Originally Posted 3/30/06
The thing missing on American Inventor or at least the segments broadcast is any discussion of the patentability of the inventions. Many of the inventions that have got through to the second round are just not patentable.
And the producers of the show are not going to give a one million dollar advance on royalties to an invention that cannot be protected. Why? Because if the invention is not protectable, any number of competitors will simply copy the device potentially undercutting the manufacturer chosen by the producers.
Actually, I shouldn’t be so harsh; there is a chance that an unprotectable invention can be successful. But the chances are just so much smaller than with an invention that can be protected with a strong broad patent.
The panel of judges just don’t seem to get the importance of protection. Tonight a nice old lady with paper sheets was passed on to the next round. I would be shocked if the product or the method of using the product could be protected. I suspect with a few minutes or the help of my expert patent searcher I could show that a significant portion of the inventions that advanced to the next round over the last three weeks are not even novel. In other words, they were likely invented by others before the new inventors decided to appear on the show.
What the show needs is a patent attorney judge to render an opinion on the protectability of the inventions. I really expected to see one among the panel. Instead they appear to have a businessman, a couple of marketing types, and a very successfully inventor/engineer. While Doug Hall, the inventor, comes close to filling the role an attorney would fill, he isn’t a patent attorney and he just doesn’t approach the decision of who to pass the same way a patent attorney would.
So Simon, if you by some strange coincidence you come to read this, I am available ;>)
