I devised a unique electronic product which I sell on eBay.
Sometime ago someone "reverse engineered" my circuit and produced his
own device copying my slogan name and specs.
He gets his stuff manufactured in bulk and can compete alongside me in
terms of price.
I am now forced to consider producing a better product, but don't want
to see history repeat itself again.
What can I do?
What you have to be careful of is whether you have that much claim to
the device.
It's actually pretty hard to "invent something new". If it really is
so radical, then one would have taken steps beforehand to protect it.
But chances are this is derived in some way from someone else's work,
and thus you'd have little claim to protect this anyway. INdeed,
you might be open to someone else's claim that you have used their
work.
Not knowing that something has a patent on it doesn't forgive you.
ANd over the years, I've seen lots of posts from people wanting to
manufacture something they've taken out of a book or magazine, and
have never given thought to whether or not they have the right to
manufacture such a thing.
There isn't a lot you can do to protect the circuitry. The error
over the years that many small companies have made is that if they
do things to make the circuit hard to trace, it really just cuts
down on the individual who might make their own copy. If someone
can see a profit in the device, then they will spend the effort
to trace out the circuit, and get around any stuff you've done in
an attempt to make it untraceable. They have far more incentive
than the individual wanting to make their own copy, because a business
has the funds and the potential profit to offset the trouble and
cost of tracing the circuitry.
Small companies have done lots to ensure they keep customers, which
have nothing to do with hiding details. Become a company that people
want to do business with, that they'll tell your friends to buy from.
COme up with an official looking gold ribbon to "authenticate" your
product, if it really is so unique; in the sixties some kind of
copyright error resulted in "Lord of the Rings" being public domain
(or something like that) and Tolkien made much fuss over the fact
that one was the "authorized" publisher, that he would get paid
by. Create something of value that goes with the product, that
can't readily be duplicated.
MIchael
