FanStory.com - What We See - Chapter 35by Jim Wile

Chapter 35

Five days later, while at work, I got a call from Harold Carmody.

“Alan, before you file a provisional patent application, it’s necessary to do a patent search to see if the device has already been invented. This is part of the service I provide for you. My research of existing patents at the USPTO, that’s the US Patent and Trademark Office, did not turn up any such devices, so I then did a search for recent patent applications, and unfortunately, I found that a provisional patent application for this exact device has been made within the last week. It was not by your ex-employee, however, but by a company in Chicago by the name of Fraleigh Medical. Have you ever had any sort of contact with them before?”

“No, I haven’t. Do you think Warren Myers, the thief, may have sold the idea to them?”

“Probably, but that’s highly irregular. I’ve done some research on this company and have come to find out that they are a mid-size corporation with a very good reputation, until just recently, when there have been a couple of issues and lawsuits filed against them. Wilson Fraleigh is the founder of the company and president, and he has managed it very well in the 30 years since its founding. It’s grown substantially in that time.”

“So, are you thinking they may not have been aware of the theft?”

“They certainly should have suspected it if they did any kind of investigation or had their attorneys involved with the purchase. Something definitely sounds amiss here. I would not have expected this to happen with a company with a generally good reputation.”

“What do you suggest, then?”

“I suggest we schedule a meeting with Wilson Fraleigh to discuss this with him and find out the explanation for it. With your approval, I’ll call him right now to set it up.”

“What if he’s uncooperative? Do we threaten to take him to court?”

“That threat is always in the background, but I don’t think it will come to that. I think we should hold off making any threats until we have a better idea of what may have happened and how they gained the patent rights.”

“Alright. You’ve got my permission to make the call.”

“Stay on the line; I’ll make this a conference call.” He called the number he must have obtained for Wilson Fraleigh and spoke to his secretary, who was able to put him through after a minute or two.

“Mr. Fraleigh, my name is Harold Carmody. I’m a patent and infringement attorney in Fort Wayne. I have a client here, also on this call, who is the inventor of a device for which your company has just recently applied for a provisional patent. The device and all its specifications were stolen from him recently, and he believes the employee who stole the device may have sold it to your company.”

“What is the invention you are referring to?” asked Fraleigh.

“Hello, Mr. Fraleigh. Alan Phelps here. I’m the inventor of the device. It’s a pair of glasses that can be used by dyslexics as well as the blind to see written text, convert it into speech, and play it for the wearer to hear.”

“Hmm, I’m not familiar with this device. This is actually my first day back after a month-long recuperation from some major surgery, during which I had little contact with the company. You say the device was stolen from you and sold to us, and we applied for a patent? That seems very unusual. In most cases, we purchase the rights from the patent holder to manufacture whatever device the patent is for. It’s rare that we receive a device in this way and seek the patent ourselves.”

Carmody said, “Yet that is what happened in this case, Mr. Fraleigh. We have videotaped proof of the theft. We would very much like to set up a meeting with you at your earliest convenience to discuss the matter further and see if we can come to some sort of agreement about how to proceed.”

“That would be fine, gentlemen. Let me transfer you back to my secretary, who can set this up with you. In the meantime, I will do my darndest to get to the bottom of what happened here.”

We made arrangements with his secretary for a meeting on Monday (this was Thursday).

I thanked Mr. Carmody for setting this up, and he told me what I should bring to the meeting on Monday, which included my newer version of the invention, notes and drawings of it, and both the proof that Warren Meyers had been my employee and the videotape I had of the theft.

I had been back and forth with him a couple of times already with revisions of the patent request, and he urged me to send him my final set of revisions as soon as possible so he could submit them to the USPTO for approval. This would establish an early filing date for the eventual full patent. Presumably then, if we can get Fraleigh Medical to withdraw their application for the provisional patent, we would be the first one in line to be able to receive a full patent as long as we file it within a year of the provisional.

I continued to work until quitting time. When I went home, Ginnie was there, and she could tell something was wrong.

“Sweetie, what is it? You look a little down.”

“Bad news. Mr. Carmody found out that a patent application has already been filed for my invention, just this past week. My exact invention. But it wasn’t Warren who filed it. It was some medical manufacturing company in Chicago. We’re guessing the weasel sold the whole package to the company for a quick sum of money—probably for far less than it’s worth—just so he could pay off whatever gangsters were after him.” I told her the rest and how we had a meeting scheduled with the company’s president on Monday to figure out what happened.

“That damn Warren,” she said and put her arms around me. “Carmody did say there were things we could do, though, if that company refused to cooperate, right?”

“Yeah, he mentioned something about this being a trade secret, and perhaps we could get that patent squashed on theft of intellectual property. That may be it, though.”

“Well, let’s try not to worry too much until you have that meeting on Monday.”

“Easier said, than done. It just seems so unfair. I mean, I’ve got proof that the invention was stolen for God’s sake. Doesn’t that count for anything? I just don’t get why there isn’t legal protection in a clear-cut case of theft like this.”

“Me neither.”

Tommy came into the house right then. I didn’t really feel like getting into it with him right now.

“Hey, Bud. Wanna go out and have a catch while Mom gets dinner started?”

“Sure, Dad.”

“I’ll be in later to help you with dinner,” I said to Ginnie.

“I’ve got it. Just have fun with your son.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Tommy retrieved our mitts and a baseball, and we went out into the backyard to have a catch. Archie was prowling around out there, and he came up to join us. We petted him for a while, then started throwing the ball back and forth.

“So, how has English class been lately? Has Mrs. Dunbar been cutting you any slack?”

“She actually has. She let me come in after school on our last test to finish it, because I hadn’t finished it in class. She gave me an extra half hour. I got a B-minus on the test, and I’ve managed to pull my grade up to a C. She hasn’t embarrassed me in front of the class since that time a while ago either.”

“That’s great. I guess your mom and I made an impression, and she understands a little more now. It’s hard to see things in a different light, but I think that was a wake-up call for her. And they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

“Well, you can’t teach a young cat new tricks; that’s for sure. I’ve tried to teach Archie to sit and to roll over, but he just looks at me or walks away.”

“Yeah, they won’t do anything that isn’t their idea. Pick a cat up, and put him on your lap, and they’ll jump right down. But when they feel like being on your lap, they’ll jump up there no matter what you’re doing—whether you’re sitting at the computer or watching TV or—”

“Or sitting on the toilet!”

“He’s never done that to me. Why, has he done that to you?”

“Sure. All the time. He likes the smell.” He busted up then.

“Ah, go on!” I laughed. “You’re making stuff up.”

He was laughing so hard, we had to stop throwing for a while.

Ginnie poked her head out the back door then and said, “Alright, you two. Ten more minutes, then come in and wash your hands.”

I have to say, he helped get me out of my funk.

We resumed our catch. “Hey, Tommy. Are you planning to go out for Junior League Baseball this year? You’re old enough now. I believe they’ll be holding tryouts next month.”

“Yeah, I’d like to.”

“You know, I’m sure I’ve told you I used to be the baseball coach at Grove Park High School. I was thinking of volunteering for a coaching job. What would you think about that?”

“That would be great, Dad. I’d love to be on your team.”

“I think I’ll apply then.”

“Do you miss coaching the high school team?”

“Yeah, kind of. That’s why I’d like to coach again. I think I can teach the kids a lot about the game. I’ve always liked teaching, you know. I kind of miss that too.”

“Yeah, you’re really good at it.”

“Well, thanks.”

After a few more minutes, I said, “We should probably go in now.”

When we got inside, Ginnie asked, “What were you guys yucking it up about out there?”

“Believe me, you don’t want to know,” I said, going over to the sink to wash my hands.

(The story is 85% complete.)