The Tribune

AFTER spending almost $1,000 in processing fees, a Bahamian inventor claims he was ripped off by American patent attorneys. Anthony Collie, a taxi driver and builder, said his patents for a hurricane and tornado roof tie should have never been issued in their error-laden state. The device, for which he obtained three patents, aims to prevent the roofs of buildings and homes from being torn off in high winds. Mr Collie said his patent woes date back to 2002, when he first came up with the idea. He said: "I built one and sketched it out, the others were more complicated so I could not build them on my own." He took all of his sketches to a law firm in Baltimore, Maryland, where attorneys assured him they would compile everything needed for the patents and ensure the documents were in order. "I told them that my drawings were not the best so they needed to be sent to a professional to make them clearer and sharper," he said. Almost three years later, he received his first official patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office dated January 4, 2005. After amending the invention twice, Mr Collie was sent two other patents. However, he now claims none of the information contained in any of the patents is correct - and that including travel costs, he spent $45,000 on the documents. He said: "The summary of the invention, its background, the description, even the detailed description is wrong. The drawings are also missing numbers and sufficient labelling to let people know what is going on." Because of the costs, Mr Collie said he even had to ask his mother to finish paying for his taxi. Mr Collie also submitted an idea and signed a contract worth $13,000 for a round window with a firm that advertises on numerous cable TV channels. The company, based in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, boasts of being America's largest inventor service firm, he said. Almost 10 years after his patent woes began, he wants permission from the police to protest outside the US Embassy, after his numerous appeals to the Maryland law office and a letter to President Obama fell on deaf ears.