Patents

[TexasRT]

Interesting article in the Dallas Morning News last sunday regarding the patent process and efforts to improve it. This one is called "Peer-to-Patent" and is intended to improve the discovery of prior art.

Here's the link:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont....7b925e6a.html

[warbonnetguy]

i think this is the patent for the new eureka bridge hammock, the actual patent hasn't been granted yet, this is just the published application. once the application publishes i think it's generally a few weeks till the patent gets granted. it looks like it's a patent for the fly/pod not the hammock itself, i couldn't find any drawings, but they may be there somewhere.


http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...S=ABST/hammock

[Youngblood]

It might be, it does reference this patent http://www.google.com/patents?id=Oi1...J&dq=7,020,915 , which it seems to be an extension of.

[warbonnetguy]

yes, i had seen that before, very much like a bridge, but the sides are more shaped than curved, could contour better maybe, but seems like it would have to be specially cut for different heights of users. it's odd how the 1st claim (hammock patent) depends on the notched ends, easy to get around unless he's referring to the shaped "sides" as the ends ( but i don't think so after re-reading). doesn't seem like the notched ends are important at all, so if using a curve or straight end there would be no direct infringement? weird.

i wonder if that's the guy who owns eureka or if they bought it from him?

[warbonnetguy]

looks like he did a real prior art search there, he cited the origional bridge hammock (the one hung from 4 posts) and the issac palmer structural ridgeline patent.

[ezadventurer]

Someone posted a link to a patent using Google's patent search and I was impressed at how well that worked compared to what I had used before. I spent hours looking through hammock related patents and found some dozzies. I found an interesting recent patent and then I went back and looked starting from the oldest patents. I didn't get far, I have no idea how many there are or how long it would take to check them all out. Obviously the old ones have expired and aren't enforced anymore, but they should establish prior art. There is tons of prior art, I'm amazed at how much was done with hammocks in the 1800s and early 1900s (that is as far as I have gotten). Anyway, here are a few that should create interest for some of us.

A ridgeline on a 1898 patent http://www.google.com/patents?id=3Rx...ad=0_1#PPP1,M1

A bottom entry on a 1913 patent http://www.google.com/patents?id=GoM...BAJ&dq=1077229

A straight spine hammock from 1898 http://www.google.com/patents?id=GnZFAAAAEBAJ&dq=717119

A level hammock with cross braces from 2006 http://www.google.com/patents?id=Oi1...BAJ&dq=7020915

For some crazy reason that I cannot explain, I have been looking at the historical patent issues that were discussed a few years ago on this forum. I have been trying to create the story of how Warbonnet got around the patent by Hennessy.

After finishing reading this thread thoroughly, I found the areas that I was looking for on the earlier ridgeline patents; hence, my edit.

What I now find interesting is the power of the Internet and how your demeanor can affect your business. In an earlier thread, it was related how Tom Hennessy had gone around to different competitors and blatantly accused them of stealing his patented ideas. Perhaps if he had approached a little less vehemently, then he might have been able to work with his competitors and license the structural ridgeline. Instead, his demeanor caused a few to make statements on this forum. This led to many looking for historical examples of a structural ridgeline. In this thread, some historical patents were found that basically negated the Hennessy structural ridgeline claims (at least that is how I read it).

If there were no Internet, there would not have been the widespread search for these older patents and the ease of searching for patents would not exist. To me, this patent information was quite entertaining. Now I am waiting for Shug to make a video recreation of this story.

[abwillingham]

For some crazy reason that I cannot explain, I have been looking at the historical patent issues that were discussed a few years ago on this forum. I have been trying to create the story of how Warbonnet got around the patent by Hennessy.

I too would like to know how the showdown on this played out? I love this legal battle stuff, unless I'm funding it. Can one of the old timers here describe the carnage?