What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
CA
Forgive me if this has been posted before - I didn't really know what to search.
There is a product that I would like to develop. It is very similar to a product that a large company used to produce about 3-4 years ago. They have not made or sold this product since 2006.
I have searched under the company's name for a patent and cannot find this actual product as being patented.
So here's where it gets confusing - the company does have a patent for one part of this product. Yet, I have seen many other manufacturer's using the exact same thing. So my question is - can this ONE part be patented if used in a different way?
Example: okay, this is the only thing I can think of but lets say...you know that piece of luggage that swivels? If I were to use just the swivel, but on a totally different product would that be considered patent infringement?
CA
Forgive me if this has been posted before - I didn't really know what to search.
There is a product that I would like to develop. It is very similar to a product that a large company used to produce about 3-4 years ago. They have not made or sold this product since 2006.
I have searched under the company's name for a patent and cannot find this actual product as being patented.
So here's where it gets confusing - the company does have a patent for one part of this product. Yet, I have seen many other manufacturer's using the exact same thing. So my question is - can this ONE part be patented if used in a different way?
Example: okay, this is the only thing I can think of but lets say...you know that piece of luggage that swivels? If I were to use just the swivel, but on a totally different product would that be considered patent infringement?