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Duty-Shifting Disguised as Diligence
You have been avoiding that email from your patent attorney for two weeks.
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The Defensive Patent Myth
Someone told you to build a “defensive patent portfolio.”
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The Patent Timeline Trap: Why One Big Patent Ages Too Fast
Many founders treat patents as a one-time event. They apply for one large patent at the beginning, packed with every variation anyone can imagine, then assume that the original application and a string of continuations will protect the company for the long haul.
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Track One Gets You a Faster Patent at the Cost of Narrower Claims
Your attorney mentions Track One. Pay an extra fee, get a decision inside about a year[1] instead of two or three.[4] For a company that needs the patent for a raise, a partnership, or a filing deadline tied to a product launch, that sounds like an easy yes. The fee shows up on an invoice…
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How Sophisticated Companies Create Freedom to Invent
Facebook bought leverage. Synthes and Liebel changed pending patent language after seeing competitor products. The public records show both the power and the limits of those strategies.
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Freedom to Invent
Build what you need. Then build the IP to support the business.
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Design Your Patent Around What the Customer Buys, Not What You Built
The inventor describes what they built. The attorney asks a few good questions, gets a couple of alternatives on the record, and drafts the application. It goes to the patent office. A year or two later, a patent issues describing exactly what the company built.[1]
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The University Professor on Your Founding Team Has an Obligation to Compete With You
A university professor on your founding team looks like an asset. Real technical depth, academic credibility, a name investors recognize.
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“We Own This Space” Is the Wrong Way to Think About Your Patents
A patent is the right to exclude — not a deed to a market. But the same is true of your competitor’s patent.
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Let the Business Drive the IP Strategy, Not the Other Way Around
Don’t let your competitor’s patents restrict your business. Your IP strategy should give your engineers freedom to invent.