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[cmf422]

Three companies have patented inventions one that I invented myself and two others, I know of, have patented ideas that I had built several times going back to the early '90s which are or were in the field operating long before either of them applied for a patent. Do I have any recourse? Interference or should I negotiate? Any ideas...I am new at this.

[MYK]

What exactly is the problem?  Are they threatening to shut you down for infringing their patents?  Were your inventions publicly disclosed or hidden away?  How were they revealed to the public?  Do their patents actually cover what you invented, or are they for improvements to what had already been disclosed to the public?

Note that I'm asking these rhetorically.  You shouldn't post specific details of your situation on this board, and it's not a place to get relied-upon legal advice.

If you've been selling your improved mousetrap in Wal-Mart for years, and they suddenly showed up at your door waving a patent that was issued last week and want to shut you down, that's one thing.  If your invention was in use in your factory only, hidden underneath a locked steel cover plate, and the only person who knew or knows about it is you, that's quite another.

[khazzah]

Do their patents actually cover what you invented ...

To expand upon this, don't be misled into thinking the other company "patented your invention" by looking at the patent's title, abstract, description or figures.

A patent's coverage is defined by the claims of the patent.

[MYK]

(In the event that the OP has email notifications turned on -- ) I didn't mean to shut down discussion by saying not to post details here, only that writing a detailed discussion of your situation, if you *are* having legal problems, is a bad idea for many reasons.