Patient and Trade Marketing....

I will keep this topic as brief as possible. Not much excitement here. The Patient and Trade Mark process is an "attorney thing." Within the last four years, I have been exposed to the legal world much more than I ever care to admit. This is an environment where there is no such thing as "Black and White." The world is based in "GRAY." It is all based on how one interprets the law. As usual, my interpretation of things appear to be completely different than many others.

My Patient Attorneys are very good at what they do. I was able to bring my initial drawings to them and as a result, they were able to complete an initial search which took approximately three weeks. This was a "surface attempt" to determine if I should take the next step for a complete search in Washington D.C. Each search is a degree of specificity. The first search explores if there is any patient item that resembles what the Golf Cradle represents. This search came back negative, such that there were no items that resembled the Golf Cradle. The second more extensive search (which is about an eight week process) provides patients that fall into the same category as the Golf Cradle, that being a bag carrier. After a complete review of these patients, the attorney's and I felt comfortable moving to the patient submission of the Golf Cradle. As expected, each search progressed in cost and expense.

After numerous meetings and e-mails, my patient was submitted in 2006. Upon submission, it carries with it the term "Patient Pending." The process can take up to five years to complete. I am still waiting for any requests for revisions. Also during this process, I applied for a Trademark (that being the double swoosh representing the Golf Cradle). This was a much easier process and as a result, our marking is Trade Marked in the U.S. as well as Canada.

On last comment about the Patient Process. It is only "good" in the United States. For any other country, a separate application has to be filed. This is extremely expensive such that each application can cost up to $10,000.

www.golfcradle.com