Category: Patent Process
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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. Old tractor in the Alpine meadows There are…
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Is 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…
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Double 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…
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Investment Grade Patents Do Not Have “Broad Claims”
Broad patents can hurt you. Inventors like to think that their patents are “broad” and somehow that is good. It is not. The risks with broad patents are that they are more easily invalidated, but…
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Financing Patents Is Actually CHEAPER Than Paying a Patent Attorney
Financing patents through BlueIron is actually cheaper than paying as you go with a conventional patent attorney. This is because the cost of capital for startup companies is so high. Pepperdine’s business school publishes the…
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Should I Get A Patent Before Talking To Customers?
No. As an investor in patents, I am willing to wait for the Second Patent. BTW, if you need to tell someone your invention when you are doing customer discovery, you are doing it wrong.…
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Should I File A Provisional Patent Application?
You should never file a provisional patent application. Ever. In every case, a small company or independent inventor is better off by filing a complete, well-written, non-provisional patent application. One of the biggest hoaxes in…
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How Much Does It Cost To File A Patent?
How much does it cost to file a patent? The US average is about $12k, but the total cost of a patent is closer to $60k. Have you been quoted much less? There are plenty…
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Patent 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…
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What 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. …