Invention - legal question

[rocksolid]

I friend of mine ( no really, it's not me ) is thinking of making an invention and he asked me a question that I just don't know the answer to so I thought I would ask. If he uses a product that is already in the market as part of his invention can he do that? I am thinking that if the product he is using has a patent then he might run into some legal issues. Does anybody know the answer?

 

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[John C.]

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney, so do not take this as legal advice.

Is he planning on using the methods/technology of the product or actually buying the product on the open market and adding something to it?

A patent prohibits others from using your idea/invention without paying a royalty. If you purchase something from a legit seller of the product then you have paid the patent owner a royalty. As long as his actions do not in any way try to circumvent paying a royalty to the original owner, I think he should be okay. But patent law is a very narrow segment of law and before he invests a lot of money in inventing and marketing a product, he would do well to spend an hour or so with a patent attorney.

There are probably some issues of branding/marketing. How does he intend to position the product? Will the existing product be a "hidden" part of the product or does he plan to exploit the brand/position/trust of the existing product? I believe he would run into some serious problems if he tried to piggyback on the reputation of the existing product. No manufacturer wants to be a defendant in a lawsuit because of some representations made by a third party about the suitability of their product for a particular application.

My suggestion is that he spend a few hundred dollars with a good patent attorney before he spends too much time and energy on developing the idea.