NECESSARY STEPS
"In any business, it is to-day's unknown facts that wreck the machine
tomorrow. Therefore, find out the facts."
Almost all inventors show an unusually needless amount of haste in
rushing off to an attorney and applying for a patent, even before they
have given their idea any practical demonstration whatsoever. This is,
in the opinion of the writer, all wrong, and is not the most practical
way to proceed. The application for patent, and filing of carefully
drawn specification and claims, is, of course, highly important and
necessary, but it should not be undertaken until after the most
searching, practical tests of the invention, as well as the most
careful investigation as to the _public demand_ for your idea, as
it is from the latter source that profits will come. The care with
which your specification is written, and the claims drawn, will
regulate the strength of your protection against infringers. Don't
forget that the red seal and blue ribbon on a worthless patent are
just as red and blue as they are on a high-grade, "suit-proof," one
that has stood the tests of the courts from bottom to the top.
WHAT THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT SAYS.
"The specification and claims of a patent, particularly if the
invention be at all complicated, constitute one of the most difficult
legal instruments to draw with accuracy, and in view of the fact that
valuable inventions are often placed in the hands of inexperienced
persons to prepare such specification and claims, it is no matter of
surprise that the latter frequently fail to describe with requisite
certainty the exact invention of the patentee, and err either in
claiming that which the patentee had not in fact patented, or in
omitting some element which was a valuable or essential part of his
actual invention." Topliff vs. Topliff, 145 U.S. 156.
The highest court of the land thus puts itself on record in reference
to the importance of having the specification and claims of your
patent properly drawn. It is equally as important to have your models,
drawings, patterns, etc., accurately designed and executed.
Every week the "Official Gazette," published by the U.S. Patent
Office, is chock full of new, novel and ingenious devices on which
patents have been granted, but which are in lines in which the demand
and sales are so very restricted that the profits in seventeen years
will scarcely pay for the cost of the patent. As Dr. Grimshaw, Ph.D.,
M. E., a celebrated inventor and scholar, known to many Americans, and
at present residing in Germany, so aptly puts it, it is well to
remember "There are some lines in which competition is so fierce that
there would not be any use in coming into the field. If the Marquis of
Worcester, Watt, Fulton and Morse, Whitney and Howe, Edison and
McCormick, and a dozen more of the great inventors of the world, past
and present, were to put their heads together, and get up a new
car-coupler, the chances are that they could not get thirty cents for
the patent. The thing is overdone."
Many, many, hard-earned dollars are annually expended by inexperienced
inventors in the building of ornate, nickel-plated models that from a
practical, business stand-point are commercially impossible, and never
will amount to anything. While they are splendid in "theory," and
pretty to look at, and talk about, yet in "practice" and real utility
they are of no value. Don't go to the expense of a model until you
know your device is patentable, mechanically practicable, commercially
salable, and in demand in the markets of the world, and in a class in
which there is no killing competition.
Caveats have proven to be, oftentimes, worse than worthless. The
Government fee is $10; the attorney fee from $10 to $25. When you file
your application you are notified by the U.S. Patent Office of an
interference suit, if someone else happens to file an application
along similar lines. It is then "up to you" to show that "you thought
of it first," usually a very expensive and disappointing task. Don't
apply for a caveat, is the writer's advice.
Confidence is the bed-rock foundation of all business today, so don't
be afraid of anyone trying to steal your idea. A simple and
inexpensive means to follow is to have a rough pencil sketch and
description of your idea, dated and signed by yourself and two
competent witnesses. Then, if the question of priority of invention is
raised, you have a strong document to substantiate your claims to
priority.
If your idea will pass muster on the Six Cardinal Tests, (1) as
regards patentability; (2) as regards mechanical practicability; (3)
as regards its possession of superior merit and low cost of
production; (4) as regards a large and constant public demand for it;
(5) as regards to its being better, cheaper and more salable than
similar devices already on the market; (6) as regards to the
competition it will encounter,--then, and only then, are you justified
in spending time and money in applying for a patent, and having proper
working model built, etc. Don't rely on your own judgment in such
matters,--it is of necessity greatly prejudiced, and rightly so. You,
as an inventor, are in the same relative position as the mother of a
new baby. Both of you undoubtedly feel that your offspring possesses
all the graces, and has no bad points whatsoever. But your invention
does not have as good a show, at least no better, than the new baby
has of developing into a "world-beater" or prodigy. In both instances
it will require careful development, much study, and the hardest kind
of work to make a moderate success of the new infant. Another point to
remember is that the one who is responsible for its successful
development is entitled to more credit and greater rewards than the
father of the idea or infant.
A Patent Attorney, must, of very necessity, be disposed to find
practically everything submitted to him "to be patentable." Some firms
go so far as to mail their guarantees that ideas are patentable, but
your idea has five other points in which it may "fall down." Mere
patentability is only one-sixth of the necessary ground you must
cover. Your friends may think you are a genius, a wonder, and you may
be, but don't let their adulation turn your head to the extent of your
forgetting the six tests necessary to your idea's success. If you are
sick, you go to the best physician you can find; if your horse is
sick, you send for a veterinarian; if you are required to go to Court,
you retain a good lawyer to represent your side,--you don't try to
cure yourself, or your horse, or defend yourself. You go to a
specialist in these lines. Follow the same sane method in your patent
matters. The "no-cure-no-pay" doctor is not highly regarded, neither
are patent firms that do a "contingent fee" business on the "no
patent-no pay" basis. Cut rates are also to be shunned. Good service
demands and can exact commensurate returns. Economy in these matters
is a poor policy to pursue.
Analysis of the Six Cardinal Patent Tests.
"If I am building a mountain, and stop before the last bucketful
of earth is placed on the summit, I have failed."--Confucius.
First: Would it be possible to cover my idea or invention by a good,
strong, basic patent?
First and foremost, the thing to do is to find out if your invention
can be properly covered by a good, strong patent,--a basic patent, if
possible, and if not basic, at least, one covering some novel elements
which would prevent unscrupulous imitators and dealers from
substituting "something just as good" for your invention. In this
connection we might say that any bright attorney can find some way in
which an alleged patent can be issued practically on anything, so very
little dependence can be placed, as a rule, on "preliminary searches"
that are furnished "free of cost." Expect to pay at least $5.00 for
it, and ask for the references the search develops. We place the
covering of an invention by strong letters patent first, as we
consider it of the utmost importance that an invention, to be a
commercial success, must grant its owner a virtual monopoly.
Second: Is my invention mechanically practicable?
There are a great many ideas which of themselves are good, and still
are not of themselves of any value. It is of equal importance, in
order to make a success of an invention, to have it conform to certain
recognized mechanical principles, and capable of economical production
through the regular trade and manufacturing channels. In other words,
an invention nowadays would be seriously handicapped if it was
necessary to revolutionize the present equipment of factories to bring
it out.
(In this connection it might be interesting to note that Thomas A.
Edison, in an article published in "The Star," of Washington,
September 17th, 1908, said that in his opinion Wright Brothers were
working on the wrong principle with their flying machine. In Edison's
opinion the machine should not be dependent on the skill of the
operator, but should be capable of automatic operation somewhat
similar to an automobile or the locomotive.)
Third: Can my invention be more cheaply manufactured than similar
devices already on the market?
If your invention will enter the markets of the world in close
competition with other devices of similar nature, it is necessary that
it possesses the possibility for lower cost of production than the
articles it will meet in competition. If it costs more to make, it
will be heavily handicapped from the start. If it costs less to make
it will have this additional advantage pulling in its favor from the
start.
Fourth: Does my idea possess conspicuous novelty and superior merit
over similar devices already on the market?
The established, advertised article in the markets of the world always
has a great advantage over new and relatively untried devices. A new
article, to succeed, must show at a glance that it is "something
better." In addition to that, it must have superior merit which will
at once make it possible to bring about a quick sale in competition
with the article already on the market. If your invention is better,
costs less to produce, has more "talking points," dealers will be
quick to buy it. Otherwise, possibly not.
Fifth: Is there a large, constant, public demand for my invention, or
its product?
Public demand for anyone's invention practically regulates its
success, from a commercial standpoint. If there is no public demand
for it, there can be no individual profit derived from it. In other
words, it is useless to apply for a patent on any art, machine or
process where the demand for its use is very limited. For instance, it
would be ridiculous to patent a process for performing one single act
or function, the demand for which would cease as soon as the act or
function was accomplished. To illustrate, some years ago, while
building the City Hall, in Philadelphia, it was necessary to raise the
enormous statue of William Penn to the top of the tower. This was
quite an undertaking, and a great many bright men cudgeled their
brains as to the best means of accomplishing the result. It would have
been very foolish to patent the means by which the statue was put on
the top of the tower, because after it was placed on the top there
would be no further demand for the process or means by which Penn was
raised to his elevated position.
"Little and often fills the purse" is a familiar quotation to many of
us, and is especially applicable to the profits to be made from
inventions.
Sixth: Is there killing competition in the class to which my invention
belongs?
If your device is likely to run into a section of the trade of the
world where questionable tactics and high-pressure methods are
necessary to keep one's head above water, our advice to you would be,
"Don't do it!" as it would possibly be better to "follow the lines of
least resistance," and spend your time and money on something where
you would have a better chance for success.
In the year 1909, what chances do you think an inventor would have in
starting a business in competition with the United States Steel
Corporation, or the American Sugar Refining Company, or the Standard
Oil Company, or the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, or the Paper Trust,
or the Bell Telephone Company, or the Moving Picture Trust, or the
American Can Company, or the Baldwin Locomotive Works? These enormous
aggregations of brains and capital would make it quixotic to attempt
to compete with them in the markets of the world. Yet you may be able
to invent something they would be glad to purchase!
If your patent is weak or deficient in any one of these six cardinal
tests it is heavily handicapped to just that extent in the race for
success. Do not depend on your own judgment, as your judgment is
naturally prejudiced, and will not, most likely, reflect a dependable
forecast of the public attitude toward your invention. It will be
cheaper in the long run to get reliable counsel in these respects
before you start, rather than learning it from bitter experience.
[Illustration: THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL.]
Terse Suggestions
This is the day of short cuts. If you take the long way 'round, you
will never "arrive." Cuts, to be short, need not be poorly done with a
blunt knife. The cleverest surgeon is he who can perform the biggest
operation in the shortest time. Learn to do things quickly, but do
them well.
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In this hustling world we must "get there," and "get there quick," not
only in our conversation but in all our work. We must avoid
non-essentials.
* * * * *
Spend your time and money on money-savers rather than on frills. Do
your work under a system, and stick to it. Do not have a too elaborate
system, however.
* * * * *
With the machine work of the Twentieth Century method, fine hand work
is now considered a luxury.
* * * * *
Don't beat about the bush. Get right down to the point. The swiftest
road to success has the fewest curves.
"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the
stuff life is made of."--Franklin.