Question
I would like to launch a business around a specific idea. But a Google patent search showed that someone has already patented the same idea, but their patent explains a method that is very different from what I am thinking of. So, if my idea is similar but my approach is different, can I patent my own methodology? Or could it be a problem to use the idea that is already patented?
Answers: 2 public & 0 private
Patents, for the most part, comprise improvements upon existing technology. In addition, you can patent different systems that effectively do similar things but do them differently. Search, for example, automobile transmissions or fuel injection systems or braking systems - there are hundreds of patents that do similar things but they may do them differently, and the trick is to claim your invention in a manner that is patentably distinct from known technology usually disclosed within prior patents. So, yes, you can possibly get your own patent if you draft your claims properly to clearly recite what your invention is and to patentably distinguish it from prior patents. You should consider your patent directed toward a system for accomplishing something or a method for accomplishing something.
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