Combining multiple items to make a kit with some non obvious knowledge is required

Question

I want to sell a kit that contains multiple products within a plastic carrying case. Each product is produced in China and the same design of the product is sold by multiple factories in China. I guess each item can be considered something that is very common like a mug or a dinner plate. I am guessing that these items cannot be patented.

The one thing that I may be able to patent is the case. One item is a high powered magnet and the case needs to contain a certain amount of material so that the magnetic force is contained in the case and does not interfere with electronics or pacemakers. I believe this will require some not so obvious knowledge regarding the direction of the magnetic force and the type of material and dimension of the material in order to create a well functioning case.

Could this case be patented or could the simple fact of combining all these common items together be a patentable product to sell?

Answer 1

Yes, in theory, the "case" having a new and non-obvious characteristic for handling magnetic fields may be patentable as an article of manufacture. A person attempting to obtain such a patent would first probably want to have someone carry out preliminary searching of existing patents or publications regarding similar devices. From those results, one may more clearly estimate potential patentability of specific inventive elements.

Similarly, the simple packaging of multiple items would only be patentable if it somehow amounts to a new and non-obvious improvement to how that method or apparatus has been accomplished in the prior art for hundreds of years.