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by Scrupulous » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:29 pm
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Scrupulous - Black Belt
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I'm sure I overlooked a bunch of people...
5rocks?
contextion?
inventor-x?
...let me know.
Just out of curiosity, who would be willing to sign and post a confidentiality agreement for this?
(I suppose I'm so accustomed to maintaining confidentiality that I don't know what others' concerns might be.)
5rocks?
contextion?
inventor-x?
...let me know.
Just out of curiosity, who would be willing to sign and post a confidentiality agreement for this?
(I suppose I'm so accustomed to maintaining confidentiality that I don't know what others' concerns might be.)
by key on the kite » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:33 pm
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key on the kite - Yellow Belt
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haha, count me in on this, I'm interested
by Levi Porter » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:15 pm
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Levi Porter - Brown Belt
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Scrupulous wrote: Just out of curiosity, who would be willing to sign and post a confidentiality agreement for this?
A simple question that creates more questions... I'll try to keep it simple.
I thought this was about the power of witnessing?
If it is in regards to initial review of ideas than it seems reasonable.
Is there a clause that permits open disclosures about the process?
That's it for now.
P.S. I'll have multitudes of questions after we get started
by Scrupulous » Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:59 am
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Scrupulous - Black Belt
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Levi Porter wrote:Scrupulous wrote: Just out of curiosity, who would be willing to sign and post a confidentiality agreement for this?
A simple question that creates more questions... I'll try to keep it simple.
I thought this was about the power of witnessing?
If it is in regards to initial review of ideas than it seems reasonable.
Is there a clause that permits open disclosures about the process?
That's it for now.
P.S. I'll have multitudes of questions after we get started
Well, now we're getting to the heart of the matter, and feedback is welcome. Here's a few crititcal points to consider...
I'm using patent law as the foundation for this process. That way we rely principles that are already well-established, and available to anyone for inspection. There is no sense in "re-inventing the wheel" (did I say that?) with our own set of rules, which would not necessarily take precedence over the law anyway. With that in mind, any questions on specific rights to particular ideas and disclosures would be handled at any time by the same body, regardless of whether the group still exists or not.
So, with respect to the current laws, this is what we need to know:
1. In simple terms, if any patentable material gets presented to the general public in printed form (such as on the internet) before an application is filed, then foreign rights are basically forfeited and a one year clock starts ticking for US rights.
2. For now, it would not be difficult to establish US inventorship and file for domestic (US) rights to anything that gets developed in the group, even if information happens to leak out. This is based on the power of witnessing ideas.
3. According to current US laws, co-inventors that are listed on a patent have equal (total) and unrestricted share of the property. Each co-inventor is free to seek licensing or manufacturing however he or she chooses. This is why it's necessary to have a joint-ownership agreement in place, upon filing for a patent. An agreement based on unanimous decisions minimizes the chance of collusion.
4. Any dispute over inventorship should be avoided at all costs, as it would effectively defeat the whole purpose of the group. If such a dispute appeared likely for a given project, then a smaller group (a lesser invention) would possibly need to be defined for that project, so that the co-inventors could expect to reach an agreement. The specifics would depend on the things that had transpired up to that point.
Now, I sincerely doubt that anyone who was interested in getting involved in this would do it for deceptive purposes, or to be a distraction. What's more likely is a difference in opinion as to the best direction to take with particular idea. But, because the potential for information to get leaked out of a private forum (whether by accident or not) would be impossible to eliminate, the risk must be acknowledged. And, short of an airtight method for securing information over the internet, which is no small task, it's better to just accept the reality. (Even if we all met in person behind locked doors and no windows, there would be no guarantee of eliminating that risk.)
One of the benefits of a popular website like this one is that people can network without giving up their anonymity, while still contributing to something meaningful. We talked about having an administrator collect and verify names, so that access can be granted into the private forum. I'm not sure that's even necessary, for the time being. The reasoning is that it would be difficult to force anyone to divulge their legal names here, and nearly impossible to verify them anyway. Unless I'm mistaken, the value of the private forum would be to greatly reduce the risk that outsiders would be tempted to view the discussions, take the ideas and run with them. However, true inventors within the group would at some point be compelled to provide their legal names, in order to acquire intellectual property.
But help me out here, because security is no guarantee, I believe this would mean that confidentiality agreements, in all seriousness, would be essentially meaningless. This group would have to be based on a certain level of trust, and a high degree of confidence that the majority of the participants here would support each other. That's why the power would truly be in witnessing ideas, when all is said and done. I brought up the idea of confidentiality agreements to get people thinking that confidence and security would be expected regardless. That's a fair trade in exchange for a very effective approach to inventing.
I know there's probably a bunch of people that haven't even looked at this thread because it already has so many pages. I will start a new thread soon, to summarize the rules for entry into the private forum. Anyone who wishes to enter would need to respond within that thread. For now, I welcome feedback on this, if anyone is still reading this far. You thought I was long-winded. This is nothing.
by Scrupulous » Thu Nov 01, 2007 8:00 am
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Scrupulous - Black Belt
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5rocks wrote:I would like to participate if there is room!
Pat
You're in, Pat.
by mojo62 » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:48 am
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mojo62 - Black Belt
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Compiling quite a list Scrup! Short and sweet Scrup, whose going make a written agreement? Can we just make one here and I can sign it "mojo62"?
O.K. Scrup, in reality we need a written agreement!
As mentioned in prior "think tank disscussions", some members may or may not want to participate in a particular project.
In my (Scorpio) mind, I don't want to discuss this for weeks as before. I want to start today.
Let's hash out the agreement for membership now, but I want to start the ball rolling on some inventions. Hopefully, as you stated, anyone interested in being a member of the think tank is doing so with ethical intentions.
O.K. Scrup, in reality we need a written agreement!
As mentioned in prior "think tank disscussions", some members may or may not want to participate in a particular project.
In my (Scorpio) mind, I don't want to discuss this for weeks as before. I want to start today.
Let's hash out the agreement for membership now, but I want to start the ball rolling on some inventions. Hopefully, as you stated, anyone interested in being a member of the think tank is doing so with ethical intentions.
Last edited by mojo62 on Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
by mojo62 » Thu Nov 01, 2007 10:21 am
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mojo62 - Black Belt
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What catagories are we all interested in for inventing?
A means for preventing "Bump keys" for picking a lock. I mentioned this,
but will leave it up to the current lock mfg's.
Sports- fishing, baseball, football, yard games
Household- cleaning tools, closet storage, kitchen storage, cooking implements
Toys-baby, toddler, pre-teen, any
Personal care products
Pet products- I may be interested in developing some cat toys
Did any get any new Halloween ideas last night?
Baby products
Products for the lefties
I have an idea for a new product and desire a three man team. Is anyone against members inviting chosen individuals to work with on single projects, especially after knowing more about who is interested in specific catagories?
I do hold the desire to eventually invent things with many groups.
Or, are potential members thinking we will share ideas among all members? What are some thoughts on this without too much discussion.
A means for preventing "Bump keys" for picking a lock. I mentioned this,
but will leave it up to the current lock mfg's.
Sports- fishing, baseball, football, yard games
Household- cleaning tools, closet storage, kitchen storage, cooking implements
Toys-baby, toddler, pre-teen, any
Personal care products
Pet products- I may be interested in developing some cat toys
Did any get any new Halloween ideas last night?
Baby products
Products for the lefties
I have an idea for a new product and desire a three man team. Is anyone against members inviting chosen individuals to work with on single projects, especially after knowing more about who is interested in specific catagories?
I do hold the desire to eventually invent things with many groups.
Or, are potential members thinking we will share ideas among all members? What are some thoughts on this without too much discussion.
by Scrupulous » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:34 am
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Scrupulous - Black Belt
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All of those sound good.
I will invent anything, anytime, anywhere.
I will invent anything, anytime, anywhere.
by key on the kite » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:53 am
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key on the kite - Yellow Belt
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I would like to help too