Re: [DIYbio] patents

On 05/29/2018 09:41 AM, Matt Lawes wrote:
> It's hard for me to see how Indiebio / DIYbio is able to benefit from patents unless late stage development of a near market product. Trade secrets carry you through the ideation phases. Patent your product, not your idea, when you have a strategic partner with deep pockets.
> Thoughts, comment?

Sounds right to me. So far, all of the culture shock electroporator is free-published and based on patent expired designs
plus today's chips and micropython FOSS. If it stumbles on something that is mainstream and needing patent, that will be obvious
only after lots of profit has already been made. Maybe some add-ons to an electroporator will be kept as trade secrets, but only
if they stand alone somehow, since the docs to culture shock are licensed TAPR.

I see trademark as maybe useful and possibly design patent for a safety certified system in a case, fully assembled that educator
purchasing agents can buy...but there won't be anything patentable inside except maybe software that's nifty.

I think providing lab gear kits at low prices and later, fully assembled, safety tested to lab standard UL 61010,
with trademarks on the molded case will protect the case from knock-offs some, and allow niche market sales and income.
The core computer board for the culture shock electroporator can be used for a PCR, liquid handler, clean flow bench controller,
centrifuge controller, spectrometer controller, etc. and that along with the HV board can do an electrophoresis supply with only
a different case and safety interlocks, gel tray for transillumination, etc. The same core computer board could easily control
a scanner to read out the progress in the electrophoresis gel tray as it goes with a few parts as are used in optical disc drives.

Most of the above can be better protected by trademark than patent, and yet maybe some part of one could do a patent after it
sells enough.

--
John

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