Q: I'm a hobbyist and have an idea to create something
that would be used with a product that has a patent -- can I do this?
A:
Generally yes. For example, if you created an accessory that could be used with a patented mountain bike, you could sell that accessory even though it is used with a patented product.
What you cannot do is make a mountain bike from scratch that has your accessory as you do not have rights to the underlying patents on the mountain bike. But if you are buying the underlying product (the mountain bike in this example) then you can modify the product.
I hope this helps.
Kevin E Flynn
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