Is there really a patent or copyright on corn heating bags?
Ok so I was thinking about selling corn heating pad/bags. I have my own design and everything. Now i did find a lady that say she wrote up her own patent for her deer corn heating bags back in 2000 and trademarked. She thought it was a new idea. HAHA they have been around longer than that.That’s what i found so funny about that patent. But too it was on a website about making money so I don’t know how true it really is. . So I looked it up and i couldn’t find anything really on patents on it. So anyways. I want to find out it there is a patent or copyright on the concept of corn heating pads or bags. I know people sell them all the time on ebay or even there own websites with company names and everything. That’s why I want to find out so badly. To make sure everything is legal. But I want to know as long as I come up with my own idea and design makes it different can I still sell them. I would love some impute. I did look into in my state and i was told I could sell them but I didn’t know if they would have known if there is any patent on them. Plus I plan on making up a name to call my product also. So its a old idea with a new twist. But I have been told that there is now patent on this since its so old and now allowed to be patent anymore. Thanks cant wait for some feed back. ::)
I thought maybe others who do crafts might know.
But I have been told that there is now patent on this since its so old and now allowed to be patent anymore.
Im sorry I ment to say there is NOT a patent on them since they are so old and NOT allowed to put patent on it any longer due to how old the idea is.
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You do not have to worry about a patient or copyright.
If you use a licensed product – like Disney fabric – note that the product is not licensed and there will not be any problems as the fabric has been sold several times before you purchased it to make crafts.
Just because someone states you cannot use their design because it has been patented, does not mean it is true – she may have applied for a patient, which is not only expensive to do, but also takes a very long time to be approved, or denied.
Anyone who thinks you are using their copyright will have to send you a notice to cease and desist before pursuing the issue any further.
Your instinct was right. There is no copyright or patent on the concept of “heating bags,” no matter what they’re filled with. And rice heating bags have been around forever too, though there are all kinds of things they can be filled with.
Some people *may* have gone to the trouble and expense of *correctly* copyrighting their particular designs or their set of written instructions, etc., but even if they had that would only cover exact representations of what they’d made and it’s unlikely they’d have deep enough pockets to actually go all the way through with a lawsuit.
To add to what Pattiann said about using copyrighted fabrics, you can definitely get into trouble especially with some companies (or sports teams or colleges, etc) for using their “characters,” logos, etc, by making your bags in those likenesses/etc FOR PROFIT and they do have deep pockets, but doubt if you’re doing that.
Trademarking is a different thing. That has to do with brand names and logos, but don’t think you want to use her brand name or logo anyway.
ADDED LATER….
The “patent” claim listed by the answerer Cato__ below is very restrictive and specific to a certain design, etc., so shouldn’t have anything to do with you… to see what I mean, click on the “Read This Patent” button, then scroll down and read the part starting on the bottom of page 15 and on page 16.
HTH, and good luck!
Diane B.
There are three types of legal protection for intellectual property.
Patents protect useful inventions, engineered plants, or unique designs for manufactured products. They have to be applied for, a lengthy and complex (and expensive) process. When granted, utility patents (for useful inventions) and plant patents run for 20 years from the date of filing. Design patents run for 14 years from the date of issue. Utility patents require maintenance fees to be paid at 3.5 years, 7.5 years, and 11.5 years of the lifespan.
Trade Marks protect unique names, logos, labels, symbols, sounds, or colors that distinguish goods from similar, competitive goods. They are often recognized even when a different written language is used. For example a Pepsi Cola can looks the same the world around, no matter what alphabet is used. The same is true of a Coca-Cola can or bottle. You are prohibited from taking one of their can designs, changing the name on it, and bottling your own soft drink in it. However, it is up to the company that owns the trade mark to enforce its exclusive use by persistently suing violators. Companies famous for enforcing their trade marks and brand names include the Disney empire, Coca-Cola, Xerox, and Kimberly-Clark (manufacturers of Kleenex). Companies that have failed to protect their brand names in the US include the original manufacturers of cellophane, aspirin, escalator, zipper, and mimeograph. There are many other names that were originally trade names but have now become generic because the owner failed to protect the trade name aggressively.
Copyright protection applies to original intellectual works that are presented in visual form. That would include original patterns and designs and directions for following a pattern to create copies of an original design. Copyright protection extends for various lengths of time, depending on when the copyright was established.
In the United States, patents and trademarks are handled in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Copyrights are handled in the Copyright Office, a division of the Library of Congress.
Okay, now let’s look at your questions.
“Is there a patent on corn heating bag/pads.” Not likely. As you pointed out, they have been around for a long, long time, and any patent would likely have expired anyway.
“Now i did find a lady that say she wrote up her own patent for her deer corn heating bags back in 2000 and trademarked. She thought it was a new idea.” Trademarks are a different thing from either patents or copyrights. A manufacturer of “deer corn heating bags” can certainly develop a unique name, color scheme, logo, or other design for the product and establish it as a private trademark. The utility cannot be patented nor can the instructions to “make an 8″ x 8″ fabric bag and pour corn into the bag” be copyrighted. However, a reproduction of her signature on each bag can be a protected trademark.
“That’s why I want to find out so badly. To make sure everything is legal.” It’s possible to search the patent records, the trademark records, and the copyright records to make sure there is no legal protection in place for the design you want to use. It will be an expensive process, however, and not likely to return any useful information.
“But I want to know as long as I come up with my own idea and design makes it different can I still sell them.” Yes, you can. This is an established principle–you can design your own product, manufacture it, and sell it as long as it’s a legal product (marijuana-stuffed pads will be illegal because selling marijuana is illegal). Now, it is unlikely but possible that you will come up with a design that is so close to one used by another manufacturer that the other manufacturer will ask you to stop production or at least to change designs. Normally, you would get a warning and a chance to make the changes before the other manufacturer brought suit. And a lawsuit is the general remedy. The Disney corporation is forever suing people for creating unauthorized patterns of their designs because they want people to be so afraid of them that they won’t even THINK about pirating Disney designs. Most of the rest of the world isn’t so vicious–they just want you to play fair with them as they play fair with you.
Yes there is a patent
Here is the first claim:
1. A heating pad comprising:
a) a first wall;
b) a second wall, having the same configuration as the first wall, and being in alignment therewith;
c) means for fixedly connecting said first wall and said second wall together, thereby forming a bag structure;
d) a quantity of dry corn, placed within said bag structure; and
e) means for restricting the movement of said quantity of dry corn within said bag structure.
if yours has 3 or 4 walls, it would be different enough to avoid this claim.