Can I Patent and Sell My New Bottle Design to a Major Company like Heinz?

[daniel_i_l]

Lets say that I have for example, an idea for a cool new way to bottle ketsup. How would I go about patenting it and selling it to Heinz?

 

[tribdog]

being that getting a patent is such a pain in the butt, and that heinz is pretty happy with their current bottles I'd say just go ahead and write up your plan, get it notarized so you have a date on your idea then send a copy to heinz. if they use it they'll pay you if they don't pay you, you sue them and win easily because you have the proof that you thought of it first.
Is ketchup really spelt ketsup? Catsup?Catchup? Katsup? Ketsoup? make sure you get that right or they probably won't even open your letter, which they probably won't do anyway.

 

[Moonbear]

Well, if you want to go the patent route, you spend about $20,000 on a good patent attorney to help you write the patent and follow through the entire process to get it approved (if you write it yourself or get one of those hack attorneys to do it, you will instead spend $50,000 on litigation when Heinz finds some loophole in your application and insists it infringes on a current design already covered in one of their patents, then makes your bottle without paying you another dime because it's already their patent). After you own the patent rights, you can then negotiate a license with anyone who wants to use your bottle design. You negotiate the fee for them to purchase the license. Keep in mind that unless it's really something spectacular that they couldn't possibly resist, or wouldn't want to see sold to their competitors, they might not be interested. But the licensing is where the money comes from if you have a patent on something you'd never use or market yourself.

 

[jimmie]

check out

"www.intelproplaw.com"[/URL]

A forum that provides answers, from intellectual property lawyers, on various intellectual property questions. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc...

 

[Danger]

If your cool new idea is to grow the tomatoes in the bottle, don't bother. I already own the rights to it.

 

[tribdog]

If your cool new idea is to grow the tomatoes in the bottle, don't bother. I already own the rights to it.

wow, very good idea. way better than mine. I got a patent on the ketchup paint balls you shoot at your food.

 

[Danger]

I got a patent on the ketchup paint balls you shoot at your food.

Another excellent approach. You should look into teaming up with Serj and his electric paintball gun.

 

[tribdog]

electric paintballs? you'd need a long extention cord

 

[Danger]

Hmmm... a Taser with metalflake paintballs? Add insult to injury.

 

[tribdog]

that's why I always poke a person in the eye after I tell them off. add injury to insult

 

[Danger]

It's good that you do it after. If you did it before, they wouldn't be able to see who's telling them off.

 

[tribdog]

what happens if you poke a blind person in the eye? besides getting bit by their dog. would it disable them like it does me?

 

[Danger]

If he has a glass eye, you'll break your fingernail.

 

[tribdog]

I knew a guy with a glass eye. He got killed when a pelican flew into it.
I tried to warn him. I yelled "LOOK OUT FOR THAT PELICAN!"
he started swinging his dog around his head, but the dog clipped a guy on a motorcycle and got dragged out of my buddy's hand
It was really sad. but you got to go on. These things happen

 

[Danger]

Was the bike okay?!

 

[tribdog]

no, BMW
nice bike, rare. The driver was fully enclosed and it had four wheels. You don't see many of those motorcycles anymore.

 

[Danger]

Yeah.
Every time somebody comes up with a really good idea, it gets pulled off the market.

 

[tribdog]

That's why I'm inventing a slingshot.

I had a slingshot once, almost put my eye out.

*Elton John in background*the Cirrrrrrcle ooof Life.

 

[Danger]

Before or after you told yourself off?

 

[tribdog]

*time out*
come on guy, what happened? you froze up on me there.
*time in*

Before or after you told yourself off?

YES! But how did you know? I never told anyone, 'cept for ol' tripod. tripod's my dog. I got him after he was in freaky motorcycle accident where he lost two legs. Great dog, if you are turning left.

 

[Astronuc]

Lets say that I have for example, an idea for a cool new way to bottle ketsup. How would I go about patenting it and selling it to Heinz?

The U.S. patent office has useful information - http://www.uspto.gov/

A patent must satisfy 3 criteria:

1. New - it has to different than anything that already exists
2. Useful - it needs to do something useful
3. Non-obvious - this one's tricky, but must pretty much demonstrate that no one else would have thought of this idea.

One does not need a Patent Attorny. A good patent agent is OK, and cheaper. The main idea is to find someone competent.

Also, do not disclose your idea in the public domain. Public or unprotected disclosure will disqualify the patent.

 

[tribdog]

Stay On Topic!

 

[Danger]

YES! But how did you know? I never told anyone, 'cept for ol' tripod.

Tripod is in my employ. He was, in fact, designed by me specifically to keep tabs on you. He actually lost all 4 legs in that accident, and I replaced 2 of them with prosthetics. (I thought that I had that right-turn problem kicked; must have shelled another bearing. )

Stay On Topic!

Yeah!

 

[tribdog]

Oh, I know he lost all four legs and had two replaced with prosthetics, but he had two prosthetic legs before the accident so I didn't count them as being lost, just recycled. There's quite a market in recycled prosthetic limbs. New ones cost an arm and a leg. You got to be careful though, I knew a guy who bought a defective hook and one day he was out feeding the birds and it misfired and plucked his eye out. He had to get a recycled glass eye and change his prescription on his contact lenses.

 

[tribdog]

Danger, what happened to you? where'd you go?j
you are falling behind. You need to Catch-up. catchup...you know what, it's about time someone came up with a new catchup bottling idea.

 

[Danger]

My boss came back, so I had to get off her computer. She's gone again, but it's going to take me a while to get spooled back up. Also, those pesky customers keep coming in and interrupting me.

 

[tribdog]

sic a dog on them.
So what do you do? Bartend?

 

[Danger]

No, but I did for 20 years. I'm a (teller?) at a place that cashes cheques and makes payroll advance loans.

Say now... that's a good idea about the ketchup bottle thing. Somebody should start a thread about it.

 

[tribdog]

you are killing the lower class. What are you charging on a loan? about 1000% it should be a crime

 

[Danger]

America is quite ruined enough without my input. I'm in Canada. We charge $45 on $200 over a period of 2 weeks. There's no set percentage, but that's a typical figure. Cashing cheques is 3% of the value, plus $2 service charge.
Hey, you bum! You edited that! I don't care; I'm not changing this now.

 

[hypatia]

omg stop it! you two made me spill my milk all over my keys! And now I'm haveing a hard time dipping my cookies between the X and C!

 

[tribdog]

I someone borrows 200, then two weeks later if they don't have 245 to pay you back I'll bet you are nice enough to let them pay 45 and give them two more weeks right? then two more weeks another 45, then after 2 1/2 months they have paid back more than they borrowed and only owe what 245? I hope you check to make sure they are using the loan to purchase something that will appreciate in value, or at least not lose to much value. Don't let them buy food, cause then they'll have nothing to show for that money. and could get behind.
I don't blame you, but when there are check cashing places next door to check cashing places something is wrong. there are more check cashing places than there are streetlights. loan sharks used to break someone's legs if they didn't pay up and laws were passed to stop them. I'd rather have my legs broken. If someone's legs are broken and they can't pay you guys back do you give them a break or do you keep adding the 45 every two weeks, plus the late fees.
Do you make them sign in blood?

 

[tribdog]

Move down here to Mesa and I'll give you a job surveying. You won't have the pleasure of drinking the blood from your fellow man, but you'll get to use your brain and do some math and work with lasers and GPS and computers, you'll learn how to use AutoCad and you'll build roads and bridges and schools.

 

[mattmns]

Ohhhh man, you guys are too damn funny! I was crying over here.

 

[Moonbear]

With both Danger and tribdog around at the same time, Evo is going to have to take out extra insurance on her computer to cover the damage from spraying coffee on it!

 

[Danger]

you two made me spill my milk all over my keys! And now I'm haveing a hard time dipping my cookies between the X and C!

I've seen your pictures, honey. Your cookies won't fit between the speakers, never mind the X & C. And it serves you right for drinking milk. Keyboards (at least the Mac ones) are immune to scotch.

 

[Danger]

Trib, I sort of agree in principle, but don't quite feel like discussing it right now. Anyhow, it's time to do my cashout. I'll pop back for a bit when I'm done. Maybe we should have a separate thread for it so it doesn't get in the way of humour.

 

[tribdog]

sorry, I didn't think about getting in the way of humour. Your posts do that often enough.

 

[Danger]

Bloody hell! You were right, Evo... this guy's good.
Alright, this means war! You'll have to start without me, though. It's time to get to my darts match. (Actually, it's time to start drinking in preparation for my darts match.) The girlfriend's ADSL equipment arrived today, and I'm going to set it up for her after darts, so I might get back at to you tonight. Elsewise, tomorrow.

 

[tribdog]

okay good night. Don't worry it won't be hard to find someone to take your place . And I'm sure you'll be back before we even know you're gone.

 

[tribdog]

Bloody hell! You were right, Evo... this guy's good.
Alright, this means war! You'll have to start without me, though. .

good it won't be such a mismatch if you aren't around.