I'm searching for anyone who may be able to steer me in the direction of finding someone to install an analog DJ mixer modification for licensing. Can anyone help?
Is it your modification? Your mixer? Who is licensing it to whom? How do the two things relate to each other and to your question?
Are you here looking for a person, for legal advice or for electronics advice.. probably sums it up..
Are you here looking for a person, for legal advice or for electronics advice.. probably sums it up..
Yes it's my modification. I'm going to license the working prototype to companies once I get it installed and working. I'm going to patent it.
I need guidance to find someone to hire to put the analog function into an existing DJ mixer I will buy. It'll just be a couple added buttons or whatever with a specific function no existing DJ mixer has. I DJ and I found a new sound that will catapult hip-hop into the future.
I need guidance to find someone to hire to put the analog function into an existing DJ mixer I will buy. It'll just be a couple added buttons or whatever with a specific function no existing DJ mixer has. I DJ and I found a new sound that will catapult hip-hop into the future.
I've already tried DJ mixer repair places but they have cameras in the work shop and crews of people. I only need ONE person to sign the NDA and perform the labor for hire. I tried schools too already but they didn't help. I'm TRYING to AVOID going to school myself to learn EVERYTHING just to be able to add this ONE function.
Thread moved to The Lounge and title modified ( Kmak Milly, this is our conventional destination for this kind of question.)write/file a provisional patent, before you spread out the risk of leaking novelty to the public domain , disabling any patent claims. Still you need deep pockets to defend a patent against infringement. That is sadly how the patent landscape is these days .
I'm looking for guidance in hiring someone to install an analog modification to a DJ mixer.
If anyone can help I'd greatly appreciate it.
If anyone can help I'd greatly appreciate it.
You need to make sure that you have a letter from the USPO stating that your application has been accepted and is being reviewed, in the very least.
There are many, many patents in audio that could easily be busted by a decent lawyer with the right budget. The unfairness of patenting (due to negligence on behalf of examiners - not understanding the field well / not searching thoroughly for prior art) means that large OEMs often get to patent ideas that could easily be busted by proof of prior art, or by showing that the concept is obvious. These patents invariably aren't busted, as the amount of resources needed to drag the whole thing through the courts often outweighs the benefits of busting.
Pioneer DJ last changed hands for $300-Mil (they were worth nearly a billion at one point...). If a large OEM wants to rip off your idea (not suggesting they will - it's just a reality to be aware of), you could spend years dragging it through the courts. They will have massive resources. The best thing you can do is to get the application pending before showing it to anyone.
NB - it's one thing to have a signed NDA and quite another to enforce it in court... You'll notice that wealthy people sign NDAs without even reading them thoroughly... It's because they know that they will have multiple sources of amunition to call on if you ever take them to court. Most NDAs aren't worth the paper they're written on. They are only valuable if you are Apple and you have a whole building of lawyers waiting to defend you. A person with a large budget will sign your NDA, rip you off and then laugh "sue me" in your face.
There are many, many patents in audio that could easily be busted by a decent lawyer with the right budget. The unfairness of patenting (due to negligence on behalf of examiners - not understanding the field well / not searching thoroughly for prior art) means that large OEMs often get to patent ideas that could easily be busted by proof of prior art, or by showing that the concept is obvious. These patents invariably aren't busted, as the amount of resources needed to drag the whole thing through the courts often outweighs the benefits of busting.
Pioneer DJ last changed hands for $300-Mil (they were worth nearly a billion at one point...). If a large OEM wants to rip off your idea (not suggesting they will - it's just a reality to be aware of), you could spend years dragging it through the courts. They will have massive resources. The best thing you can do is to get the application pending before showing it to anyone.
NB - it's one thing to have a signed NDA and quite another to enforce it in court... You'll notice that wealthy people sign NDAs without even reading them thoroughly... It's because they know that they will have multiple sources of amunition to call on if you ever take them to court. Most NDAs aren't worth the paper they're written on. They are only valuable if you are Apple and you have a whole building of lawyers waiting to defend you. A person with a large budget will sign your NDA, rip you off and then laugh "sue me" in your face.
I suggested looking at the patent office website because a certain new sound, that you have no idea how to practically achieve, is unlikely to be patentable I'd have thought.
So if you then engage a technical person to realise this by modifying the circuits using their expertise (presumably in some new way not done before), whose IP is it? I don't know, just thinking...you'd probably need to cover this in a contract; that any IP would be owned by you.
Obviously I don't know a lot about your idea, so if I have it wrong please ignore me.
So if you then engage a technical person to realise this by modifying the circuits using their expertise (presumably in some new way not done before), whose IP is it? I don't know, just thinking...you'd probably need to cover this in a contract; that any IP would be owned by you.
Obviously I don't know a lot about your idea, so if I have it wrong please ignore me.
The method of treating/ manipulating sound could be patentable if it is novel and non-obvious. Still I have seen many inventions and newly advertised ideas that can be found back in the books of Harry F Olson theory of sound in the 30ties of the past age.
I've been there and done that a few times and still had my work ripped off. The problem is all the oversees copy cats you have to somehow avoid and the extremely limited recourse you have against them due to lack of international legal reach.
You'll need a design patent and at minimum also an idea patent on the theoretical concept. Copyrighting is the first step to establish a date of coming up with the idea (sort of like mailing something to yourself, but a little more complicated). You'll need a patent search first, which is the hardest and most expensive part. For the patent paperwork itself there are plenty of online resources ie. Patent Ease.
You'll need a design patent and at minimum also an idea patent on the theoretical concept. Copyrighting is the first step to establish a date of coming up with the idea (sort of like mailing something to yourself, but a little more complicated). You'll need a patent search first, which is the hardest and most expensive part. For the patent paperwork itself there are plenty of online resources ie. Patent Ease.
There are devious patent lawyers that make a more than decent living out of small mistakes or improperly drafted patents. They file a proper one on their name, and then claim the properties rights on the earlier one.
@basreflex Thats why its better to do the application process yourself with the help of online tools, so nobody looks at your stuff. I've filed a few times this way with good results. The patent search itself is by far the hardest part.
US patents are very expensive and with electronic circuits, very difficult and expensive to enforce.
@Speedskater Thats true, but the end result of someone contesting a patent ends up in litigation, regardless of how extensive the patent search was and the thoroughness of the technical documents. I went up against EV back in the 90s and actually won with minimal legal representation against their barrage of lawyers. Ultimately its up to the applicant to do diligence. The more descriptive the patent reads, the more protected you are.
Yep, enforcing patents can spend a lot of time in courts. Did you get compensated?
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If someone is thinking about getting a patent. Get a page numbered log book. Have someone witness the first page. Enter all your past info and have them witness again. Then record all your work and get a witness from time to time. The witness doesn't have to understand any thing about the idea, just the date.
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If someone is thinking about getting a patent. Get a page numbered log book. Have someone witness the first page. Enter all your past info and have them witness again. Then record all your work and get a witness from time to time. The witness doesn't have to understand any thing about the idea, just the date.
My wife is a notary. I had her record all the dates and times, including other people contracted to contribute. That makes a NDA redundant aside from letting people know they can't divulge anything.
My experience dealing with EV went surprisingly well. I documented every little detail which they didn't expect. It helps to have lots of people in the business to vouch for you and who personally know the other party involved. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. Otherwise its just a matter of being responsive, respectful and courteous. I didn't pay a dime out of pocket because the agency I used stood behind their services in the event something should be disputed.
My experience dealing with EV went surprisingly well. I documented every little detail which they didn't expect. It helps to have lots of people in the business to vouch for you and who personally know the other party involved. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. Otherwise its just a matter of being responsive, respectful and courteous. I didn't pay a dime out of pocket because the agency I used stood behind their services in the event something should be disputed.
Even if you get to the point where you actually file a patent with the USPTO you may wind up with a patent examiner who doesn't even understand basic electronics. I spent 41 years working at Motorola, with the last 12 years in a research group. Motorola had their own group of lawyers to deal with the PTO. Most were mediocre engineers who returned to school (at Motorola's expense) for patent law. I have five issued patents, and far more applications that never made it all the way to "patent granted." One of my issued patents took three years of arguing because the randomly assigned rookie examiner at the PTO didn't know the difference between intermodulation, a bad thing, and demodulation, a necessary thing in any radio receiving apparatus. It took switching lawyers on Motorola's end to get some attention. The polite young female lawyer couldn't get anywhere, but a brash middle eastern guy who called the examiner a stupid idiot a few times got the process elevated at the PTO. A year later, patent #US5564094 was granted. As technology gets more complicated, this gets worse.
As someone else stated keep a log book of every thought associated with the concept with dates on each page. Keep it in a safe place, not obvious to a casual observer. Major ideas should be witnessed. signed, and dated for several reasons. Let's just say that a high ranking engineering manager would often walk through the lab looking at log books that were left visible and stealing ideas that he would fast track through the in house patent committee. Many times, it will come down to who did this novel thing first. A dated and witnessed log book is a good weapon. The witness may be called upon to testify in court if it gets really ugly. This is often where the dates come into play. Sometimes notes to jog the memory of the writer and witness should be left on the page since a year or more may pass before this page may be needed.
Also remember that an NDA is just a weapon that allows you to sue someone. Same for a patent. The actual suit will be at your expense unless you can actually win a judgement. Not easy if the other guy has better finances. These kinds of things often turn into a war of attrition where you are asked to file all kinds of legal documents at your own expense until you eventually run out of money or give up.
Our research group evolved into an IC chip design group. Monthly meetings were called to discuss whether to patent something novel which effectively divulges it to the world or simply bury it twelve layers deep in a silicon chip where it will usually remain hidden.
As someone else stated keep a log book of every thought associated with the concept with dates on each page. Keep it in a safe place, not obvious to a casual observer. Major ideas should be witnessed. signed, and dated for several reasons. Let's just say that a high ranking engineering manager would often walk through the lab looking at log books that were left visible and stealing ideas that he would fast track through the in house patent committee. Many times, it will come down to who did this novel thing first. A dated and witnessed log book is a good weapon. The witness may be called upon to testify in court if it gets really ugly. This is often where the dates come into play. Sometimes notes to jog the memory of the writer and witness should be left on the page since a year or more may pass before this page may be needed.
Also remember that an NDA is just a weapon that allows you to sue someone. Same for a patent. The actual suit will be at your expense unless you can actually win a judgement. Not easy if the other guy has better finances. These kinds of things often turn into a war of attrition where you are asked to file all kinds of legal documents at your own expense until you eventually run out of money or give up.
Our research group evolved into an IC chip design group. Monthly meetings were called to discuss whether to patent something novel which effectively divulges it to the world or simply bury it twelve layers deep in a silicon chip where it will usually remain hidden.
All that is why you have to have a patent written in such a way which allows ape minded idiots to understand the actual substance of the patent without question or argument. Patent examiners are all bound by the same ideology and idiocy, but there are a few good ones. Not many though. Some of these sharks out there waiting to contort and rewrite an existing patent to make it their own will always exist. Most of them are in Texas sitting at a computer scouring the web for anything they can rip off and rewrite. They also patent anything bogus and senseless that comes to mind so they can claim later (in court) they were first. This is so that someone else who genuinely designed the product or came up with the core idea has to pay royalties to these clowns for the rest of their lives. This is why I stopped filing for anything unless a huge company is involved backing it, ready and willing to throw tons of money at it with the required legal costs.