Cigar accessory patent.

Bob Luken

Lets assume you have an idea for a cigar accessory. How do you find out if this idea already exists without spreading your idea around so much it could get stolen? And how do you patent it?

New Boots

I would think a conversation with the patent office should be able to handle both sides of this.

Edit: I'm more than willing to to beta test your first run model(s)

Gray4lines

New Boots:

I would think a conversation with the patent office should be able to handle both sides of this.

Sounds like a good idea. I bet you could find a list of some sort of all the "cigar paraphernalia" patents.

Echambers

Google has a special patent search that might be the place to start. I typed in "cigar" and it came back with 215,000 hits. This pulls up the actual patent or patent application. Good luck!

dandin1

Echambers:

Google has a special patent search that might be the place to start. I typed in "cigar" and it came back with 215,000 hits. This pulls up the actual patent or patent application. Good luck!

This ^. And also you can do a search on the US patent website to see which applications have been applied for etc. just because the patent application was filed it doesn't necessarily mean one was awarded. The important thing to look for in the patent is the claims. Generally one or two broad claims will be followed by nested claims. Research, research, research and find out if there is anything close to your idea, then contact a patent attorney. I know many will let you have a free hour just to discuss the idea and so they can describe the patent process to you. Good luck! Hopefully we will see your product on shelves one day.

No_one21

Just a word of caution from what little I learned about patents in undergrad... they're expensive as hell. If you have the capital and just want to protect your idea then go for it. Otherwise, if you don't think you'll be able to get a return on investment from selling what you patent, a good idea is to try to get your idea patented by a big company so they pay the fees. Sure you don't get all the money but it's a lot less risky for you and you can still make a good chunk of change.

If you go that route, remember you can protect your idea without a patent while you try to get a company to bite. Basically, you can make sure they can't steel it.

0patience

Agreed on most points.
As was said, Patent search on Google and US Patent site is a good place to start.
If you get to the point, you should check into a Patent attorney.
As was stated, patents are not cheap to do and a patent attorney may be able to help you determine what is the best course of action.

Bob Luken

while looking for cigar patents I came across a "cigar perfoator". It was the shuriken cutter.

danielzreyes

Trying to patent the Stogiestand. It will take 4yrs + and cost up to $5000-$7000

No_one21

danielzreyes:

Trying to patent the Stogiestand. It will take 4yrs + and cost up to $5000-$7000

Yea, I would suggest looking into alternative routes of protecting your design. Trademarks for example are cheaper and can last forever provided you continually use the trademark by making your product. Again this is info based on a few weeks in a course I took but it seems legit based on quick research.

variant2

danielzreyes:

Trying to patent the Stogiestand. It will take 4yrs + and cost up to $5000-$7000

I've got some ideas to enhance your stogie stand if you're interested.

danielzreyes

variant2:

danielzreyes:

Trying to patent the Stogiestand. It will take 4yrs + and cost up to $5000-$7000

I've got some ideas to enhance your stogie stand if you're interested.

Id love to hear them. Pls PM me

variant2

Bob Luken:

Lets assume you have an idea for a cigar accessory. How do you find out if this idea already exists without spreading your idea around so much it could get stolen? And how do you patent it?

I had a patent idea I wanted to pursue a few years ago (never did) but my buddy who's a patent attorney gave me some pointers:

1. Ideas can easily be stolen so don't discuss your patent publicly until after it gets published.
2. Search the google patents to make sure your idea is not already claimed.
3. Don't make your idea too specific. Let your patent cover a broader sweep so that another person is able to patent a similar concept.
4. Ideas can easily be stolen so don't discuss your patent publicly until after it gets published.

variant2

danielzreyes:

variant2:

danielzreyes:

Trying to patent the Stogiestand. It will take 4yrs + and cost up to $5000-$7000

I've got some ideas to enhance your stogie stand if you're interested.

Id love to hear them. Pls PM me

Let me bust out my iPad drawing app -- you know, a picture is worth...

danielzreyes

No_one21:

danielzreyes:

Trying to patent the Stogiestand. It will take 4yrs + and cost up to $5000-$7000

Yea, I would suggest looking into alternative routes of protecting your design. Trademarks for example are cheaper and can last forever provided you continually use the trademark by making your product. Again this is info based on a few weeks in a course I took but it seems legit based on quick research.

btw, the patent would be just for the design.

variant2

danielzreyes:

variant2:

danielzreyes:

Trying to patent the Stogiestand. It will take 4yrs + and cost up to $5000-$7000

I've got some ideas to enhance your stogie stand if you're interested.

Id love to hear them. Pls PM me

Check your email.