Provisional Patent Applications Hurt Startups

Bad Strategies for Startup Patents The patent bar does a terrible job of serving smaller clients – and provisional patent applications are a glaring example. In fact, they are taking advantage of them and causing harm to the clients they are supposed to serve. The graph shows a recent snapshot of office actions over the…

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Do Startups Give Up On Their Patents?

Patent valuation can be inferred from how much effort an applicant puts into their patent.  One of the common criteria for the more sophisticated patent scoring algorithms is the number of continuation applications. Having a pending application in a patent family is a huge asset. A pending application allows you to create new patent claims…

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Invention Mistakes Made at the “Idea Stage”

Patent Mistakes People Make At The Idea Stage Patents at the idea stage represent a huge risk because there just is not any data to support an investment in a patent. A patent attorney would mitigate this risk by putting everything you know – and plenty of additional speculation – into your patent application. From…

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The S-Curve, Innovation, and Intellectual Property

Every technology grows on an “S-curve.”  The S-curve cycle is where an idea is born, then it struggles to get product-market fit through infancy.  Once it begins to get traction, there is a period of growth, after which the technology levels out and eventually declines. You can think of the S-curve as the growth cycle…

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2020 Has Been The Best Year

Retrospective On 2020 I am sad to see 2020 go.  It has been a monumental year in many ways.  Lots of things were shaken very hard, and many things broke under the stress, but many things were improved. Life is consistent about one thing: change.  You can choose to complain that things are not what…

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I Do Not Want a Patent I Do Not Deserve

I do not want an entrepreneur to bet the farm on a patent that has no value. It is really tempting to think that you can get an enormously valuable patent.  Then you can dominate some big market and get paid handsomely. Entrepreneurs are fond of saying that their patents are “broad,” and investors desperately…

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Betting on the Home Run

Angel investing requires analyzing the ability of the entrepreneur to make their business happen. Entrepreneurs who bet everything on a single home run are very poor investments. It is much better to find the “grinder” startup who is willing to do the hard work. Betting on the home run – instead of being a “grinder”…

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Using Patents as Blackmail

A case study on why you need the right inventors agreements for a startup: a former employee turns patent troll. My company finances patents for small to medium sized companies, so I often get inquires from people who want to build out a patent portfolio.  A while ago, I received a call from an inventor…

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Startup Fundraising – Pluses and Minuses

From bootstrapping to venture funds, there are many different avenues. Fundraising for a startup company often takes more skill, talent, and innovation than creating the product or service you want to deliver. I deal with IP-centric businesses where patents are a core asset, and that implies that the entrepreneur is creative, innovative, and tries new…

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Types of Patents

What are the different types of patents? Patents have been the bedrock of innovation, powering the innovations of our early republic, through the Industrial Revolution and patents continue to play a big role in today’s technology improvements. Over 10,000,000 patents have been issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and over 400,000 are…

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