Frank Colson on thu 3 may 07
hand made
As a holder of a patent I invented some time ago, let me bring all you
"patentable idea" clay artists up to date on a few facts. First, to apply
and process a patent in today's world can
be extremely expensive and take forever and a day! One reason is that there
is a huge abundance of applications being submitted which , in turn, has
blossomed a thriving patent assistance industry. Let me assure you, they
are all rip-off businesses.
Next, there is more than one way to establish a "new product" identity wh
ich is rarely challanged in court. One, really obvious one is CocaCola.
Would you believe they don't have a patent? They really don't need one!
Who would dare challange such an established product. So, the answer is,
establish "name" recognition. If the name recognition of a unique,
outstanding texture tool, is solidly "established", you will be in a win win
situation and won't need a patent. For example, I have a "product" which I
established more than 25 years ago, and is purchased and used world wide. I
do not have a patent for this product, and I don't need one since the
product has been in use for all this time and has never been challanged.
On the other hand, I am currently developing two new ideas which could
effectively enhance a massive area of today's world in the field of
combustion control and fuel development
based on a recently discovered enzyme. In both these cases I consulted
with patent attorneys who came to the conclusion that it would be foolish to
use this approach.
Here is my patent # I hold for inventing a small electric kiln you might
like to look up. It is now open domain, I might add, as the the protective
period of 26 years has long passed.
US Patent #3,786.162
FRANK COLSON
www.R2D2u.com
From: "steve graber"
To:
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 6:49 AM
Subject: Patentable ideas? Manufactured art? was the real issue with hand
made
> so YOU were involved in that cool bat concept!
>
> ~ i recently talked to an attorney on my new product idea, The Steve Tool
> for clay texture.
>
> it's not patentable. i didn't think t could be. hell, it's a wheel and
> the wheel has been making marks in clay since it was invented a LONG time
> ago. a patent needs to be "new, useful, and not obvious" - per the
> lawyer. the trick on mass produced non-patent products is knowing your
> manufacturing processes enough to keep it low enough in price that no one
> wants to bother with copying your product. ~ and for me being a sick-o on
> texture, i really want to see what someone else comes up with because i'll
> likely buy one of theirs too!
>
> Art vs hand made likely sets up discussions like art vs craft. like mass
> produced art, is it still art & if it is, is it corrupted after a specific
> number of reproductions? such as music via electronic methods. is it
> still art? not as classy as the "old ways" but still gets a result?
>
> but also since i got hooked on clay i see art in so many more areas then
> i ever did before. i swear when i design my "day job" products it shows
> up in the products. i designed several light fixtures that are now in
> Home Depot. i still think they look classy. they make millions of them a
> year, not hand made but still "art" as far as industrial art goes. the
> same with a control grip i did used in Case skid steers & tractors. and
> some simple john deere levers i did. they met the application in the
> simplest form. and i see other product designs that really show a mastery
> of the designer to combine a need with manufacturing profit. smart
> potters are no different. we all need to eat.
>
> i listen to the radio & think some of the broadcasters really have nailed
> their "art" by their voice style, method of talking, and use of silence as
> well. ~ they are artists at what they do.
>
> "fill a need & do it yourself" - that's ALMOST hand made! isn't it?
>
> see ya
>
> steve
> www.graberspottery.com
> The Steve Tool for awesum clay texture
>
>
>
> Elizabeth Priddy wrote:
> How is this for an answer, and I am not just being a smartass:
>
> Is that hand made?
>
> I made it.
> I used a lot more than my hands to make it.
> But if you are asking whether there are a few thousand
> more exactly like it somewhere?
>
> No, there aren't.
>
> So, long answer short, I made this.
>
>
> I have the same problem as a production designer. I want
> to keep each one unique enough to be worth a person making,
> and yet make that person able to make lots of them fast.
> That is called industrial engineering. It is a fine science. It
> used to be called "being an inventor".
>
> As an indeustrial engineer and designer I make decisions:
>
> brush paint rather than use oils or china paint,
> throw slabs rather than roll,
> extrude coils rather than roll
> throw pots rather than pinch
>
> It takes a lot of product moving through to make a living.
> You have to work your process just as much as your brain.
>
> Over time, I came up with a tile bat system in 99 and gave it over
> to Clayart. They are everywhere. Euclids is the best. Did I patent it?
> Why! It is a bat with a hole in it and flats to fit the hole. My design is
> still
> the best and cheapest. I saw them all at NCECA. It's in the archives.
> Euclids came the closest.
>
> I have recently come up with a Priddy PRESS. It also
> solves a lot of design problems. It is a lot harder conceptually.
> So I might patent it. I don't know. I probably won't. I just think it is
> ridiculous to own ideas. And that is why I may never make millions.
>
> The point is, some ideas are universal and simple and make your life
> easier, faster, and better. Other ideas bog you down and paralyse
> your creativity.
>
> Fretting over what you make it with is one that will bog you down. Get
> on board with technology.
>
> Maybe the real answer to is it handmade is:
>
> You're kidding, right? I wear glasses because without them I cannot see
> as well. Do I make the glasses, no. But I sure am going to continue using
> them. This argument is the Reductio ad Absurdem applied to the question
> of how low tech and true to real human experience you are, how granola as
> it were.
>
> And that is the real issue with hand made, isn't it?
>
> E
>
> If it was about how much time you have in each piece price wise,
> Picasso is laughing his ass off in hell right now.
>
>
>
>
> Elizabeth Priddy
>
> Beaufort, NC - USA
> http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/7973282@N03/
>
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>
>
>
> Steve Graber, Graber's Pottery, Inc
> Claremont, California USA
> The Steve Tool - for awesum texture on pots!
> www.graberspottery.com steve@graberspottery.com
>
> ---------------------------------
> Don't pick lemons.
> See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
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>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
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