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Preparing to ApplyYou might begin by asking, “Why a patent?” The basic concept of the patent is to protect your invention from being used by others without your permission. There may be many reasons to try to obtain a patent, but often it revolves around economic protection of your invention. You can usually do three things to generate a financial reward for your creation:
- You can sell parts or the whole patent outright, which is called “assignment.” This may seem like good and quick upfront money, but the risk is that you may be selling your invention too soon, before its value matures through market awareness and demand.
- You can license the use of your patent to others in exchange for royalties. Royalties can be anything that you stipulate and agree on with your licensee; money, land or even livestock! A royalty is usually paid to you as a percentage of each item produced or sold using your invention. This is potentially a good stream of revenue, but it may take years for that stream to turn into a river.
- You can do it yourself, meaning producing and bringing your invention to market on your own. Often, to prove the usefulness of your gadget, the market demand has to be proven by you. Who better to prove this than the inventor? You hold the total destiny of your invention in your own hands, giving yourself overall freedom – the downside is that you’ll bear the total expense and risk of the entire venture.
The only other reason for obtaining a patent may be completely self-motivated – just to say, “I have a patent … I’m an inventor!” No matter what the motivation, these are all valid reasons for taking the time to apply.
For you, a patent provides the exclusive right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling your invention for a limited period of time. Utility patents protect your invention for 20 years starting from the original filing date. This boils down to giving you the exclusive opportunity to help your invention prosper, and to realize its full potential as a novel item. The patent system also spurs new creativity for future technology by offering protection to the inventor.
But before you rush to apply for a patent, you should first assess the potential of your own invention. Ask yourself, along with some trusted friends (yes, everybody signs a non-disclosure … even Mom) whether or not this is a cool and catchy idea, or, at the end of the day, if it is simply quirky. As tough as it may be, be honest with yourself and your invention.
If everybody flips over it and agrees that it may be an original idea, then you will want to take the next step and retain the services of a professional patent attorney. Stay away from the “all-in-one” patent/ marketing firms that promise to take your idea into the stratosphere and make you an instant millionaire. Many times they have ulterior motives which don’t involve you. During your hunt for the right patent attorney, do not be afraid to ask a plethora of questions, and be firm on seeing references of other patents they’ve been involved with.
The Patent SearchThe next step is performing a “patent search” on your idea, which more than likely would be sourced out to a professional patent searching firm for a minimal fee. The search involves looking for pre-existing patents on file at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which may be in conflict with your invention. A good search might discover that your idea has already patented by another inventor, or it could find material within a similar patent which may be close to your design in some way. Fundamentally this exercise is to unearth as much preexisting patent material that relates to your invention.
However, you don’t necessarily have to outsource the search stage of the patent process; you can do a lot of patent searching yourself, if you have the drive and patience to do so. The USPTO provides a free online search service which is open to the world. Simply go to uspto.gov/patft/. Here you can do a quick or detailed search for any issued or publicly posted pending patents on your own.
If you and your patent attorney agree that the search was favorable on your part, meaning that no matching or similar patents have appeared, then the next step is to create a “disclosure” document. This can be a fairly simple text document with some drawings or sketches that best describe your idea, how it works and why it’s original. This is submitted to the USPTO, and simply kept on file. The disclosure is not examined in any way … just filed. This provides proof of your invention, tied to a specific date. If someone else surfaces claiming to be the inventor of your idea, this document will allow you to compare dates and see who was first.
The Patent Application
After the disclosure is filed then you can proceed with creating the actual patent application document. This is most often segmented into six parts: the abstract, background of the invention, brief description of the invention, drawing summary, drawing details, and patent claims.
I would highly recommend getting yourself familiar with patent lingo, mainly by studying a few semi-related patents found online. You’ll start to get a sense of how to structure your work for your own application. To the beginner or outsider, this can be a tedious experience, but it’s a necessary step in getting the most out of your case. Remember, the application process tries to prove that your invention is worthy of the prestigious USPTO seal, and it may be examined alongside hundreds of similar patents, by several patent examiners. Your case must be airtight.
Nobody knows your invention as well as you do, so it’s your job to convey the nuances of your design and function to your patent attorney in the clearest way possible. Try writing the entire patent yourself in everyday terms, providing sketches of your item with different object views. Don’t worry about grammar or the patent structures; just get the design and concept facts dead on. Your patent attorney will take what you have laid out, dress it up and prepare it in the proper patent jargon – drawings and all. A word to the wise; don’t take anything as gospel, just because your attorney “told you so.” Ultimately, it is your responsibility that the facts within the application are 100% accurate, and that you are comfortable with all the application’s parts. If you are not happy with certain details of the application, get it fixed. It is your dollar and your name on the patent. Remember, the beauty of a first-rate patent application lies within the accuracy of the details.
The Examination Process
After your attorney files your application get ready to wait. The first examination process can take as long as 12-24 months. There are no guarantees regarding the first examination time line – you may get lucky and get a faster response, but remember, this is a tedious process. No matter how long it takes to get your first examination, you should receive written confirmation of receipt of your application from the USPTO within a few weeks after filing.
Eventually you will receive notice from your attorney that your invention has been evaluated by an assigned patent examiner from the USPTO. When the written examination arrives, be expected to answer many questions, keeping in mind that your patent claims may be severely challenged – if not flat out denied by the examiner. Get ready to argue every point of dispute in detail, proving that your invention is original. Your patent attorney and you have the right to speak with the examiner directly over the phone, or you can request a direct, faceto- face interview with the examiner at the USPTO, located in Alexandria, Virginia. Here you have the opportunity to present a working example of your invention to the examiner if he or she is “stuck” on a specific point of your application. Whether you request an interview or not, the examination process can ping-pong back and forth many times between your patent attorney and the USPTO examiner, potentially making it a costly process. Be prepared for this, because it’s difficult to determine how long the application examination process can take, and every tick on the clock is another dollar. Don’t underestimate how much a patent can cost. Very rough estimates can range from $10,000 to $30,000 or more, depending on the complexity of your invention. This does not include overseas coverage, which in itself can add up to a fortune just in translation fees alone.
If all goes well, you’ll receive notification that your patent application has been accepted by the USPTO. You should feel good (and slightly relieved), as this is a major accomplishment of which you should be proud of, joining an elite class of inventors. You have struggled through the trials and tribulations of legally protecting your ideas through the U.S. patent process, and you’ve worked hard for your patent. Now it’s time to unleash the hounds and let your patent work hard for you.
| Interested in patenting a new guitar design or part you’ve invented? Here’s a few sites that can help you along the way: The USPTO For over 200 years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has been granting inventors peace of mind and keeping the process of invention rolling. If you are serious about patenting one of your inventions, spend a few hours (at least) reading through all the information here: uspto.gov Google Patent Search For those who like the simplicity of Google, you can now search the entire U.S. patent database at your leisure. With approximately seven million searchable U.S. patents, you should be able to find what you’re looking for. You can even download a PDF of any patent you’ve located. google.com/patents Invent Now Invent Now is a non-profit organization encouraging and helping inventors of all stripes. You can find a wealth of information to help prep you for your patent application, as well as a variety of inventor resources, such as workshops and continuing education. invent.org |
Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, EGC Chessie in hands, coaxing some nasty tones from his Hiwatt.
The Jesus Lizard’s sixth album, Blue, served as the band’s final statement from the frontlines of noisy rock for the next 26 years. By the time of their dissolution in 1999, they’d earned a reputation for extreme performances chock full of hard-hitting, machine-like grooves delivered by bassist David Wm. Sims and, at their conclusion, drummer Mac McNeilly, at times aided and at other times punctured by the frontline of guitarist Duane Denison’s incisive, dissonant riffing, and presided over by the cantankerous howl of vocalist David Yow. In the years since, performative, thrilling bands such as Pissed Jeans, METZ, and Idles have built upon the Lizard’s musical foundation.
Denison has kept himself plenty busy over the last couple decades, forming the avant-rock supergroup Tomahawk—with vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Trevor Dunn (both from Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier of Helmet—and alongside various other projects including Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and Hank Williams III. The Jesus Lizard eventually reunited, but until now have only celebrated their catalog, never releasing new jams.
The Jesus Lizard, from left: bassist David Wm. Sims, singer David Yow, drummer Mac McNeilly, and guitarist Duane Denison.
Photo by Joshua Black Wilkins
Back in 2018, Denison, hanging in a hotel room with Yow, played a riff on his unplugged electric guitar that caught the singer’s ear. That song, called “West Side,” will remain unreleased for now, but Denison explains: “He said, ‘Wow, that’s really good. What is that?’ And I said, ‘It’s just some new thing. Why don’t we do an album?’” From those unassuming beginnings, the Jesus Lizard’s creative juices started flowing.
So, how does a band—especially one who so indelibly captured the ineffable energy of live rock performance—prepare to get a new record together 26 years after their last? Back in their earlier days, the members all lived together in a band house, collectively tending to the creative fire when inspiration struck. All these years later, they reside in different cities, so their process requires sending files back and forth and only meeting up for occasional demo sessions over the course of “three or four years.”
“When the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.” —Duane Denison
the Jesus Lizard "Alexis Feels Sick"
Distance creates an obstacle to striking while the proverbial iron is hot, but Denison has a method to keep things energized: “Practice loud.” The guitarist professes the importance of practice, in general, and especially with a metronome. “We keep very detailed records of what the beats per minute of these songs are,” he explains. “To me, the way to do it is to run it to a Bluetooth speaker and crank it, and then crank your amp. I play a little at home, but when the time comes to get more in performance mode, I have a practice space. I go there by myself and crank it up. I turn that amp up and turn the metronome up and play loud.”
It’s a proven solution. On Rack—recorded at Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle studio with producer Paul Allen—the band sound as vigorous as ever, proving they’ve not only remained in step with their younger selves, but they may have surpassed it with faders cranked. “Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style,” explains Allen. “The conviction in his playing that he is known for from his recordings in the ’80s and ’90s is still 100-percent intact and still driving full throttle today.”
“I try to be really, really precise,” he says. “I think we all do when it comes to the basic tracks, especially the rhythm parts. The band has always been this machine-like thing.” Together, they build a tension with Yow’s careening voice. “The vocals tend to be all over the place—in and out of tune, in and out of time,” he points out. “You’ve got this very free thing moving around in the foreground, and then you’ve got this very precise, detailed band playing behind it. That’s why it works.”
Before Rack, the Jesus Lizard hadn’t released a new record since 1998’s Blue.
Denison’s guitar also serves as the foreground foil to Yow’s unhinged raving, as on “Alexis Feels Sick,” where they form a demented harmony, or on the midnight creep of “What If,” where his vibrato-laden melodies bolster the singer’s unsettled, maniacal display. As precise as his riffs might be, his playing doesn’t stay strictly on the grid. On the slow, skulking “Armistice Day,” his percussive chording goes off the rails, giving way to a solo that slices that groove like a chef’s knife through warm butter as he reorganizes rock ’n’ roll histrionics into his own cut-up vocabulary.
“During recording sessions, his first solo takes are usually what we decide to keep,” explains Allen. “Listen to Duane’s guitar solos on Jack White’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night,’ Tomahawk’s ‘Fatback,’ and ‘Grind’ off Rack. There’s a common ‘contained chaos’ thread among them that sounds like a harmonic Rubik’s cube that could only be solved by Duane.”
“Duane’s approach, both as a guitarist and writer, has an angular and menacing fingerprint that is his own unique style.” —Rack producer Paul Allen
To encapsulate just the right amount of intensity, “I don’t over practice everything,” the guitarist says. Instead, once he’s created a part, “I set it aside and don’t wear it out.” On Rack, it’s obvious not a single kilowatt of musical energy was lost in the rehearsal process.
Denison issues his noisy masterclass with assertive, overdriven tones supporting his dissonant voicings like barbed wire on top of an electric fence. The occasional application of slapback delay adds a threatening aura to his exacting riffage. His tones were just as carefully crafted as the parts he plays, and he relied mostly on his signature Electrical Guitar Company Chessie for the sessions, though a Fender Uptown Strat also appears, as well as a Taylor T5Z, which he chose for its “cleaner, hyper-articulated sound” on “Swan the Dog.” Though he’s been spotted at recent Jesus Lizard shows with a brand-new Powers Electric—he points out he played a demo model and says, “I just couldn’t let go of it,” so he ordered his own—that wasn’t until tracking was complete.
Duane Denison's Gear
Denison wields his Powers Electric at the Blue Room in Nashville last June.
Photo by Doug Coombe
Guitars
- Electrical Guitar Company Chessie
- Fender Uptown Strat
- Taylor T5Z
- Gibson ES-135
- Powers Electric
Amps
- Hiwatt Little J
- Hiwatt 2x12 cab with Fane F75 speakers
- Fender Super-Sonic combo
- Early ’60s Fender Bassman
- Marshall 1987X Plexi Reissue
- Victory Super Sheriff head
- Blackstar HT Stage 60—2 combos in stereo with Celestion Neo Creamback speakers and Mullard tubes
Effects
- Line 6 Helix
- Mantic Flex Pro
- TC Electronic G-Force
- Menatone Red Snapper
Strings and Picks
- Stringjoy Orbiters .0105 and .011 sets
- Dunlop celluloid white medium
- Sun Studios yellow picks
He ran through various amps—Marshalls, a Fender Bassman, two Fender Super-Sonic combos, and a Hiwatt Little J—at Audio Eagle. Live, if he’s not on backline gear, you’ll catch him mostly using 60-watt Blackstar HT Stage 60s loaded with Celestion Neo Creambacks. And while some boxes were stomped, he got most of his effects from a Line 6 Helix. “All of those sounds [in the Helix] are modeled on analog sounds, and you can tweak them endlessly,” he explains. “It’s just so practical and easy.”
The tools have only changed slightly since the band’s earlier days, when he favored Travis Beans and Hiwatts. Though he’s started to prefer higher gain sounds, Allen points out that “his guitar sound has always had teeth with a slightly bright sheen, and still does.”
“Honestly, I don’t think my tone has changed much over the past 30-something years,” Denison says. “I tend to favor a brighter, sharper sound with articulation. Someone sent me a video I had never seen of myself playing in the ’80s. I had a band called Cargo Cult in Austin, Texas. What struck me about it is it didn’t sound terribly different than what I sound like right now as far as the guitar sound and the approach. I don’t know what that tells you—I’m consistent?”
YouTube It
The Jesus Lizard take off at Nashville’s Blue Room this past June with “Hide & Seek” from Rack.
Phat Machine
The Phat Machine
The Phat Machine is designed to deliver the tone and responsiveness of a vintage germanium fuzz with improved temperature stability with no weird powering issues. Loaded with both a germanium and a silicon transistor, the Phat Machine offers the warmth and cleanup of a germanium fuzz but with the bite of a silicon pedal. It utilizes classic Volume and Fuzz control knobs, as well as a four-position Thickness control to dial-in any guitar and amp combo. Also included is a Bias trim pot and a Kill switch that allows battery lovers to shut off the battery without pulling the input cord.
Silk Worm Deluxe Overdrive
The Silk Worm Deluxe -- along with its standard Volume/Gain/Tone controls -- has a Bottom trim pot to dial in "just the right amount of thud with no mud at all: it’s felt more than heard." It also offers a Studio/Stage diode switch that allows you to select three levels of compression.
Both pedals offer the following features:
- 9-volt operation via standard DC external supply or internal battery compartment
- True bypass switching with LED indicator
- Pedalboard-friendly top mount jacks
- Rugged, tour-ready construction and super durable powder coated finish
- Made in the USA
Static Effectors’ Street Series pedals carry a street price of $149 each. They are available at select retailers and can also be purchased directly from the Static Effectors online store at www.staticeffectors.com.
Galloup’s Plek tech Adam Winarski preps a Yamaha acoustic for the machine.
Presently, many certified guitar-repair specialists possess the expertise required to deliver an instrument that both sounds and plays wonderfully. The standards set by manufacturers and distributors have significantly risen, safeguarded by rigorous quality protocols to guarantee the best possible acoustic experience for customers. Additionally, lutherie training has raised the bar for critical processes, and one of the most tricky is fretwork.
Traditional fretwork once involved manual labor, with technicians utilizing sandbags or similar supports to steady the neck as they straightened it with a truss rod during the filing process. A notable advancement in this field came in the mid 1970s when Don Teeter, an author and repair expert, imposed a new method: fixing the guitar body to the bench and using blocks to maintain the neck in a playing position. This refinement was one of many in the continued quest to produce superior instruments by standardized methods.
An example of the Plek’s readings from an acoustic guitar.
Photo courtesy of Galloup Guitars
In the late 1970s, another pivotal innovation was introduced by Dan Erlewine. He created an advanced fret jig with a specialized body-holding system and neck supports, adding another layer of precision to the repair process. During my collaboration with Dan in 1985, we developed a rotating neck jig that counterbalanced the forces of gravity, keeping the instrument in its playing orientation while adjusting the neck supports. This step represented a significant leap in establishing control and standardization of fretwork procedures in our industry. By 1986, our approach had evolved into a freestanding workstation coupled with a sophisticated hold-down mechanism and enhanced neck supports, culminating in increased accuracy, efficiency, and consistency. Over the decades, the Erlewine/Galloup rotating neck jig has become a benchmark in numerous shops, enhancing fretwork performance.
"This step represented a significant leap in establishing control and standardization of fretwork procedures in our industry."
By the 1990s, automated and computerized technologies permeated the guitar manufacturing and repair sectors. Initially applied by import companies in the mass production of guitars, the technology, although expediting processes, did not immediately achieve high execution standards. However, the tech dramatically improved over time, with computer-driven systems eventually transforming the industry. Contemporary automated production utilizing such advancements meets exceedingly high standards of precision. Some bespoke guitar manufacturers, such as Steve Andersen, were pioneers in adopting these methods, but it was companies like Taylor that established them in the modern era.
Inevitably, the progression of technology extended beyond the mere production of parts. Around 1995, German engineer Gerd Anke envisioned the integration of computer-assisted technology into enhancing instrument playability, giving rise to Plek technology, which uses computers to precisely measure and analyze the various components of a guitar, like neck relief, fret height, nut and bridge specs, and more. Nashville guitar-repair tech Joe Glaser was among the first to recognize the machine’s value, followed by San Francisco luthier Gary Brawer. When Heritage Guitar Inc. invested in a Plek machine, the guitar industry could no longer disregard the significance of this innovation.
“The machine’s scanning data confirmed that there was one nature of an ideal fret plane, done by hand or machine, and unsurprisingly, it conformed exactly to what physics predicts, not personal mojo.”
In the spring of 2022, Galloup Guitars obtained its first Plek machine. Promptly, our technician Adam Winarski paved the way for the Plek’s integration in our shop. Now, it’s a rarity for an instrument to leave our shop without having undergone Plek analysis and machining. Impressed by the results of our integration, we created “Intro to Plek” as a course for all students enrolled at the Galloup School of Lutherie, offering our students a practical introduction to this technology. We furthered this educational initiative with a comprehensive one-week intensive “Plek Certification Training Course” for both students and the public. This advanced Plek course serves those seeking to boost their knowledge base and employability in this high-precision field.
Plek is rapidly becoming an industry standard for major manufacturers and smaller shops alike. However, this does not mean that those without access to this technology cannot execute proficient fretwork. Personally, I continue to use my Erlewine/Galloup neck jig—not only out of nostalgia, but also because it remains an excellent method for delivering accurate and reliable guitars. Still, it’s undeniable that the process of fretting, fret dressing, and analytics of fretted instruments has undergone significant transformation, resulting in better sounding—and playing—guitars. And ultimately, that’s what it’s all about.