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He has absolutely nothing to threaten you with at this point. In 2 or 3 years he may or may not have a patent and only then could he contact you about possible
by asmithmd1 15y ago
He has absolutely nothing to threaten you with at this point. In 2 or 3 years he may or may not have a patent and only then could he contact you about possible infringement. Patent applications become public after a year so you may want to set a reminder to take a look in a year and possibly send the patent examiner some clarifying info about your public website predating his application
- throwaway16189 15y agoHere's the thing though. Like I feel like he came to my site and was like "Hey I don't think this guy patented his stuff. I'm going to patent it now, then come back and get him". Can people do this with the patent system?
- Natsu 15y agoSort of. You have some protection if you invented it first, but there are a lot of pitfalls. It's these crazy legal pitfalls that makes asking random people on the internet for their opinion so dangerous, even if you ask a smart bunch like HN. For example, even if you invented what you did first, being able to prove that you invented it first is another matter entirely. No matter how true it is, it won't help you in court if you can't provide legally acceptable proof. Legal consultations aren't that expensive. And you'll need a lawyer anyhow to do anything other than ignore this email. Also, saying or implying that you currently have no legal representation is a really, really bad idea. At the very least, don't do that.