Am i infringing?

[astron]

What is the name of your state?
Washington

Hi, im sure glad to find this site, hope someone can help me with my questions.
We have developed and manufactured our own 4 speed shifter for our line of muncie 4 speed trannys ( oh yes we own a transmission company) I dont really care whether we patent this item or not, but what i do care about is possibly infringing on someone elses patent that has a similar design. I have done some extensive research on the us patent website and came up with a handful of patents relating to a 4 speed shifter, hurst of course came up but it is nothing like our shifter, however there is one patent that came up that has many similar features to ours, of course all shifters have the same basic functionality they move forward and backwards and side to side there is nothing we can do about that, so we studied the drawings of the patent in question and made sure that it is not a direct copy. 3 or 4 of our parts are designed differently, they are not the same, but in the end result would perform the same function as the patent in question, i mean there are only so many possible ways to build the shifter, so the question would be, is our 3 or 4 parts that are designed differently enough change in design to not be infringing on a similar item. and if not how do you determine how much or what changes need to be made to be different enough from someone elses designs. any help would be appreciated, thanks again ,Best regards TomWhat is the name of your state?

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state?
Washington

Hi, im sure glad to find this site, hope someone can help me with my questions.
We have developed and manufactured our own 4 speed shifter for our line of muncie 4 speed trannys ( oh yes we own a transmission company) I dont really care whether we patent this item or not, but what i do care about is possibly infringing on someone elses patent that has a similar design. I have done some extensive research on the us patent website and came up with a handful of patents relating to a 4 speed shifter, hurst of course came up but it is nothing like our shifter, however there is one patent that came up that has many similar features to ours, of course all shifters have the same basic functionality they move forward and backwards and side to side there is nothing we can do about that, so we studied the drawings of the patent in question and made sure that it is not a direct copy. 3 or 4 of our parts are designed differently, they are not the same, but in the end result would perform the same function as the patent in question, i mean there are only so many possible ways to build the shifter, so the question would be, is our 3 or 4 parts that are designed differently enough change in design to not be infringing on a similar item. and if not how do you determine how much or what changes need to be made to be different enough from someone elses designs. any help would be appreciated, thanks again ,Best regards TomWhat is the name of your state?

Unfortunately, there just isn't any way to answer your question without doing making a detailed examination of your shifter, and taking a careful look at the patents in light of current caselaw. A patent's claims may provide very broad coverage, or very narrow coverage -- there just isn't any way to tell without a careful analysis. The best bet for you is to find a local patent attorney (not a patent agent) who can do a noninfringement analysis for you. An attorney working solo or in a small firm will likely be cheaper than an attorney from a larger firm.

 

[astron]

I kind of thought that is what you might say, as ive already talked to a patent firm this morning about the situation and may go in and have a consultation with them,on this subject but i sure appreciate your input on the matter it reaffirms what i thought i would have to do. Man you think life would just be easier, oh well .

thanks again for your help best regards tom