What patents do I need to buy or lease to make and sell an electric guitar to the public?
<p>I want to make and sell my own electric guitars. However, I have not invented the instrument, nor was I the inventor of any of the major advances in the field. However, I have some changes (mostly aesthetic and stylistic) in mind before selling the guitars to the public in Washington state of the USA. </p>

<p>Do I have to pay the inventors of the components on an electric guitar (such as pickups or dials) or take a lease from them or their equivalent corporate identities in order to make and sell a guitar that draws heavily from existing models by other brands? </p>

<p>From the <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/patents-getting-started/general-information-concerning-patents#heading-2" rel="nofollow">USPTO</a>, by law, a patent is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or
  selling the invention in the United States or importing the invention
  into the United States.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If you want to make, use, or sell something covered by an active patent then you have to secure the patent owner's approval or else they can use the courts to stop and/or fine you for violating their right.  A patent owner can grant a license to use an active patent on any terms he desires, or not at all.</p>

<p>However it is unlikely that anyone will volunteer to conduct a search to look for active patents your specific application may infringe.  There are paid specialists who do that for those who don't feel confident doing it themselves.</p>

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