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central nebraska | Has anyone gone through the patent process? My wife had an idea for something she thought would be a great idea for EMS and emergency room nurses. I haven't spoke to a patent attorney yet or been to a patent and trademark resource center to ask any of the questions I have.
She is an ER nurse and she told me this idea a couple weeks ago. I've since done a patent search on my own. What I've found is about 5 or 6 patents that do something similar but not to the extent her idea is. What's interesting is I think those 5 or 6 ideas are very similar in what they do and look like. I was surprised to find that many patents on similar products.
I also found one patent that did accomplish the exact thing her idea was. This patent was issued even with the prior art of the other 5-6 patents. In the claims section of this patent it even recognized those others and said this one does things differently. The difference between her idea and this patented idea was the materials she wanted to use and the ease of use of her product. I could go into Home Depot or any hardware store and find a product that looks identical to the patented product that I found on the search. That product would essentially do the same thing as both her idea and the patented product.
The question I have, is her product idea wouldn't even look the same as the hardware store item or the patented product; so could a patent application be filed?
Those 5 or 6 prior patents were all very similar in what the did and looked like. It looks like to me like they changed the materials and added a few other things. Her idea would very similar to the one item already patented but the materials used and the way it's used is completely different.
The similarity would be like irrigation pipe and siphon tubes. Both accomplish the same thing, getting water to the corn. But are completely different in materials used and functionality.
Just curious the see if others have pursued the patent process and the hurdles they experienced.
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U.S. Patents?
