Here is another dirty secret about patents. After you shell a few thousand bucks for application fees and whatnot, and you actually get a patent granted, the USPTO requires Maintenance Fees to be paid annually for the patent to be enforceable. Trade wars are not cheap!
About 15 years ago I came up with an idea of a Dudley Doright Saving the Maiden on the track operating accessory. I drew up functional plans and was working on the prototype. I had someone perform a patent search to see if anything was out there.... there was not. A co-worker of mine was previously a Design Engineer at Lionel, Mount Clemens Michigan..... He had not seen the idea before. So everything looked promising.
Then the Lionel Catalog came out for the new year (can't remember what year that was) and I was flabbergasted to see Damsel in Distress operating accessory.... Wow.... So I gave up on that one
