Most advice to individual inventors is to get a patent on anything innovative that is a truly an original idea. In a patent, how to build the invention must be revealed and the claims listed. For the small inventor he will be putting up some real dollars for a good patent. Of course I am referring to utility patents mainly, but design patents also can be included by default. A thorough patent search is required. Now for some reality, competitors will borrow your ideas. How can a small business man defend patent infringements in a court without substantial resources? We have developed a technique to combat this parasitic phenomenon. This is where some business acumen and focus on revenue comes into play. A secret business technique, tried and true is the “hit and run”. We develop a product that is truly innovative, but the profit margin is small and we need to make as much cash as possible to enhance the company and it’s performance. The product is borderline patentable but we can’t afford to wait and find out. So we market and sell as much as we can as fast as we can to re-coup our investment and make a handsome profit. If someone is sharp enough to pick up on this they can start to mass produce and make some sort of profit hopefully we can tout our technical acumen and stay ahead of the wave as the original inventors. It is a defense , yes, not perfect, but we made a tidy sum and will continue on our way. Once we are well established we will patent everything possible and start to gain some major ground. Don’t get me wrong, if it a product that I have invented, is the greatest thing since sliced bread I surely will have the most ironclad patent you will ever see. Slow close viscous rotary dampers and friction hinges require some intense engineering and we continue endeavors in this field to innovate and deliver quality, low cost engineering solutions quickly to satisfy our customers needs. Please visit www.mmtech.us for innovative solutions for your engineering problems.