Douglas M. Gaus
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Top 5 Annoying Products

6/28/2012

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American Idol's Ryan Seacrest experiencing computer problems
 
As a consumer, i have some product annoyances needing some venting...Below are my current Top 5, but there are constantly new ones being added to the list:


#5.  Raisin bran cereal bags -  I understand the need to have bags that keep raisin bran cereal fresh prior to opening...But opening any of these bags is like a teenager on a date trying to unfasten his girlfriends' bra.  Invariably, you are left with a jagged plastic opening mess, ripe for cereal spillage into the box or outside of box.  Can't raisin bran manufacturers make a bag that is easy to open and leaves a nice clean edge opening, like other cereals?

#4.  Kitchenaid Coffee Maker -  Sometime early this year, my wife and i replaced our coffee maker, settling on a Kitchenaid (Model KCM111OB) coffee maker...After 4 months of suffering through spilled water on our countertop, i took it back and got a refund.  No matter how careful you were, the spout on the carafe would make you spill water every time you tried to dispense it into the back storage tank/container...You would think Kitchenaid would uncover such faulty design in consumer testing...

#3.  Bottled water - With the desire to reduce plastic in our landfill, bottled water manufacturers have reduced the thickness of the bottle (making it cheaper to mfr and effectively leaving less post use landfill)...Consumers are now left with a rice paper thin plastic bottle that spills water every time you open for the first time, due to your hand accidentally squeezing the bottle too much (just trying to hold it still when twisting the top open).  My tweenage son has figured out that it is kinda fun to take an empty bottle, screw the top back on it, then twist the bottle with both hands until it explodes...The way a 13 year old is able to easily manhandle a plastic bottle, which used to be made fairly rigid in the not so distant past, makes him look the Incredible Hulk...

#2.  Captcha Code:  The person(s) who thought of the the Captcha Code (stands for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart", no seriously!) were un-brilliantly stupid!  In order to deter rampant bots from automatically taking information from websites, the Captcha code requires correctly spelled words to be input by humans!  Problem is, the Captcha code is always illegible English...It won't let you further into a website logon until you "Please enter the two (curvy, crappy) words below,,,runstfrihy and grohylap...I guess college educated is not enough to be able to decipher their sucky words...Is that an h or a t?  and is that an r or a z?  Five tries later, and you might be in the Captcha club!

#1  Adobe Flashplayer -  No matter how you set your update settings for Flashplayer, it seems like there is always a new version installing on your computer without your knowledge...And this new version seems to make whatever computer you are running buggy! (mouse needs 6 clicks instead of one, programs don't load when clicked on).   I now understand why Steve Jobs said no to using Adobe Flashplayer on the Apple Iphones and IPads..  the man was a genius!

Let me know of any current product annoyances you're experiencing!


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Insider Tip #1 -  Helping You Bring Your Idea to Market: Finding the Right Patent Attorney

6/19/2012

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Insider Tip #1 - If you're looking for and actively interviewing patent attorneys to help you file for a patent, go to the USPTO website and do a search on Issued patents. 

http://patft.uspto.gov/ 

If you click on Quick Search, there will be two fields for you to do some basic searches.  Where it says "Term 1", input the main name of the law firm you are interviewing and then in "Field 1" there is a drop down box...just click on "Attorney or Agent" and click on "Search".  This will pull all the issued patents that the law firm has handled.  Make sure to open each patent to confirm that the firm you are looking for is listed as the Attorney, Agent or Firm: (this is usually found directly under the "Primary Examiner" listed for the patent.  It may take a few times to refine your results so that you are only getting that exact firm, but with a little sleuthing, you can find the patents...

In general, the more patents from their clients that they have issued, the better.   It means they have been in the game for a fair amount of time....and have a lot of experience in the complex jousting that goes on between patent law firms and the USPTO Examiner who is responsible for making the decision on your patent...and for them resulted in patent approval for their clients  It also gives you a good idea of the type of patents they have worked on in the past, including design or utility patents...if their area of specialty seems to be complex software or laser technology, it might not be a great fit for you if you if your invention is a consumer product like a new tool or houseware.

Patent attorneys are not inexpensive...so if you want your invention to have the of best chance of getting approved, and are going to spend a fair amount of money in hopes of achieving protection for your invention by the US government, go with an experienced patent attorney that has already received many patents for products that are most closely related to yours...


This is the first in a series of Inside Tip blogs - "Helping You Bring Your Idea to Market"


If you need help bringing your new idea to market, check out my contact page!


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