Windom Leather Report post Posted July 29, 2009 Ok between my wife and I we came up with a "cup holder for the saddle" Ive made my wife and daughter each one and am in the process of making somemore to sell. I have never seen anything like this on the market made out of any material. So my question is, should I protect the design with a patent or something? Or can I even do something like that? I feel its an original idea so I was hoping to try to capitalize on it. Have any of yall in the horse world seen any sort of bottle holder that you put on a saddle? Now that I think about it, how about you motorcycle people? This would work on bikes too! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ks1911 Report post Posted July 29, 2009 Ok between my wife and I we came up with a "cup holder for the saddle" Ive made my wife and daughter each one and am in the process of making somemore to sell. I have never seen anything like this on the market made out of any material. So my question is, should I protect the design with a patent or something? Or can I even do something like that? I feel its an original idea so I was hoping to try to capitalize on it. Have any of yall in the horse world seen any sort of bottle holder that you put on a saddle? Now that I think about it, how about you motorcycle people? This would work on bikes too! They are all over the motorcycle world. Sizes,shapes,materials, mounting locations, etc. Horse world.... dunno, but I'll look next time I'm in the local farm/ranch store and will ask the local girl that I know thats really into horses. BUT... a quick online search showed a few, here's one http://www.horsetackco.com/Double-water-bo...cbd74376eb3dc2d Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windom Leather Report post Posted July 29, 2009 thanks ks1911. So they do make them and for a reasonable price too. Guess I have to sell the customer on quality, craftsmanship and customization! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bree Report post Posted July 29, 2009 Ok between my wife and I we came up with a "cup holder for the saddle" Ive made my wife and daughter each one and am in the process of making somemore to sell. I have never seen anything like this on the market made out of any material. So my question is, should I protect the design with a patent or something? Or can I even do something like that? I feel its an original idea so I was hoping to try to capitalize on it. Have any of yall in the horse world seen any sort of bottle holder that you put on a saddle? Now that I think about it, how about you motorcycle people? This would work on bikes too! I've had one on my bikes for years. Actually several different kinds. So there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to motorcycles... now horses might be a different story. What would really get you noticed is a non-spill coffee cup holder and a 12V Cappuccino maker to go with it!! Get that going on a horse and you are making history!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted July 30, 2009 Unless you plan on making a lot of these (like 5000 or so) it is likely not worth the cost of a patent. You will spend over $15,000 to get the patent and it is very likley that someplace along the line you will find there is already a pre-existing patent so you can not get one. Even after you get one, when someone over in China copies it you will need a minimum of $100,000 just to start to fight them. To finish the fight you could easily spend oevr $1,000,000 to win. The will then just keep producing them and you can start all over. ou could easily loose millions protecting it, will you make more than that in net prophet selling them? If not, just make a few and collect the money and go on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ks1911 Report post Posted July 30, 2009 ... now horses might be a different story. What would really get you noticed is a non-spill coffee cup holder and a 12V Cappuccino maker to go with it!! Get that going on a horse and you are making history!! Don't you think the horse might object to the 12V plug in? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tkleather1 Report post Posted July 30, 2009 I dont have a clue what your pattern entails but I know that my wife has a Pommel bag that has a water bottle holder. A friend if mine has just a water bottle holder that is screwed right to the tree under a set of strings, and his wife has an insulated version of the same. They got them all at some horse expo here in spokane about 5 years ago or so, I dont remember who makes them but they are all made of nylon. Not trying to discourage at all just letting you know what I know is out there. Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Windom Leather Report post Posted July 30, 2009 Ok so maybe it wasnt such an original idea. I had no idea that it cost so much money to get a patent. I shall strike that idea out of my head. I guess my holders fall under unique. the ones I made for my family are all carved with a floral pattern and names carved into a banner. I thank you all for your input on this subject, it has opened my eyes to a few things. Im goin to keep making them and hope the idea will catch on for them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PaganBear Report post Posted July 30, 2009 So much of my work is "I saw it in a magazine and said 'hell I can do that...'". Matter of fact I have a bottle holder on my bike from exactly that statement. The wonder of our art is that someone can say "hell I can do that" from your work, but it wont ever be the same and that is your selling point. granted this is coming from someone whose biggest customers are his friends. - B Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtwister09 Report post Posted July 31, 2009 Here's another side of the story concerning patents. Patent Declared Invalid Regards, Ben Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
$$hobby Report post Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) hi, you can try to do a patient. there is a iirc several types of patients. some take mucho $$$ and there is a "simple?" patient that takes a couple thou. If youre going to do any type of patient i would get some bound blank page books and keep your ideas in them with dates, times and such. but i woudlnt waste my time unless you want to use the patient as wall paper in your den. China really doesnt give a crap about intellectual rights and if you want to fight it, you will need the $$$. even then, it wont stop it since someone else will do it again or just wait for a later date to start up. also, it doesnt make a dif on how little the item will cost either. a guy that works on sewing machines in my area showed me a thing he had patiented for use on sewing machines. iirc, it was like $12.00 he sold them for. iac, within a year, he saw chinese copies being sold for less. when he found out how much it would cost to fight it, he just let it drop. the best you can hope for is to make a crap load of them and sell them as fast as you can before they get wind of it and reverse engineer it and dump loads of them on the market. if you look at the "making leather cases" by Stolhman Volume 1, they show a thermos holder for a saddle. Its not attached to the horn, but attached to the skirt if i have my western saddle terminology correct. a long time ago, i made a breeding hobble for a guy. he wanted it washable since they get dirty. it was my own design and materials but they are not new to the breeding world. my design was made from Cordura and nylon webbing with a sheepskin liner/interior that was attached via velcro. the sheepskin could be replace/cleaned along with the rest of the hobble. the guy said that hes never seen anything like it but to me, it was just different. i think he was thinking i was going to make it out of leather. but for me, cordura would be more durable and less suspectable to rot. iac, no patient there either. Edited July 31, 2009 by $$hobby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
