[rpiper]

I applied for one over a year and a half ago and have yet to hear back. They're pretty jammed at the USPTO. A friend ofmine who is an inventor (he has med tech patents but made his money on the "banana hanger" that sits on your countertop to hang bunches of bananas to keep them from bruising-!) told me that a patent is essentially worthless these days, as it costs so much to defend them if you do get it. He said the best thing to do is apply, which is nearly free, get the "patent pending" protection and then produce your product ASAP. You just have to get 'way out in front of anyone else who copies you (the "razor" scooter is a good example- there are dozens of copies now, that are not EXACTLY a Razor but are essentially the same thing, but Razor was first and made good use of their lead time. Hope this helps-
Cheers!