Q: There are many variations of the tensile tents being manufacturered. At what point is it a different product?
They are different sizes, but is it the shear fact that it is suspended that it is patented?
A:
The patent examiner in the United States Patent & Trademark Office is not supposed to grant a patent on an application unless the application teaches something that would not be obvious to someone of skill in the art of making tensile tents who has access to everything ever done or suggested to be done in that field.
This hypothetical person of skill in the art can understand all languages and has access to every solution ever proposed for solving an analogous problem.
Thus, a patent examiner has asserted a piece from a steam locomotive was relevant when I was seeking a patent for an implant used in spinal surgery.
My answer to you is not very precise as the test is not precise and is instead somewhat subjective. This is where a patent attorney can be helpful to see if there is a way to spin that a new idea is sufficiently different to be non-obvious.
I hope this helps.
Kevin E Flynn
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