Jmh574
04-24-2008, 05:55 PM
Afternoon everyone!! My name is Jesse Hershberger I'm 23yrs old and have recently started reading 4HWW. i would like to take a little time to explain who i am and where i come from before i get into my current dilemma.
I have within the past few years been surrounded by similar types of thought processes ie "The Secret". As well as having Father whom is currently in semi-retirement(works as a loan officer for the local Hispanic community currently) after owning a constructing company for 20+ yrs, and then once the company was basically running its self he got scared and closed the doors because he felt he was being unproductive....hmmm maybe he should have had this book lol.
I've been in and out of college trying to see if it is for me. I have also worked as a factory worker and with that company was able to elevate myself to a sales engineer position...I without a doubt enjoyed the line work better...the politics and stupidity ran ramped in this company. About a yr after working in the office I proposed some changes that i saw would save the company about $15k a yr(small family owned factory that was in the red). I was subsequently fired for "reasons undisclosed"(Indiana has a law stating you can fire anyone at anytime for any reason) guess they didn't like hearing that from a then 19yr old. Yet when the senior engineer, after coming to my house to get a copy of the proposal i offered up and got fired for, and changing the order and wording as to make it "his own", they took heed and implemented the changes. I realized then and there that a desk job is not something i would be able to handle.
I then went on to get back into the restaurant business(I had worked for a local steak house in high school) as a server to start with and then worked my way up to asst manager(in charge of the front of house ie staff and booze). The restaurant had some financial issues due to a rivalry with the two brothers that had started it and about a yr later closed doors.
I'm now back at the point of going to school full-time again...even though I have taken time off and been thrown out of 2 colleges already. I've always been one to dance to the beat of a different drummer and don't at all see myself working for someone else in order to sustain my future. I am using school as a means to create a network that will help supply the means and access to what i need to achieve my goals.
~~Now for the current dilemma~~
I've been working on a product (game) that has mostly plastic parts, one design does have electronics but just as a counter to keep score, and a 3rd is more complex as it is coin operated. Currently I have not gotten a patent on it, mainly because I'm not 100% finished...but as far as that goes if i have the plans and a name and the rules and know there's nothing like it do i have to have a 100% working prototype before i can get a patent?
I have a working prototype of the one without electronics (it is currently made of wood so i could have a visual of how i would like to see it .....the final product i am wanting to make predominantly out of plastic...with some metal to add support and make it more rigid).
One thing I have done is take the orig. blueprints/ideas/rules/photos/name and mailed them to myself. I have them in a dated and unopened envelope(poor mans copyright ?). I was told that it's a decent way start without shelling out money...
So my initial questions are as follows;
1) Do I need a working prototype of the electronic and coin operated ones to get a patent? Or is having the working non electronic one, with the idea in the works for the other two enough?
2) Does anyone have knowledge on where to get a circuit board setup mapped that would allow two separate sides of scoring (up to 10 points then declares a winner) and also one that is coin operated? I've found some places that have old coin operated circuit board setups that don't necessarily work(and don't have scoring applied...am currently trying to find old air hockey setups as they perform the basic functions i would need) and am not knowledgeable on circuit board design and setup in order to map one to send out and get produced(the refurbished ones i could take the main coin operated switch off of but not sure if that's the right route).
3) Along with #2 there is a local company that will stamp a circuit board to my specs but I have to map it...they will only map it if I agree to put their name on the patent as well, which I'm pretty sure I don't legally have to do, and not something at this point I'm willing to do. I'm assuming they are trying to take advantage of a young entrepreneur? Or is this a typical practice?
4) Is the "poor mans copyright" even worth anything?? Just curious for this and other applications(i have a friend who swears by it for a free way to protect his lyrics and beats before he makes it).
5) Does anyone have any thoughts on the issue of trying to produce a game myself and try to sell it, or would it be better to try and pitch it to a larger company and just sell the idea?? I know that it would largely rest on what the game/product is, and I'm hesitant to just throw it out there without knowing i have some legal backing to ensure no one could take the idea and run(because i know it is a very marketable product).
If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions of where to look for answers(and before it's mentioned i have looked over legal zoom but still am not 100% clear on my copyright and patent issues) I would love to hear them. In regards to question #5 the basic concept is a pay to play bar game that can also be incorporated into a traveling tailgating application as well as an at home game such as the "half court" electronic basketball game.
Thanks to everyone for your time!! I look forward to hearing anything anyone has to offer!!!
Sincerely;
Jesse M. Hershberger
I have within the past few years been surrounded by similar types of thought processes ie "The Secret". As well as having Father whom is currently in semi-retirement(works as a loan officer for the local Hispanic community currently) after owning a constructing company for 20+ yrs, and then once the company was basically running its self he got scared and closed the doors because he felt he was being unproductive....hmmm maybe he should have had this book lol.
I've been in and out of college trying to see if it is for me. I have also worked as a factory worker and with that company was able to elevate myself to a sales engineer position...I without a doubt enjoyed the line work better...the politics and stupidity ran ramped in this company. About a yr after working in the office I proposed some changes that i saw would save the company about $15k a yr(small family owned factory that was in the red). I was subsequently fired for "reasons undisclosed"(Indiana has a law stating you can fire anyone at anytime for any reason) guess they didn't like hearing that from a then 19yr old. Yet when the senior engineer, after coming to my house to get a copy of the proposal i offered up and got fired for, and changing the order and wording as to make it "his own", they took heed and implemented the changes. I realized then and there that a desk job is not something i would be able to handle.
I then went on to get back into the restaurant business(I had worked for a local steak house in high school) as a server to start with and then worked my way up to asst manager(in charge of the front of house ie staff and booze). The restaurant had some financial issues due to a rivalry with the two brothers that had started it and about a yr later closed doors.
I'm now back at the point of going to school full-time again...even though I have taken time off and been thrown out of 2 colleges already. I've always been one to dance to the beat of a different drummer and don't at all see myself working for someone else in order to sustain my future. I am using school as a means to create a network that will help supply the means and access to what i need to achieve my goals.
~~Now for the current dilemma~~
I've been working on a product (game) that has mostly plastic parts, one design does have electronics but just as a counter to keep score, and a 3rd is more complex as it is coin operated. Currently I have not gotten a patent on it, mainly because I'm not 100% finished...but as far as that goes if i have the plans and a name and the rules and know there's nothing like it do i have to have a 100% working prototype before i can get a patent?
I have a working prototype of the one without electronics (it is currently made of wood so i could have a visual of how i would like to see it .....the final product i am wanting to make predominantly out of plastic...with some metal to add support and make it more rigid).
One thing I have done is take the orig. blueprints/ideas/rules/photos/name and mailed them to myself. I have them in a dated and unopened envelope(poor mans copyright ?). I was told that it's a decent way start without shelling out money...
So my initial questions are as follows;
1) Do I need a working prototype of the electronic and coin operated ones to get a patent? Or is having the working non electronic one, with the idea in the works for the other two enough?
2) Does anyone have knowledge on where to get a circuit board setup mapped that would allow two separate sides of scoring (up to 10 points then declares a winner) and also one that is coin operated? I've found some places that have old coin operated circuit board setups that don't necessarily work(and don't have scoring applied...am currently trying to find old air hockey setups as they perform the basic functions i would need) and am not knowledgeable on circuit board design and setup in order to map one to send out and get produced(the refurbished ones i could take the main coin operated switch off of but not sure if that's the right route).
3) Along with #2 there is a local company that will stamp a circuit board to my specs but I have to map it...they will only map it if I agree to put their name on the patent as well, which I'm pretty sure I don't legally have to do, and not something at this point I'm willing to do. I'm assuming they are trying to take advantage of a young entrepreneur? Or is this a typical practice?
4) Is the "poor mans copyright" even worth anything?? Just curious for this and other applications(i have a friend who swears by it for a free way to protect his lyrics and beats before he makes it).
5) Does anyone have any thoughts on the issue of trying to produce a game myself and try to sell it, or would it be better to try and pitch it to a larger company and just sell the idea?? I know that it would largely rest on what the game/product is, and I'm hesitant to just throw it out there without knowing i have some legal backing to ensure no one could take the idea and run(because i know it is a very marketable product).
If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions of where to look for answers(and before it's mentioned i have looked over legal zoom but still am not 100% clear on my copyright and patent issues) I would love to hear them. In regards to question #5 the basic concept is a pay to play bar game that can also be incorporated into a traveling tailgating application as well as an at home game such as the "half court" electronic basketball game.
Thanks to everyone for your time!! I look forward to hearing anything anyone has to offer!!!
Sincerely;
Jesse M. Hershberger