Patent Ripoff Plague

Filed in archive Intellectual Property on August 9, 2006

Seems we live in a world of copycats and thieves these days. I was reminded by a friend about how bad it has become. My friend has had her patented intellectual property ripped off. When she spent the money to get her patent she thought she was all set - then she got a rude awakening. Someone copied her process and was using it and marketing it as their own.

Patents Offer Limited Protection

The dirty little truth is that a patent offers limited protection plus it tells the world exactly how you did it for all the world to see.

I am not an attorney and they might disagree with my opinion but I am looking at this from the perspective of a small business owner.

Part of having a patent is that you have to defend it - when you learn of people that have copied your patent you have to defend it legally - otherwise you can loose your patent.

The protection of a patent is only as good as how many times you are willing to threaten infringers and then sue them if required - which costs real money.

So unless you are prepared to spend the cash to have your lawyer defend your patent - it might be a waste of time.