Is it possible that a "patent" might be fake?

[Dave A]

The thing is, the papers they showed me specifically said "Patent" and this is where my suspicions creep in.

Suspicions? It positively reeks of BS.

There is a distinct difference between a patent and a copyright.

[adrianh]

They cannot patent an idea, just a specific design. Anyway, tell them that they are welcome to take you to court to prove their point. They themselves, nor their lawyers (if they have any) can enforce the so called patent. They can jump up and down, make a lot of noise and nothing more. If they want to force you to abide by their patent then they need a judge to make a ruling forcing you to to do so. The Kreepy Krauly vs Barracuda thing went on for years.


To quote Justin Nurse "Laugh it off"

[AndyD]

Sounds like these guys are taking a chance to me.
As martinco pointed out there are millions of 'patents' registered that won't hold water in court. Splitting a design into two halves has no novelty so wouldn't be a patentable thing. Find out the patent number they supposedly have and search it yourself. You don't need a patent lawyer to do this, the lawyers don't search anywhere that you don't have access to. If they're full of crap then go open a docket for fraud against them. Even if they do have some kind of patent tell them to go fly a kite, you'll see them in court. Owning a patent is one thing, having the means to enforce it is another, the lengthy and expensive legal process involved means that when it comes to enforcement 98% of patent holders will be all mouth and no trousers.

[Mark Atkinson]

So guess what? I leaked our supplier's contact email to these guys, followed by an email asking them for their "patent" number.

I've heard nothing since. Big surprise. Guess letting them on to my supplier wasn't the smartest move.

[AndyD]

What possessed you to give them your suppliers details?

[Mark Atkinson]

Let's not even go there...

For a limited time I thought that they might bring something useful to the table.

[adrianh]

The biggest mistake I ever made was to introduce my customer to my supplier. The customer (a very powerful party) insisted and flew down from Windhoek. The supplier and the customer ended up speaking directly to one another and I ended up being a third wheel. I've been lucky to date in that both of them are decent people and we have been able to work together. I've always made made fair share but I don't know how much longer it will last considering that I will lose my leverage at the end of March.

...but...

I still have a 45 slug in my foot and I'll never do that again...

[desA]

This story has issues, I fear.

Thoughts of possibly working 'together' led to 'leaked' supplier info. All because some person/s 'claimed' they had a 'patent'. Either this is exceptionally foolish business, or something else is afoot. Not all is being said...