Thank you. I have zero understanding of patent and trademark law, although
the subject interests me. There are a lot of crankbaits that look very
similar to each other. There are numerous soft jerkbaits that look like a
Super Fluke. It seems hard jerkbaits all look like each other.

At any rate, let's get back to the Senko. Suppose he patented it. What would
be the limit to which an imitation could go?
Would we have a Tiki Stick, Stik-o, Yum Dinger, etc?

"Rodney Long" wrote in message
...
Marty wrote:
Rich, you seem to be the layman patent guy, so I have a couple of
questions:

I'm not Rick, but I know patent law better than most, as I deal with it
daily

1) What about all the lures that are virtually identical to the Senko?

Gary never filed for a patent on the Senko, he didn't think it was worth
one,, it took 6 years of almost zero sales before the Senko took off, then
it was too late to file for a patent.

2) What about a company like Lurecraft, which makes a mold for a Horny
Toad-like lure and even uses the Horny Toad name in its catalog?

They "could be" in some AWESOME trouble, (there is patent case law where
you can't instruct, or provide assistance to anyone for the purpose of
infringement) if Zoom goes after them,, there again they could have
invented the thing for Zoom, and part of the deal is to allow them to sell
the molds to individuals, or they could have even licensed the design from
Zoom, as Zoom knows less than 1/10 of a percent of fishermen mold their
own lures, or Zoom just does not think it's worth the effort to go after
them. Of course Zoom may not even know about Lurecraft and their catalog.

Using the "name" Horny Toad, violates Zoom's Trade Mark, unless they have
permission


--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Mojo SpecTastic "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread,
Nutri Shield insect repellent. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, and the EZKnot
http://www.ezknot.com