I happened to spot a funny quirky table in a book of coffee tables.
I would like to make one like it. That’s clearly allowed.
Would it matter if I made more and sold them?
To get concrete about it, the $3,000 table has a simple conceit - it’s supported
by rope, a naturally flexible material, that has been hardened with resin.
Clearly as a shop project it could be made for perhaps $200 materials.
Here’s the picture http://tinyurl.com/r2z939
Since I’ve never made one it’s pure pipe dream, and I probably would find myself glued to my garage walls and floor awaiting rescue by firemen with Jaws-of-Life machines.
But if it did work and I could make a few and find buyers, how far from his
basic design would I have to go? Of course I wouldn’t want to make a slavish imitation or try to use his name in my marketing.
And the concept of “stiffened rope supporting a glass top” is really already
common in Mexican patio furniture. It just looks more like a conventional rattan or wicker table.
Curiously enough I just ran across a similarly themed lamp
This one has a stated price of $940. It’s a simple Erlenmeyer flask from a chemistry lab,
with a stiff wire visible inside, and a shade that could have come from any IKEA or lighting store.
Again, I think it would be a fun project, quite doable this time, and lending itself to many
variations.
IANAL, but I think it would depend on whether or not the designer has patented or otherwise trademarked the design. I recall seeing a plant hanging device that was made from bent ash. This was at a local craft fair. The booth had a sign advising people that the design was patented, so I think you could make one for yourself, but you couldn’t try to sell them.
No design or utility patent is listed for Josh (or Joshua) Urso at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Under U.S. patent law, design patent protection commences when the patent is issued, and there are no provisional rights until then. A design patent lasts 14 years after it is issued.
U.S. Patent Act §102(b) provides that the patent must be denied if “the invention was … in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent in the United States.”
Additionally, aren’t design patents pretty specific? They’re not broad enough to indicate exclusive rights on glass supported by rope. The color, thickness, and placement would all have to be specified as well.
Back in my retail days in the Suburban MD area in the early 80’s I had a good customer who worked for an office furniture manufacturer, and he made no bones about the fact that his R&D dept consisted of Polaroid camera that copied the best designs of his competitors and made them at a lesser cost.
Unless it’s a real specific design element I don’t think you can patent artistic designs or they would have had their asses sued off.
Re the table it looks neat but I imagine the web of ropes would be a dust magnet and a nightmare to clean. Plus a vacuum might beat the crap of it.
Since the design inventor has no provisional rights until the design patent is issued, and the inventor can apply for the patent up to a year after he begins selling it, and the patent application process generally takes 18 months — I recommend that if you manufacture and sell copies of that table, check the patent database at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “Josh Urso” and “Joshua Urso” on a periodic basis up to two and a half years from when you first knew the item to be on sale, to see if a design patent issues. If a design patent issues, stop manufacturing and selling it.
Thanks. I never knew design patents could be searched so readily.
I suppose if I go through the application discussion I can tell just how much protection is afforded and how close it applies to similar items
