Prior to the tripling (and more) of patent application fees under the Reagan administration, I acquired a patent for 900.00 total, filing fees and all. It took less then nine months from start to finish. I did my own drawings, just needed a little tweaking from the draftsman.
I was too late in my thinking. I designed a universal wheeled adapter base for upright vacuums, with attachment storage and a feature to allow the vacuum to sit unaided in a stairwell.
Nine counts of originality out of 10 claims were granted. US Patent Number 4,357,177 Nov 3, 1982. The OBT uprights were already on the drawing board by then. The first one to appear was the Regina Housekeeper.
From that time until now the patent process has become so $#%*bersome and expensive that most US Patents are granted by reciprocity, after the inventor has acquired the patent overseas. How sad. James Dyson is not the first to screw the common man. Sears is famous for breaking patent owners, legally, spiritually, and financially.
Regards,
Trebor
This message was modified Apr 4, 2011 by Trebor
