Before you hire a patent attorney or patent agent to help you write and file a patent application, you should know about their policies and practices. Most of the inventor-friendly patent practitioners I know are willing to spend 60 minutes free of charge with an...
How to License a Design Patent
People think that you need a utility patent in order to license an invention. But that's not the case. Design patents have more value than they used to. Recently, I helped two orthodontists license a simple improvement in their field using a design patent. I've been...
11 Ways to Stop Companies From Ripping Off Your Invention
Inventors, wake up! It’s a cruel, cruel world. Commercializing a product idea has never been easy. And today, competition is fiercer than ever. True, the internet has provided new outlets for marketing and selling. But there are also copycats around every corner...
17 Tools And Strategies For Entrepreneurs To Fight To Get Paid
Okay, maybe fighting is the wrong word. But if you want to become a professional inventor, you need to plan ahead so people end up paying you. Once, when speaking to a group of startups in Australia, someone asked, “How do you know so much about intellectual property...
How To Stop Retailers From Carrying Copycat Products
The Internet has made selling new products easier than ever. It’s also resulted in a global sea of copycats lurking in the shallows, ready to pounce on your great idea. Selling on Amazon? Copycats are watching. Launching on Kickstarter? Copycats are watching. Running...
8 Strategies To Strengthen Your Business Using Intellectual Property
The intellectual property strategy you develop for your invention should be grounded in a business perspective — that is, if you intend on commercializing it! For your IP strategy to be effective, it needs to address the marketplace for your invention and the...
Why Inventors Should Search For Prior Art Themselves
The only way to invent an improvement to an existing product that consumers will pay for is to truly grasp the landscape of the category. Is it stale? Crowded? Are there opportunities for innovation? Where? For example, can you make the product cheaper, easier to use,...
Signs Your Patent Attorney Does Not Have Your Best Interests In Mind
Conflict exists between the interests of inventors and patent attorneys who are tasked with protecting their inventions. Inventing and commercializing a new product is extremely challenging, period. Obstacles abound. You have to be committed, dedicated and full of...
How To Avoid Ending Up With A Worthless Patent
This summer, the United States Patent & Trademark Office issued patent number 10 million with great fanfare. But most of those patents are worthless, I’m afraid. Few patented inventions recoup the cost of filing and maintaining patent protection. There isn’t a single...
Before You Begin The Patenting Process, Read This
When I started to file patent applications, I was sure the United States Patent and Trademark Office was against me. My claims were always rejected! I know better now. The USPTO is your friend, not a foe. There is a specific process for examining patent applications....