/2017, 7:33 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/4/2017, 8:24 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/4/2017, 11:17 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 11/5/2017, 3:50 am- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Etienne Muller -- 11/5/2017, 3:54 am- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Paul Sylvester -- 11/5/2017, 5:00 am- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark, names
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/5/2017, 4:40 pm- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark, names
JohnAbercrombie -- 11/5/2017, 4:49 pm
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark, names
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 11/5/2017, 8:54 am- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
Jay Babina -- 11/5/2017, 6:35 pm
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: Patent vs Trade Mark
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Bill Hamm -- 11/2/2017, 9:10 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Bill Hamm -- 11/2/2017, 9:37 pm - Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
LeeG -- 10/19/2015, 5:35 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
mick allen -- 10/20/2015, 1:26 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 10/20/2015, 11:00 am- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
mick allen -- 10/20/2015, 8:28 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 10/20/2015, 9:56 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
mick allen -- 10/21/2015, 4:06 pm
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
mick allen -- 10/31/2017, 1:48 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 10/31/2017, 6:03 pm- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
mick allen -- 10/31/2017, 7:32 pm
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak *PIC*
- Re: S&G: first multi-chine kayak