We have come up with a new idea for cast parts. We get most of the trade magazines, read most of the forums on the net, and have never seen this idea before.
Has anyone written an article for a trade magazine and had it published? Is there any money in it?
Very little money for article from the mags, Usually none. The only way to make moey is to use the article as free advertising. The issue with this is the mag will want exclusive rights to the article (so you only have one shot) and you are usually advertising only to your competitors and not your customers. However if it is a patentable idea patent it first, patents do scare off some copy cats, it is can only be defended as far as you can aford the legal fees.It can cost into the millions to defend a patent from a well funded competitor.
what all trade magazines are their??
Or make a DVD and sale them on EBay and on that DVD add along some of your products for sale as advertizing like Freeman Supply does…
Or we here are working on a cheap monthly pay per-view section with all the step by step tutorials that I have been working on for too many years for my classroom. Maybe we can set it up for you to post it there too and you get the lions portion of that thread or something like that, but I have to run over that with a partner first. I’d like to get Andre’s VIP on here something doing something like that too, but…?
Composite Trade mags…Dual twill, didn’t I send you a pile of them with the FG trade? If not, I have stacks of them at the classroom and I’ll get them tomorrow night and maybe list them here or mail them to you.
You can scare off some low $ knock offs by having your idea photo copied many times, notorize all of them and mail them to yourself. But don’t open the envelopes. File a cheapy copyright (for worded items) and a cheap patent (won’t protect against big time attorneys but…) so you can add “patent pending” to anything but…how many things have you copied that was protected? :rolleyes:
The idea on the sealed envelope is it was register at the USPS at that date & stated in the form you printed out & notorized that date that you came up with the concept idea. If you ever have to go to court over this fact…you present a sealed envelope with FED. USPS dated and notorized fact sheet inside…but again, anyone with tons of money can get around that too!
I have had many ideas that others told me that I should have patented them but never enough $'s to do it correctly. Anyone remember how easy it was to unlock Toyota pick up doors with a pencil or flat blade screw driver with no damage to car door and it looks like you are just putting a key into the lock? 
Want to hear more and what other makes and models you can do that too?
The also trouble of patents is that you have to defend them. Meaning if you find someone is knocking it off, you have to get your attorney to go to court, file papers, get a court date and a trial…but most end up as a “steas and stop” order…but you still have to pay your attorney fees too…
Even if you lease (?) it like the guy that came up with the intermeted wiper blades…he FULLY (you have to spend big $'s to cover every concievable way to make the same thing even control functions…or they can change it 10 or 15% and you are out the door with zip) patented the concept, leased it out but many auto makers came up with their own version or under stated how many vehicles was using his patented idea. He was in courts for more than 15 years but finally won!
Another Patent / Copyright story (I could write a book), an ACVW company “Auto Haus” used a copyrighted modified (Big Deal did the art work) Volkswagen Bug as their business logo. VW of America (they still have not learn the lesson as every 5 to 10 years they go after ACVW shops and manufactures that have anything looking like their products, LOGO, colors of their logo even, etc… as infringement even if they have not made that idea in 20+ years or ever at all…) went after Auto Haus and after 5+ years of court battles, Auto Haus won…but then they had to pay their attorney fees and that put them under for good!
lets not forget that when you apply for a patent, you basicaly have to show the world just exactly how you did it.
I personaly think you just keep your mouth shut and make a name for yourself so that they think of you first.
Thanks guys for your input. Our new idea is an easier manufacturing technique. With thousands of shops across the country it would be impossible to try to enforce a patent. We were just hoping to just publish an article, share the idea, and make a few $$$.
For now we’ll just keep it a trade secret, until we get enough new ideas to make a video. Thanks again.
If it is worth a patent, what is someone does the patent before you?
SCRIMP is still making good money from their patent, even with others doing variations of the same thing.