Lure Patent

I have been looking for 2 days to see if a certain lure has a patent on it with no luck. Anyone have any ideas as to where I can find out if there is one?

Post a picture of the one you’re considering so we know what to look for.

I have came up with many great lure designs. I also had a hard time finding information on whether it was patent. But I also felt the patent cost would outweigh the amount I wanted to make and sell. Unless you plan to sell your lure design to someone I don’t see the point. If you want to PM me a picture I can tell you if I have seen anything like it in my hours of research. I have ended up never patenting any of my designs.

Just curious, but have you used Google Patents? We work with patents all the time, and until we got a patent specific software, Google Patents was pretty darn good.

Searching for something specific can be tough though.

If you want to PM me I may be able to help you out?

Lure patents don’t work anymore really. Once a lure is on the open market and showing promise the Chinese will have it duplicated and on the market within days. The Chinese have no patent ethics, are not bound to US patents and certainly pay no attention to those issued in the US. Any US tackle maker can skirt a US patent by selling products listed as “made in China”, or Japan, or South Korea, or Taiwan, or India, or Pakistan, etc.

US patents take a couple years to qualify and cost a lot of money. Inside a couple years of obtaining a full patent the tackle industry will have moved on to newer, productive tackle that may look like what you offer, but all they have to do is show like 7 points of difference, however small, to make theirs and sell it under their name.

You can copyright the name and printed lure’s schematic and picture for the design protection for next to nothing and that can help slow down US infringement on the design or name, but the Chinese are crafty with lure duplication practices, and half of what they do is provided by an American tackle maker who likes what you’ve made and sends a sample to his Chinese buddies to have it made there with some tiny changes to get around any crap from patent laws here. There’s a Twin Cities tackle company /tackle maker that was great for this.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Post a picture of the one you’re considering so we know what to look for.

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I spent a few thousand dollars going down this road with a fishing item idea. Ultimately, it can’t be patented.

I am not so much looking to patent mine, but more looking to see their patent.

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Does the packaging or website say anything about a patent? If not I doubt it is then. What’s the name of it?

If you know the name of the lure just put it into search with the US patent office. You’d know in a heartbeat.

Also, a lure like that may have a patent pending which can be interpreted in many ways. A simple change in how the glow beads get attached or the material they’re made of can circumvent an existing patent pending, then you could apply for your own.

Guys that I know who have made similar use glow glue sticks or glow gel for fabric paint.

I have searched using the product name and a bunch of other search tags and have come up with nothing. I have not seen a patent # on the packaging.
I have a name/# for a patent lawyer that a friend of mine has used multiple time for his patents, but I know that route will cost me a couple hundred $’s to have them do the research. I dont know if that is worth it.
I have a place to sell these and I am not going to mass produce them. I am just going to keep the bin full if they do sell.
Not planning to get rich off of them at all, but could fund my next couple rod builds, a fishing trip, a nice gift for my wife or whatever. It is more just hobby to keep me busy, but if it will end up in a court battle or something, then I would just make them for myself, and at this point I have more than enough hooks to last me and a buddy a life time.

Just do it. Wait until you get hit with a cease & desist order and a threat of prosecution. At that point they will need to supply patent info. In many cases it’s like a non-compete contract, it costs more to enforce then it’s worth.

It’s a nickle and dime deal. Go ahead with it.

Nice looking hooks. You will have to do some looking because I have seen hooks like that. I don’t make as nice of hooks as you do but made something like that by using Owens soft beads. Have you figured out how much you want to sell them for? I might buy some.

I’d buy some!

Ditto.