Help needed with patent law.

[methylenewhite]

I have a personal care product patented in Brazil. Made from unique material available only locally. I'm planning to sell it worldwide. Do I need to apply for a patent in every country where sales are going to happen? If so could someone please consult me about patent law in US and worldwide? For example how do I apply for US patent outside US, like online form maybe?

Thanks.

 

[GTW]

Patents are specific to each country. Except perhaps EU.
I had a patent in USA. To an extent the value is bluff and bragging. If someone infringes on your patent then you hire an attorney, go to court. If after spending tens of thousands of dollars you win, the judge issues a cease and desist order but no damages awarded to you. Only the second round will result in damage award.
How deep are your pockets? How big the potential market?
Patents in various countries are not exorbitant but being first with a new product and trademarks are easier/cheaper to enforce.

 

[GTW]

I heard at one time in Sweden the government support inventions with patent cost grants.

 

[akgrrrl]

I have a personal care product patented in Brazil. Made from unique material available only locally. I'm planning to sell it worldwide. Do I need to apply for a patent in every country where sales are going to happen? If so could someone please consult me about patent law in US and worldwide? For example how do I apply for US patent outside US, like online form maybe?

Thanks.

Maybe consider trademarking and copyrighting, and keep your ingredients proprietary?

 

[methylenewhite]

Maybe consider trademarking and copyrighting, and keep your ingredients proprietary?

Could you give me some more details how to keep my ingredients proprietary please?

 

[methylenewhite]

easier/cheaper to enforce

How do I protect my product from copying by a big corporation or a more resourceful individuals?

 

[GTW]

How do I protect my product from copying by a big corporation or a more resourceful individuals?

That is the problem. A patent is the pretext to sue infringing company/entities.If you don't have deep pockets you might hope to sell your product rights to one larger company that will defend their acquired rights.

 

[David PS]

Could you give me some more details how to keep my ingredients proprietary please?

Do not tell anyone what the ingredients are in your product. Also do not reveal the amounts of each ingredients. Keep them secret and they will be a trade secret. This strategy has worked for Coca Cola.

Coca-Cola - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Coca Cola can afford to patent it's secret formula but they chose not to do so. Patent rights expire 20 years from the date of filing. Their patent rights worldwide would have expired long ago if they chose to go the patent route.

Once a product has been commerically on sale for more than 1 year, the inventor is precluded from obtaining patent rights in the product.

 

[methylenewhite]

Do not tell anyone what the ingredients are in your product. Also do not reveal the amounts of each ingredients. Keep them secret and they will be a trade secret. This strategy has worked for Coca Cola.

Well, my product is a first of a kind, 100% sustainable, 100% plant derived, eco friendly and etc. If I keep ingredients as trade secret how do I prove for a consumer that my product is indeed sustainable, organic, plant derived and etc?

 

[methylenewhite]

What is trade secret status for cosmetic ingredients? | Peterson Watts Law Group, LLP

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is responsible for ensuring the products you use in California are safe. It implements ... trade secrets

www.petersonwatts.com

Impossible. FDA would never grant a trade secret status to cosmetics.

 

[David PS]

Well, my product is a first of a kind, 100% sustainable, 100% plant derived, eco friendly and etc. If I keep ingredients as trade secret how do I prove for a consumer that my product is indeed sustainable, organic, plant derived and etc?

There is no need to prove it to a consumer. Just call it proprietary and leave it at that.

 

[GTW]

Patent requires you disclose the specific invention details on which you claim originality.
In the 19th century and continuing into 20th, "patent medicines" were very popular in USA and other countries. These were in fact secret/proprietary formulas. There was also a ferment of published attempts to deduce those formulas.
When he lived in China my grandfather suffered from malaria. When quinine tablets were approaching intolerance for him he successfully used a patent medicine, India Cholegogue. It was interesting for me to research what might have been the ingredients.

 

[David PS]

What is trade secret status for cosmetic ingredients? | Peterson Watts Law Group, LLP

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is responsible for ensuring the products you use in California are safe. It implements ... trade secrets

www.petersonwatts.com

Impossible. FDA would never grant a trade secret status to cosmetics.

This is no longer a patent law question. You are now outside my field of work experience.

 

[akgrrrl]

"There is no need to prove it to a consumer. Just call it proprietary and leave it at that."
This, from DavidPS.
You can say proprietary blend of organic, sustainable, etc etc that becomes the highlight of your packaging/marketing. You can go to to describe all the things it is NOT, provide the benefits of all the other ingredients, and in the end, a specialist in business marketing law might be a consultation cheaper than patents etc. We know by historical reference that can of worms is not just expensive, but not as protective as we imagine. Look what they get away with in marketing "enriched wheat" the most poisonous thing there is, and nobody ever says "wait--- if bread is the "Staff of Life" and good for us, why would it have to be enriched?". The wiggle words, assertions as claims, and all manner of tools in marketing is what drives capitalism.
There are even specialists in international business marketing that help translate and design packaging and text according to national trends, target consumers etc.