i know what you mean, and when companies boast about what brilliant in-house designers they have!! this inventing business can leave some people feeling cheated.

I am even more tolerent of street muggers since I started inventing, they are pretty upfront people those street muggers, they do not pretend to be anything more than what they are.

Joyce Hi,

this is why we should love everybody and trust no one when it comes to inventing.

Joyce, Years ago at the Yankee Inventors Expo I met a sales rep for primarily hair products: she is in NY and is always interested in new products and might even have manufacturing connections. If you would like to explore this avenue, let me know and I will find her name and number for you.

Good luck and I’m amazed that you aren’t upset: guess that imitation is the greatest form of flattery – but I would be miffed.

hi joyce!

just popping in to say hi!

i love following my fellow inventor’s stories…

would love to catch up sometime

e.

Hi Brendan, Joseph, and Julie,

I love your comments! Julie, any information is welcomed to getting my product out of my hands.

Hey Eva, looks like we’re part of the “oldies but goodies” group. not the “GOODY” group!!! So many new faces here and the originals have slowly gone away. I enjoy popping in too to follow the interesting forums. It’s good seeing you, we’ll catch up soon.

Joyce

Hi Joyce, I just e-mailed the woman’s name and her website and hope that this connection will work for you.

Hi Julie,

Thanks for the e-mail. I had a feeling that was who you knew from N.Y. She was a member here, and there was a little trouble with her using the EN site over a year ago. I contacted her back then and got the “unfavorable” response:(

Thanks,
Joyce

From John Steinbeck’s Novel, East of Eden published in 1952: I think it was. The man in the story was a farmer who was constantly inventing and trying to make money from his inventions, but as Steinbeck’s says in the book of Samuel (the inventor)
--‘He developed a very bad patent habit, a disease many men suffer from’
‘Samuel sent his models to a manufacturer, who promptly rejected the plans and used the method’.——- -

That was in the beginning of the last century at least I think, so nothing really changes 100 years or so later
So take courage all, we are not alone in our experiences.

He neglected to mention women suffer from it as well though.

Hi Joyce, Sorry that it wasn’t a good lead. I should have used the little search button above and then I would have known that you already knew of her. She has helped many but she is really one tough cookie: not sure what her interest in the pillowcase was.

Good luck in your quest…..

Hi Julie,

I found your product, it’s all over the internet! Great idea!

Hi Brendan,

I watched your video, cool product! I can see it in fun colors sold in a toy store too. What fun!!!!!

Brendan, I was joking when I called the “inventing obsession” an illness. Didn’t know John Steinbeck also did so, although he was serious. Interesting. If there was a drug to cure our condition, would you take it?

What is your product, Julie? I checked your profile and didn’t see a mention of it.

Hi Susan, www.e-zzzsleep.com is what I entered in BB&B but would also ‘give’ them www.sleepyheadpillowcase.com. I’ll put it on my profile because I also have another product – totally unrelated.

Thanks Joyce for the encouragement, it helps a lot..
To lindas question would I take a pill to stop inventing.
no- I would not. modern society jobs often treat people like machuines.
It is my outlet for creativity- more natural. Prehistoric humans were constantly trying to think up ways of, how do I cross the river? how do I trap the hog? how can I keep out the cold better?
(sorry to the animal lovers, not a hunter myself, just saying)

I have just figured out why men wear shirt and ties, subconciously it represents success, the successful hunter came home with a animal over his shoulders, around his neck and the head and neck draped down the front,Like a primate tie, I am a genius!! or am I mad??

A bloody primate tie??

Brendan, you ask: I am a genius!! or am I mad??

Howabout a mad genius?

(;^)

I know a bloody tie?? i love the way you put that.
but our image of success has got hooked on this silly thing draped around the neck, fashions change but the tie survives it has no know purpose
other than you could be trottled in bar brawl if you wore one.

I don’t know, Brendan, I like the ties. In nature, it is the male which has the color, in life, it is the women who have make-up and necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. so the men need something – I think.

ok ok but only a clip on one so

Thanks for sending your web addresss to me, Julie. You have some nice products!

From my experience, a “tube” isn’t unique when it comes to displaying head bands. I remember hollow, cylindrical displays for head bands when I worked as a store sales clerk in the 80s. I’ve seen them in many accessory stores since that time. I’ve also seen upright “tubes” that you can display headbands on and use the interior for holding and displaying other items like hair scrunchies.

If you Google “head band display” and look at the image results, you’ll see several tube-like holders.

What kind of patent protection do you have for your design?

Talk about ignoring the intellectual property law. You can sue the company for what they did. It’s for this reason that I prefer apparel trade shows whenever I have new pieces to display because private companies have the reputation of stealing other people’s ideas.

I don’t believe she could sue. She has a design patent and I don’t believe a design patent covers components of the design, but the overall design itself. The tube is only a part of the design of Joyce’s product. And as Susan said, the tube is not unique. Although I think it is new to the consumer, I believe the commercial market has used tubes in this way for many years. The way she put the organizer together is unique, but not the tube itself.

How unfortunate… It happens all the time…