Figuring out the law, particularly using "lawyer-speak" is so much fun. A friend said that if there is a devise, and it is not patented until a certain date, there is no legal reason that a similar or even exact device could not be sold if that device was purchased/produced before the patent or patent-pending date. He says the patent or patent pending date is the critical element, and what precedes that/those dates have no legal binding. That's what my judge-friend thinks anyway. The judge has no expertise in patent-law. It all sounds kind of murky to me, but I don't know the law and understand little of matters like patents.
I don't know whether any of this even means anything, at least not practically speaking. I am not looking to sell this or any of these heirloom orchids. I guess if I did, someone could sue me. The American tradition, huh?
