Patent idea

[KimRam]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

My husband and I have a great idea. I'm sure everyone says that. Our question is?

The product we would like to make already exists in Europe. However has never been produced or sold in any way here in the U.S. We would like to modify the product to suit today's style and guidlines but want to make sure we can patent a product already existing outside the U.S.

An example is. George Forman came out with his grill. There are other grills out there, all he did was tilt it a bit to catch the greese and then put his name on it.

Our idea is similar to this. (It's not a grill though)

Please help us.

Thank you
Kim

 

[auxbs]

*** You can not patent a product if it already existed anywhere in the world.
*** Edit: The above line is incorrect. Please see divgradcurl's response for a better answer.

You can, however, patent improvements made to an existing product, if those improvements otherwise meet the requirements to be patentable.

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? Michigan

My husband and I have a great idea. I'm sure everyone says that. Our question is?

The product we would like to make already exists in Europe. However has never been produced or sold in any way here in the U.S. We would like to modify the product to suit today's style and guidlines but want to make sure we can patent a product already existing outside the U.S.

An example is. George Forman came out with his grill. There are other grills out there, all he did was tilt it a bit to catch the greese and then put his name on it.

Our idea is similar to this. (It's not a grill though)

Please help us.

Thank you
Kim

If the European product is not covered by a patent (in any country, as long as the patent is written in or has been translated to English), AND if the product has never been offered for sale or sold in the U.S., AND if the product has never been described in a printed publication (in the English language), THEN you may still obtain a patent on the product.

If you are making changes to the product that go to the functionality of the product (and are not merely design changes or color changes, etc.), then your product may still be patentable even if the above isn't true. Your best bet is to talk with a local patent attorney or agent, who can review your idea and all of the surrounding facts and advise you accordingly.

 

[divgradcurl]

You can not patent a product if it already existed anywhere in the world.

You can, however, patent improvements made to an existing product, if those improvements otherwise meet the requirements to be patentable.

That's not correct -- see the post above. There are instances when an already-existing product may still be patentable in the U.S.

 

[auxbs]

Hmm, interesting! How does 35 U.S.C. 102(f) affect this?

"A person shall be entitled to a patent unless
(f) he did not himself invent the subject matter sought to be patented"

It seems to me, if the product already exists in Europe and Kim is just copying the existing product, how can Kim claim that she invented the subject matter to pass (f) above?

What I stated in my previous post is not correct. After reading the law's wording more carefully, there is a certain opening for patenting something in the US that already exists outside the US (as divgradcurl pointed out). I am not a lawyer, just an average person trying to get a handle on the nuances of the law like everyone else who comes here.