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Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
25 articles in this category.
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
Don't Hire a Patent Attorney Without Asking These Questions First
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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 passion. Even...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
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...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
How to Protect Your Software Innovation With Patents
This is the second half of my interview with John Ferrell, a longtime Silicon Valley patent attorney and angel investor, about intellectual property protection for software. (Read the first half here.) Ferrell has advised early stage technology companies including Apple,...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
Software Startups: This is How You Craft a Patent Strategy
Obtaining patent protection for software is notoriously challenging. Software may have a very short shelf life. It’s difficult to describe precisely. There are issued patents that are written too broadly. In a 3-part series published in 2012, Eric Goldman goes...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
How to Raise Money For Your Startup Using Provisional Patent Applications
Startups are extremely busy. As a result, protecting their assets can take a backseat. I hear it firsthand all the time. “Intellectual property? Oh, our attorneys are handling that.” Huh? Leaving the responsibility of crafting an intellectual property strategy up...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
How to Write a Provisional Patent Application That Has Value
I think inventors should try writing their own provisional patent applications, even if they end up hiring a patent attorney to write the final version. Why? Because committing your thoughts to paper will help clarify your thinking about your invention....
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
Don't File That Patent Yet. File A Provisional Patent Application First.
Speed to market is paramount today. Whether you are a creative person, inventor, entrepreneur, startup, medium-sized enterprise, or Fortune 500 company, there’s no doubt that filing intellectual property quickly after the conception of a new invention, innovation, or service is...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
In Today's Market, Do Patents Even Matter?
Sometimes. It all depends on your business objectives. In some industries, patents are absolutely critical. But in far more they are not. It’s a well-known fact that a vast majority of patents are worthless. Around 97% of all patents never...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
Inventors: Do a Patent Search Sooner Rather Than Later
When you have an idea for a new product, the first thing you should do is your homework. You need to study the market -- to ask important questions and attempt to answer them. Is this idea unique? Where is...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
What to Do When Your Provisional Patent Application Is About to Expire
Because I strongly believe in the importance of testing the market, I'm a big proponent of provisional patent applications. Obtaining a non-provisional patent can easily cost upwards of $15,000. And the reality is, the vast majority of patents are worthless....
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
How George Burkhardt Taught Himself How to File, Obtain, and License His Own Utility Patents
Because there are absolutely no black and whites when it comes to intellectual property, self-education is critical. Merely obtaining a patent is easy enough. If you pay a lawyer to help you, he will. Beyond that, things get trickier. The...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
A Former Patent Examiner Pulls Back the Curtain at the USPTO
The process of getting a patent can feel shrouded in mystery. I feel that way, and I've been awarded nearly 20 patents. When I started to file patents, I thought, "The patent office is against me!" They always rejected my...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
What Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' Can Teach You About Stealing Ideas
I'm on vacation right now, and there's one song that just keeps being played on the radio. I love it. And part of the reason why I love it, I realized, is because it sounds like a song I've heard...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
Protecting an Idea is Easy. Selling an Idea is Hard.
When I had my first big idea, I got what I now know is the best possible advice from my patent attorney. Let me back up a little bit. The concepts I licensed when I began freelancing were very simple....
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
Create the Strongest Patent Possible With These 5 Tips
So you have an invention you want to protect. Before you call an attorney, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the options available to you. There are many ways to protect an idea, including provisional patent applications, copyrights, trademarks, and...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
Do You Really Need a Patent? It All Depends on Who You Ask.
Because I’ve been on the road promoting my new book Sell Your Ideas With or Without a Patent a lot this year, I’ve had the privilege of meeting people who are launching new products and businesses in person. Everyone wants...
Intellectual Property and IP Strategy
3 Basics to File a Patent That Actually Has Value
Anyone who has had an idea has worried it’s going to be stolen from them. I remember exactly how fearful I felt when I had my big idea nearly 25 years ago. If you’re in the same boat now, breathe....
