+1.970.776.4355 · Loveland, CO · Russ Krajec, principal Currently accepting Fractional Chief IP Officer engagements →

  • The Importance of Patent Searches

    The easiest way to make your patent more valuable: do a patent search.

  • Patents on Vision vs Patents on Inventions

    Entrepreneurs are fond of having big, bold visions of the future.  A future of self-driving cars or virtual reality universes or DNA-based pharmaceuticals that fix every medical problem or hyperloop transport or whatever.  This is catnip for investors, who get the vision and imagine thousands of self-driving cars zooming through city streets – each one…

  • Good Stewards of Capital

    Angel investors hear countless pitches from all kinds of entrepreneurs, some of which are extraordinarily capable scientists and visionaries who have fantastic technical solutions to a problem. Many times, these entrepreneurs stumble when trying to explain the business.

  • Feedback – and the Truth

    Anyone who is trying to pitch a new business idea needs to hear the hard truth, whether or not you are an entrepreneur doing the angel investment circuit or you are pitching your boss on upgrading your computer.

  • Investment Grade Patents are not for Patent Trolling

    Patent trolling is the business of extortion.  Generally, patent trolling is when someone sues for patent infringement[1] but is willing to settle for less than the cost of litigation.  It is extortion, pure and simple.

  • Crystalizing Your Invention

    Entrepreneurs buy into the myth – perpetuated by the patent bar – that they should write and file provisional patent applications before bringing their product to market. There are many reasons why provisional patent applications are wrong for startups, but this post explains yet another, more subtle reason.

  • Walking Dead and Their Patents

    When I studied for the patent bar exam, it seemed that every other question was about priority dates. 

  • Investment Grade Patents Need Investment Grade Businesses

    The simple fact is that patents only have value when they are infringed.  When I invest in a patent through patent financing, I need the startup company to bring their product to market, otherwise, the patent will have no value.

  • Patents Enable Innovation – not the other way around

    Sophisticated companies view patents as *enabling* innovation, not as a result of it. This comes from a much more holistic view of IP protection.

  • Budgeting for Patents

    How much should a typical company budget for patent protection?