Garrett Apex - Patent Pending

[mh9162013]

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

Given that Minelab won't even cooperate with its loyal customers/users (e.g. provide the coils they want) it seems completely inconsistent that they would collaborate with a direct competitor which is introducing a detector that is aimed at taking market share away from their latest release (aka Vanquish).  Are people really suggesting that as a possibility?

 

Yes, at least I have made that suggestion. If I had to bet money, would I say that's what's going on here? No, but unless we get an official statement saying otherwise, I will assume it's possible.

[johnedoe]

Has there been any footage of the actual machine n use yet?...

If not All is speculation.......

[Chase Goldman]

31 minutes ago, johnedoe said:

Has there been any footage of the actual machine n use yet?...

If not All is speculation.......

You mean you didn't catch those awesome rusty pickup truck promo videos 

Brent Weaver passed some targets over the coil to demonstrate the 5-tone audio, so it appears to at least detect metal.

 

[johnedoe]

Well thats a good start......

[Jim in Idaho]

On 5/15/2020 at 2:47 PM, ☠ Cipher said:

You've hit the nail on the head Steve. When I saw the moniker given to it and the frequencies chosen I said to myself, hmm this sounds very familiar. It could be a smart move either way. In a lawsuit Minelab would have to detail exactly what Multi-IQ consists of to demonstrate it is a violation. If Geotech is correct, that's one of the last things they want to do. It boxes them into a corner with some undesirable options. On one hand they could preclude a competing platform (or receive a cut of it). On another, they might have to reveal that Multi-IQ is notably different in substance than described to the public and as it appears on paper. Who knows though, maybe Garrett and Minelab have a lease agreement like Whites and Minelab had for DFX. Unlikely I'd say. In any event we could very possibly see a lawsuit crop up over this. Something to watch for. 

If Minelab has the patent, the way it works is public. When you apply for a patent you can request it not be made public, but only until the patent is issued. Once the patent takes effect, the application, including the operating theory, become public.

Jim

[Jim in Idaho]

11 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

If anyone thought I was implying Garrett was violating a patent, that is certainly not my intent. Just the opposite, I was noting that there is a “Patent Pending” statement and the likely thing to deduce from that is Garrett has developed a method they think they can patent. And therefore not something in violation of a Minelab patent. Though the patent pending could also have nothing to do with multifrequency at all. Only Garrett knows for sure. Frankly, all I care about is how the detector performs, so did not anticipate my throwaway comment would trigger so much debate. I should have known better. I’m sure there will be reams of speculation on which method does what, frequencies in use, how the atoms rotate, etc. etc. 

Thank you for your thoughts on this Carl.

 

They could also have applied for a "provisional" patent, which confers no legal protection. It simply locks in your date, so when you apply for a regular patent, the date is the date the Provisional was applied for. But, having the Provisional allows you to put "Patent Pending" on your products. A Provisional is only good for 1 year. A Provisional is cheap, and much easier to obtain.

Jim

[Nuke em]

On 5/15/2020 at 6:37 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

They either violated Minelab’s patent, in which case the lawsuit hits soon, or they came up with a different version of their own... and would be smart to patent it.

It has a lot of similarity to the Nox and Vanquish . But Multi Flex could be a version of the V. Flex tech in the Terra ?

The Terra can use 3 different frequencies in its coils , maybe now the Terra patents have run out ?? they have worked a new Multi Freq machine from that ?

Anyway at £500 UK it is much cheaper than the Nox and similar capability barring a few settings and the same price as and better settings than the Vanquish . I think Minelab may have either opened Pandora's box or left it open for all to see. 

Surely this Apex isn't a poach of the Nox Patent or has it run out already ? But if so then why didn't anyone jump on the FBS tech when its patents ran out ? Or have they ?

Anyway I have to say that this Garrett is the first normal Garrett that I have seen that could be a machine I would want so I have ordered one. 

Worth a browse !