Making some inner fender extensions

NOT A TA said:
Ya, I've learned sometimes I need to just keep my mouth shut.
Click to expand...
Get a date and time stamp (a cheap time clock at Staples, Office Max and Office Depot. Learn and always remember to label your ideas, the special names with a "copyright" and or "Trademark."
When you come up with something you feel strongly about that's when you pay just a few bucks and formally secure your words, drawings, techniques and ideas at your nearest registration or patent office. Most banks have Notaries and will notarize your scribbled ideas or whatever you have for free if you have an account there. Same for Triple A road service.
A sure way to make money is to let someone think your an idiot and steal your intellectual property. Chances are they won't bother to check if you have done your due diligence. But you need to keep up with things in your industry just like you have, and when you catch them you'll have no problem finding a good attorney to represent you on a contingency basis.
 
Richard has good points Birdman.
To hire a lawyer takes $$$$.
Apply for a Patent takes $$$.
Pretty tough theses days to have an extra $5,000-15,000 for such situations.
 
I gave away my time clock and stopped wasting time documenting. Patents, trademarks, etc. are only useful if you can afford attorneys willing to defend them. I tried in the past and was told by lawyers it simply isn't worthwhile for the little guy. There isn't enough money involved for niche products to get a lawyer to take a case based on contingency.

I sign every car I build, hidden in the car.

I was a hardcore BMXer for a long time. Raced and rode trails, street, ramps, skateparks. Sponsored by Redline, Cyclecraft and various other companies over the years. Was UCI #3 world BMX racing at one point. I could win my cruiser class anytime anywhere in the USA in the ABA & NBL.

Me jumping a 20' set of doubles at about 35 MPH on an S&M Challenger. Sadly the bike was stolen along with a whole bunch of others when my home was burglarized.

 
Oh your bringing back old memories here Birdman.
I raced BMX Too.
Was not real fast.
But I Loved Jumping off Huge Dirt mounds.
Jumped into Lakes local with My BMX Bikes off of Ramps.
I had 8-foot 1/4 pipes made from Plywood .
Freestyle BMX I excelled at.
 
I jumped over my Highschool Girlfriends.
12 feet above.
Jumped over a few parked cars.
Jumped over Those Big Blue US Mailboxes too.
I could Bunnyhop with no Ramp 4-5 feet off the ground 10-35 mph.
35 mph rolling downhill.
Had many bad crashes.
Within 1week I was riding again .
 
Don't Give Up Birdman.
I am 46 now....catching up to You.
 
Bunny hopping garbage cans laying down was about my height limit. Since you were into it back in the 80's you can appreciate this. At the NBL grands one year I was out street riding at night and Stu Thopmson, Harry Leary, and a bunch of the other pros were all out with us. we were all learning this new thing "high speed coaster wheelies" which eventually became known as a "manual". BMXing was really fun back in those days. I have stories and stories. Did you race at Rockford? That was the only track I ever raced where the people in the grandstands were betting on the riders. I had to race Clarence "The Earthquake" Perry after he turned back to amateur from pro. Dude was like twice my size and really powerful, I'd get him outta the gate to the first turn and then he'd try to hunt me down. I made a mistake and lost which was unusual for me then.

Anyway, update on inner fender extensions. Got a small batch of 77-78 style ready for paint. Working on moulds (I like the English spelling) and dies for the 79-81 style.





Pieces in the pic below are becoming 79-81 panels.



Bonus BMX pic of me riding trails back in the 80's before we started using shin guards. Riding a BOSS with black flight cranks, chrome 7X's and Hutch pedals.

 
Not to break the subject but :rolleyes:
And this message goes for anybody reading this. Every law school has representation request applications for low to no cost legal help (and they are not new graduates either) and it certainly includes these cases. This is not income based help. Your local bar associations can turn you in the direction of attorneys who can do pro bono work. If you have a good looking case on your behalf there are attorneys out there that will work on a contingency basis, it just takes a bit of diligence to find one.
They say there are an excess of 150,000 reasonable cases that can weigh heavily in favor of a filling plaintiff each year in the US that never make an initial consult.
 
I was going to attend the Vermont Law School in the Environmental Law program, got married to wife #1 and went to work instead. Wasn't one of my better life choices ahahaha. If I'd gone to the school, at least I'd probably have buds to take care of such matters.

There have been several times when products, logos, were stolen. The problem with small cases like that are that the lost time spent on the case going to court etc. won't be reimbursed even with a win.
 
Well I have found that a good attorney doesn't even make it to see the court room. Even large companies pay lawyers by the hour (corporations pay $800 to $2,500/hr. VERY TRUE FIGURES). If your lawyer even starts the ball rolling, 10 hrs. on the defense side is already grounds to look for out of court settlements. You even tie up in house attorneys at a Corp. cost at least at $500 and more.
Also note: very few lawyers will turn down a 50/50 split on contingency cases - it's a numbers game they play.
 
I can relate to the "Wife #1 life!"
I had a year to go in Med school when my jealous wife jumped the gun and forced me to quit. With no exit interview student loans were now payable within 60 days. One good thing happened, she screwed herself out of any support payments and I got sole custody of my then 9 year old daughter. For the next 4 years she was paying me for child and spousal support. War of the Roses' looked petty compared to what we went through.
 
I BMX Raced at Rockford, Batavia, Lake Mendota.
I seen R.L. Osborn. Eddie Fiola.
Woody Itson. Others.
Freestyle BMX Took off about 1984-85 here.
BMX I still did on Occassion.
I had several sets of Hutch Bear Trap Pedals. Still have Nasty Scars for life on my Shins. Down to the Shin Bone old Battle Wounds.
Shimano DX Pedals I switched to eventually for Freestyle BMX.

I was 135-145 lbs back then.
Solid Muscle
Bench press over 400 lbs 2 times.
Squat lift 450-500 lbs.
Leg Press machine over 1,000 lbs.
I was stronger than all the Highschool Football players.
 
You just keep quiet and Don't post ideas Birdman.
A Lawyer will steal Everything.
 
I've got a mess of scars on my lower legs too from hutch pedals.

I've had requests for the sub frame reinforcements and G brace supports so I'm making them. I won't be surprised if one of the suspension companies steals the idea for the G brace support from the frame horns to the UCA mounting bolt.
 
Is there a large enough market for these parts? I would make drawings and notarize just the same. I hate to see people give up on their good ideas. I know absolutely nothing about these things, I have backed people many times in the past but that was for things I liked and had knowledge. I have 17 patents, 9 synthetic drugs, 1 glue, 1 cleaner and 6 kitchen tools of which one, a commercial canned food drainer made me some money. Ingersoll rand developed the working model and later bought the rights to manufacture.
That's what interests me the most. I never had the knowledge or tooling to make anything in volume, just good ideas for which I gladly sold the rights letting someone already making similar items do what I can't.
 
I have a pile of BMX And Freestyle photos Birdman .
I will scan a few. Somewhere I have a photo of me Bunnyhopping over a pile of Newspapers stacked 5 feet high.
I was 15 years old when the Picture was taken by little Brother.
 
There are quite a Few Pontiac Guys on Max Pontiac our Age Birdman that were Former BMX Racers & Freestyle BMX Guys.
Its Funny.....Many of us Seen a Musclecar Pontiac GTO Or a Pontiac Firebird / Trans Am.....Had ti have it.
 
The Ultimate Prize for Guys like us Birdman is proving ourselves .
You Road Racing.
Myself Street Racing Hellcats.
Winning.
Entire Corvette World has Failed.
Pontiac Guys Are Better.
We Race and Win.
Slapping your Pud like others not a Option .
 
My Freestyle BMX Team Leader was your age Birdman. His Father owned an Auto Parts Store. The other half if shop was a Schwinn Bicycle Dealer Shop. I worked there 1983-1987 Part time after school & Weekends. Did my Paper Route with my little Brother too.
120-180 papers delived 6 days a week on our BMX Bikes.
Stu Drove A Silver 1976 Trans Am.
 
I was introduced to Street Racing by Stu. 14 years old and out Street Racing with Him riding shotgun.
He rode CRUISER 24 INCH BMX.
HE WAS A NATIONAL CHAMPION.
 
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