RE: Patent Question

[P3D Michael Kersenbrock <michaelk@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Ok, now I am going to have to find the book written by an attorney where this 
> idea was stated! <smile>  I am more familiar with copyright than patent, so if 
> this is wrong, then everyone ignore my previous message!

The mail it to yourself thing isn't for protect, as such, it's for establishment
of the idea's date later on in court cases and such.  For who-gets-the-patent
first, it's "who files first".  But in a court challange, the date setting 
with the envelope might be useful.  Similar to having dual-signed bound notebooks
in some engineering environments.  It's a form of "patent disclosure" for
invention-date setting.  Nothing directly to do with getting protection,
but particularly useful if somebody else gets a patent on it and *you* get
sued for using the idea.  If you can prove you had the idea early enough,
you can protect yourself.

Note that things may have changed, it's been a while since my last patent,
and I may not have fully understood things back then either.  .... I've never
even played one on TV.  Etc.  :-)

Mike K.



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