Entrepreneurship Archives

IP due diligence for startups

Due diligence is essential for any business deal, and IP due diligence is shockingly left out of the equation for most angel investors and venture capital investors. IP is left out for good reason: most patents are worthless. This patent due diligence checklist helps anyone evaluate IP and patents – and weed out 95% of…

Patents in a Business Context

Why patents as a “lottery ticket” is a losing proposition. A business owner makes hard business decisions, especially when it comes to IP. There is only so much money and so much time, so how do you decide? Patents represent enormous potential value, and they feel like a lottery ticket. The risk to reward –…

My first invention

My first job out of college was at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis. At the time, we made military fighter jets: the F-15, F-18, and Harrier AV-8B. I was assigned to a little research group exploring different ways to use thermoplastic composites. It was there that I had my first “invention.” I wrote up a…

Why Marketing Is More Important than Patents

Entrepreneurs have been fed this lie that the first thing they need to do is get a patent, then work on the business. This is a bad strategy. As an investor who finances IP for startups, I want some data to support the investment in patents. The best strategy is to do the marketing first,…

USPTO Abandonment Rate Nearly Tripling Since COVID

Patents are being abandoned at historically high rates, pointing to a lack of confidence in the future. An updated analysis by BlueIron shows that the COVID crisis has markedly affected business’s IP strategy. A previous analysis done in March is here. The abandonment rate has shot up since COVID started, especially for Small Entities, which…

Inventing and “feeling it”

It is easy to think you were an inventor when you really were not. When I was an engineer at HP, I wrote up 3-4 invention disclosures before a meeting, where we were going to discuss a new product. At the meeting, I pitched a couple of the ideas *I had already submitted* for patenting. …

Are you thinking of giving up on your patent application? Think again. Patent financing is available.

Many companies are abandoning their patent applications. In fact, the abandonment rate has tripled since the Covid-19 crisis began. However, there is specialized financing to keep your patents pending – and even build out a bigger portfolio – so you will be in a powerful position when the economy opens up again. BlueIron is the…

National Family Support finds help with BlueIron

(Loveland, CO) National Family Support, Inc announces its first patent filed through BlueIron. National Family Support is rolling out a suite of services for managing child support payments. “With billions of dollars of delinquent child support payments nationally, we provide loans to parents who are behind – and we guarantee all future payments. This means…

Automed Gets Investment from BlueIron

Automed, Inc., the world’s leader in medication delivery for livestock based in Ames, Iowa, announces a patent financing arrangement with BlueIron of Loveland, Colorado. “We are able to get better patent protection and grow the company at the same time” says David Edwards, CEO of Automed. “Our patent expenses were getting ridiculously high, and we…

Effects of COVID-19 on Patents – Twice The Number of Abandonments

As companies hunker down for the effects of the COVID-19 virus, they are abandoning their IP protection at TWICE the normal rate. And it is likely to go up much further. AND this has never happened before. BlueIron’s study looked at recent USPTO abandonments to see what, if any, effects were from COVID-19. The results…