Entrepreneurship
Why Startup Patents Are Doomed From The Start
Patents for small companies are fundamentally different from patents for large companies. The decisions made – and skills needed – to develop the two are very different. There are several problems facing a startup company when getting patents. The biggest problem: the skillset needed for a startup’s patents is not practiced in the conventional law…
Read MoreIs the Ethical NDA too harsh?
BlueIron has been using the Ethical NDA from the Ethical Collaboration Association for all new engagements. The Ethical NDA is available here. TL;DR: The Ethical NDA is perfect for the intense, collaborative environment of trust and innovation that we have with our clients. The Ethical NDA changes the rules of engagement with clients. Rather than…
Read MoreDouble the Value of Your Patents – All You Need is the Right NDA
The right IP agreements play a huge role in how valuable your patents will be over time. One of the dirty secrets of coworking spaces, startup accelerators, incubators, and other collaborative environments is that the mere act of collaborating can devalue your intellectual property. The typical scenario is when two coworkers from different companies collaborate…
Read MorePatent Enforcement Insurance Makes Your Company Valuable
Why should I get a patent? I don’t have enough money to enforce it. Many startup companies don’t bother with patents because they don’t think they can enforce them. And they are right. A patent lawsuit can be very expensive, and the game of enforcement is really a big game of chicken: both sides are…
Read MoreWhat Does A Quality Patent Look Like?
What does a quality patent look like? We evaluate patents every day. We underwrite investments in intellectual property, either for financing patents before they are written or for providing loans against patents that already exist. After doing this for a long time, there are certain elements that we evaluate every time we pick up a…
Read MoreHow Much Do Patent Attorneys Charge
The average patent cost about $60,000, and most of that goes to your patent attorney. How much do patent attorneys charge? Be prepared to pay them about $45,000 through the entire process. The patent process involves two major phases. Patent “preparation” is when the patent is originally drafted and filed with the patent office, and…
Read MoreAn NDA That Encourages Collaboration
BlueIron is now using the Ethical NDA in all our new engagements. The Ethical NDA is available from the Ethical Collaboration Assocation, a 501(c)3 non-profit. The conventional NDA ensures that one party to the agreement must keep the other party’s secrets. In a mutual NDA, both parties agree to the same terms. The conventional NDA…
Read MoreRethinking the Lowly NDA
BlueIron is now using the Ethical NDA from Ethical Collaboration Association, a 501(c)3 non-profit. The Non Disclosure Agreement is one of the basic agreements that every entrepreneur uses. For newbies, the NDA is a revered document that “protects” an idea from being stolen. For older, crusty entrepreneurs, the NDA is a pointless waste of time…
Read MoreWhy We Use The Ethical NDA
BlueIron is starting to use the Ethical NDA in all our new deals. The Ethical NDA is available here and is administered by the Ethical Collaboration Association, a 501(c)3 non profit. Why do we use the Ethical NDA? It is because we want to establish a collaborative relationship, plain and simple. We value the back…
Read MoreInvesting In Patents Website Launched
My new book “Investing In Patents” describes the patent system from a perspective of an investor in a startup company. Angel or venture capital investors often just “check the box” for patents, but few really understand how the system works. Most investors are shocked to know that many of the patents their portfolio companies are…
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