| Good point, Paul. I'd forgotten about the Parduba double-cup...never having seen one! However....I think we were talking in general terms about "mouthpieces" and whether or not it was illegal for one manufacturer to copy another's shape (since "shape" is all that's left after the materials are chosen).
I seem to recall that an idea or concept, to be patented, must be something "new and innovative" and not "readily apparent" to the average person. You CAN get a patent on an idea...even though that idea may never come to the point of being actually turned into "hardware".
Hmm...maybe its worth getting into one of the online search engines and seeing exactly what is in that patent; I believe that a patent is considered to be "open for public scrutiny".
Regards....and stay warm! |