impart me your intellectual property wisdom

[Beeeph]

have any of you gone through the process of obtaining a patent, trademark, or copyright? i just recently found out there's a group of people trying to sell these things called "arkegs" and it looks as though they're <a href="http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f= ... .1">filing to trademark that name</a>. if they trademark the name "arkeg", does that mean they can screw me if i were to try to market MY invention? can i still use that name if someone else holds the trademark to it? did i wait to long on this?

[R3C]

I have no experience with patents. Copyright is easy though. Whoever can prove they had it first wins with copyright. (search for prior work, or prior art (or somthing of the sort.)) Anything you create (original works) are automatically protected by copyright law. This is from an art/music perspective though. Devices like your Arkeg could be somewhat different. You could always call it the Ahrqeg or something

And what the hell are you doing in here anyway?! You not come in here!! Irregol!!

[R3C]

Ok, I wasn't serious. Where did you go? Jerk. Always leaving like that...

[Beeeph]

not irrego...but mysterioso, for i am the blindingly bold and baffling beeeph who's just been bamboozled. well then i guess i'll just have to beat those unoriginal bastards to the punch and finish once and for all the <b>original arkeg</b>. i just ordered the kegorator conversion kit from beveragefactory.com, now I need to find a mini fridge, convert it, and possibly rebuild the cabinet...ugghhh

[R3C]

You know, a sit-down, mostly enclosed cabinet with cushy leather seats (that will sit 2 players,) would be the coolest thing on the planet. (especially if it dispensed beer) 30" screen, roof, the controls slide toward and away from the players for easy entrance/exit. Small (Super Sprint style) steering wheels that snap in to the control section, and can be removed, two sticks per side, trackball in the middle, etc. Could even have a couple of buttons on the ceiling, so when playing space sims or something like this, the players could press things up there. (like in space movies ) Hold on while I make the jump to light speed. beep beep press press.... It would be pretty big, and quite hard to move around, but there isn't really much like this available, and I think a lot of people might pay a lot for it. To dispense the beer, you could have aircraft dual-toggle switches, where you have to flip back the cover, then hit the switch (momentary) to dispense.

[spidermonkey]

It may also need a few smaller external monitors so that those not fortunate enough to be one of the two players of the deluxe sit-down Arkeg can still follow the action and possibly place bets on Money Puzzle Exchanger or equivalent. Maybe some kind of hydraulic-based force feedback as well, (although this requires a special isolation chamber to keep the keg from being shaken up.)

[N3ur0n0saurusl2exs0r!!!]

There is a really simple way to copyright something - just mail yourself a letter containing all pertinent documentation about whatever it is and then never open it until you have to prove whatever it is that you are trying to copyright. Since the post office dates the letter that's proof of when you thought of it.

[ed9k]

I thought that as well, but:

http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp