Receiving a patent requires patience
By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
Receiving a patent for an invention is a big deal and cause for celebration. When Jeremy Hartsook, owner of HES Manufacturing at Eston, received the Canadian patent for his Air Cube grain bin aeration system, he sent out a post on social media. However, many people don’t realize how long Jeremy had to wait to receive his Canadian patent.
“I invented it in 2012. I couldn’t even remember that; the process started before my second child was born. It’s a wild journey,” Jeremy said.
“The patent was necessary because of the difference our system had with the modular capability because it’s scaleable to different size grain storage. There wasn’t anything similar on the market, so we wanted to protect that idea.”
HES Manufacturing is described as a company built right from the farm with the farmer in mind, and its philosophy is to build a product you would want to see on your own farm. So it’s not surprising that Jeremy came up with the idea in response to requests for an aerator that could be retrofitted to existing hopper bins. The system can be transported easily and assembled by two people inside the bin in roughly two hours.
Jeremy took the first step to go to the Canadian Patents Database and do a patent search to find out if something similar had already been patented.
“There wasn’t anything really similar on the market, so we wanted to protect that idea,” Jeremy explained.
The second part was the patent application, which included a description and drawings. This is where a patent lawyer helped define his invention broadly enough to provide maximum protection, but was specific enough to identify the invention as different from previous products. A patent is required in each country where you want your rights to be protected.
“I followed the patent office’s advice through the whole process,” Jeremy said. “There is definitely an expense to patenting a product. Between the Canadian patent and the American patent, I probably put out upwards of $30,000 in legal fees.”
The next step involves a patent examiner who studies your claims and will either approve your patent application or object to some or all of your claims. You will have a chance to respond to the objections if this is the case, and if you choose to respond, your patent application will be reconsidered. Jeremy said the patent lawyer responded to any clarifications needed.
Jeremy filed his patent application on May 25, 2012. “We got the American patent two or three years ago, and the lawyer indicated the Canadian patent would take longer, so I wasn’t overly concerned,” Jeremy said.
On January 19, 2021, Jeremy received his Canadian patent, nine years after applying. Jeremy gave an overview of that time period.
“Over that period of time, not only are you waiting for the patent, but at the same time, you’re developing your product. When you have an idea that is unique, any number of things can happen. You can get caught with a bit of tunnel vision, and you may discover bugs that have to be worked out. During those nine years, I did find things that needed to be ironed out. That can mar your belief in the product if you’re not persistent. But I stuck with it as we encountered problems and continued to make the product better,” he said.
“My advice to anyone applying for a patent is to be patient, believing in your idea and keeping that spark fresh,” Jeremy concluded. “The patent is more of a validation than an achievement.”
PHOTO: Jeremy Hartsook and his Air Cube grain bin aeration system.