>>1011527
>I fuckin hate the legal system.
You know, patent does nothing else than allows you to sue people who try to copy your donut steel. Without the legal system and your willingness to sue (or credibly threaten to sue) the infringers, patent is worthless.

>>1011543
that's not why I want to do the patent, I don't care if people steal my invention, what I am worried about is if people steal my invention, patent it themselves, then sue me for using the patent that I invented.

See?

>>1011527
>, what I am worried about is if people steal my invention, patent it themselves, then sue me for using the patent that I invented.

patents don't work like that.

if you document your "invention" and bring it to market, what you created will be what's called "prior art"

you can not use a patent to litigate against its own prior art.

>>1011546
>you can not use a patent to litigate against its own prior art.
Unless you're apple
That is what the iOS ui is entirely designed around.

For something physical like gum equipment though you're probably safe

>>1011544
Right.
It doesn't make sense to patent something which clearly has prior art, like someone else's product which is already on the market. Such patent is not defendable.
However, they can improve your idea, patent the improvement and prevent you from using it.

>>1011527
In theory: >You cannot get a patent if your invention has already been publicly disclosed. Therefore, a search of all previous public disclosures should be conducted. >A search of foreign patents and printed publications should also be conducted.
So, if you publicly present your idea, they should not be able to patent it. How this works in real world I don't know, especially if you have a youtube video with 10 views and bad description. Also i don't know if posting on internets counts as public presentation. Maybe you have to publish through some engineering magazine.
You also can have national, European or international patents, I think. So, I don't know how this works if you publish it in your own language (let say that is not english) and than someone can patent it in some other country. I have been asking that myself, but never searched for an answer. It looks like someone will have to go to patent office and asked them. Or at least e-mail them.

Also there is this thing: http://creativecommons.org/ , but again I could not find any information how to actually enforce the licence you choose.

>>1011546
How do you make sure that Patent officers will find your "prior art"?

>>1011559
the case file of interest was something about some company made a toy boat or some shit and tried to patent it but then some guy was like no fucking way you can patent that i saw it on a boat at the local pond. or some shit.

1st world countries are pretty good at prior art search. america is fucking garbage at it, they just grant the patent and then if you have a problem with it you have to take the guy to court yourself. good fucking luck m8.

>>1011527

inb4 /diy/ bingo

>>1011561
My question would be: How to present your invention to make sure they can find it?
What a normal person would do: Post a video on Youtube titled DIY Homemade Gym Machine, where he would explain how he made it and how it functions. He explains everything including his invention for let say continuous weight adjustment. He only says it in the video.
Then some company tries to patent Continuous weight adjustment mechanism ( maybe only this detail, not the whole machine). How are they supposed to find "prior art"? or even if he would have written down the name, what if they alter the name and description in the way, that they can't find "prior art"?

I am not worried about they suing me, because in EU is legal to use patent for personal use, but I don't want them to profit from my invention.

>>1011544
>that's not why I want to do the patent, I don't care if people steal my invention, what I am worried about is if people steal my invention, patent it themselves, then sue me for using the patent that I invented.
Most countries (those in WIPO) have it as a condition of granting a patent, that the idea didn't already exist, or was already patented elsewhere. The few countries that don't follow this condition aren't worth considering as markets.
THIS is the reason that you pay for a patent...
It's not to "keep others from making it", a patent doesn't do that.
The idea is to patent it yourself first, to keep other people from getting a patent on it and then trying to block you from making it yourself.
If they try to claim a patent after you applied for yours, then theirs would be ruled as invalid.

http://www.wipo.int/portal/en/index.html

>>1011527
>Here's the thing--I don't believe in copyright, but it rips my guts apart to imagine making my product, some big mega corp steals my idea--they patent it, and then I get thrown in jail for selling something I invented first.
This is not how prior art works. Make sure to document and timestamp your work. If you have digital documents of your work that later can be useful in such a lawsuit then check out timestamping services (no, a 4chan timestamp doesn't hold up in court).

>>1011559
>How do you make sure that Patent officers will find your "prior art"?

legally it's fine if you post it on youtube as you said

best way is to publish a paper about it, but you don't have to. just make sure you can find it on google with general terms and you should be covered.

if shit comes to bang just email the relevant patent authorities, they can help you out. they're usually rooting for the underdog and will do their best to assist you.

but the best defense is to stay on the lookout for patent applications of a nature that might be infringing on your invention. contact the patent authorities before the patent is granted and you can get it rejected outright.

but to be absolutely blunt: there is no surefire way to prevent any company from making dosh from your thing. worst case scenario, someone steals your plans, manufactures it in china, and sells it over ebay in the US. then the only thing you can do is contact ebay and get the listings removed, but it's an endless whack-a-mole.

the best option is to provide your good at a superior quality than any competitor could produce. then it doesn't matter if you're getting chinked or not.

Get news paper once a week and take some photos, also read that shit, might learn something.

>>1011618
>The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.
-- T. Jefferson