Good timing has given a Sioux Falls inventor's product some national attention.
Donald Junck of Sioux Falls is being honored by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for filing the one millionth Web-based trademark application using the Patent Office's Trademark Electronic Application System.
The trademark will protect his mark "Bait Craft" and the logo of his invention, designed to keep the line leaders of fishing enthusiasts organized.
"When they called and told me, I had this long pause and felt like, 'Yeah, right,' " Junck said. "I thought it was one of my buddies playing a trick on me."
The Trademark Office flew Junck to Washington, D.C., Tuesday. Today, he will present two personalized, wooden versions of his invention to South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth and Sen. John Thune, Junck said. He will tour the White House and Capitol Hill and attend a commemoration ceremony in the USPTO's headquarters in Alexandria, Va.
Lynne Beresford, USPTO's commissioner for trademarks, said Junck's application marks an important milestone for a system that had met with some resistance from those wary of moving the application process online, prior to its November 1997 debut.
"We wanted to have a celebration around the one millionth trademark application because there was quite a bit of resistance to electronic filing," she said. "Getting to the millionth mark was very important to us."
Electronic trademark and patent applications have helped streamline the process, reduced cost for applicants and improved the accuracy of information entered into government databases, Beresford said.
After battling the cluttered contents of his tackle box, Junck said he reached a point in 1995 when he thought there had to be a better way to organize and keep fishing leaders taut.
During the following years, he would invest $30,000 of his own money into its development, buying equipment to design and make his invention, working out of his shop in his home.
He patented the product in 1997 and applied for trademark protection in November 2006.
"I had some naysayers out there," Junck said. "They'd say, 'This is stupid, this is dumb.' I would just smile at them and take it with a grain of salt."
In April, an Iowa company will begin to produce plastic versions of the Bait Craft, which will be available in different colors and sizes, Junck said. There already has been interest by retailers who would like to carry the product, he said.
Junck, a self-described "tinkerer," builds homes with his son Aaron, and credits his children and wife, Deb, for supporting him in all his creative outlets.
"Deb's really got a heart of gold," Junck said. "To deal with all the ups and downs we've had with this and with how much money we've injected into this, and not to have made a dime off it yet, she's been very supportive."
Reach reporter Matthew Gruchow at 331-2301.
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Protecting Your Business’s Name
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