Thanks Guys, I appreciate the help

Craig,

Whatever type of patent you end up going for (or anybody else for that matter), it is with great insight to seek out a manufacturing engineer in the specific industry that your product lies. If I had any experience in this field I offer what I could. My experience lies in sheet metal fabrication.

To put this real simple, a store bought engineer can do more harm than good. By that I mean, an individual with a degree and no experience. They can be helpful, no doubt. But a “Manufacturing” engineer can offer soooo much more. A design engineer may have limited experience of the processes. But a mfg eng, a good one, is thinkin at the pace of a super computer and the more experience means more data to pull from.

I would investigate a local manufacturer. One that is owned by founder of the business and not an investor. The engineering dept might have 1-5 engineers there. Try and talk to the #1 or #2 in engineering if there are 3-4 in the pool. Those are your allies. I’ve got 25 years and a lot of shops that I’ve worked for, in most of the shops, I think this would apply to get you the best in the field. Good luck, and look at a sample of their work.

Design patents by themselves are not ‘Armour Plate’. Basically design patents only cover the ‘look’ or visual design of an item amd not its workings. For instance, many tire companies have design patents on the tread design of thier tires and another (if possible) on a function of the tire. For instance, a self-healing tire with a layer of expanding sealant embedded into microbeads within the tire material itself. As punctures occur, the sealant expands when in contact with any air, thus sealing the leak (pretty sure I have seen this concept before, but not sure).

The best protection a design patent will get you is in the case of ‘direct copies’ or ‘knock-offs’ (like China does all the time). They basically take your item, copy every detail (down to its molding imperfections and all) and then import it into the U.S. at a hugely discounted price. If you have a design patent and they have exactly copied your design, you can get a court order to block import of the goods into the country where you have the design patent (or others). Yes design patents cost less overall, but should not be considered as the final say in your IP solution. Personally, if you only have a design patent, be prepared for alot of challenges, as one little chnge is sometimes enough to defeat your design patent coverage. I’m not a lawyer, but bet that’s what any good lawyer should tell you, if they are honest, that is.