Patent Process
Average Patent Cost
How much does the average patent cost[1][2]? The US average is about $60,000. The average patent cost about $60,000. The patent process involves two major phases. Patent “preparation” is when the patent is originally drafted and filed with the patent office, and patent “prosecution” is the back and forth that happens with the examiner. Typically,…
Read MoreWhy IoT Patents are Hot
What are the hottest patents? IoT patents. Most people do not realize that there is an extensive, highly developed secondary market for patents. This market runs under the radar for the most part, with occasional news stories about “patent trolls”. However, it is very sophisticated, well financed, and trades tens of billions of dollars of…
Read MorePatents Multiply Your Investment in a Company
Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash Note: this is an excerpt from my book “Investing In Patents.” Patents Multiply Your Investment Patents are used to defend, but also to multiply an investment[1] in technology. In the first case, companies use their patent assets to preserve an investment. In the second case – and this is…
Read MorePatents Are Similar to Stock Options
Patents are similar to out-of-the-money stock options. Patents are an inherently risky investment and have lots of similarities to options trading. This is because they have value only when the market comes to them. At the time you purchase an option – and at the time you create a patent – you must place a…
Read MoreBlueIron Skewers Traditional Patent Attorney Role with Unique Investment Model
BlueIron IP skewers traditional patent attorney role with unique investment model FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan 18, 2016 LOVELAND – Protecting a startup’s intellectual property is one of the most important milestones for any new tech-based business and one of the biggest factors for success, but conventional patent attorneys can make it a costly and confusing…
Read MoreHow to Get a Good Patent
Photo by Sabri Tuzcu on Unsplash How to Get a Good Patent How to get a good patent? It is easy to get a worthless patent[1][2], but quite hard to file a good one. A good patent starts with a good invention. The invention should have a high value if the invention were to be…
Read MoreInventions Where BlueIron Will NOT Invest
There are some inventions where BlueIron will NOT invest. I see an obnoxious number of inventions and patents from startups. Almost all of them are not good candidates for us to invest. It is heartbreaking to say “no” to inventors where the invention does not seem to be ‘big’ enough to be a saleable, stand-alone…
Read MoreHow to Find a Good Patent Attorney
How to find a good patent attorney: find two attorneys, and have each one evaluate the other attorney’s work. Here is a simple technique to find a good patent attorney: start with at least *two* candidates. Ask each attorney to give you a sample of their work, and take the sample to the other attorney.…
Read MoreHow to Make Your Patent Strong Against Inter Partes Reexam
Strengthen your patent against Inter Partes Reexam One of the easiest ways for infringers to challenge an issued patent is through the Inter Partes Reexam process, commonly known as IPR. To successfully challenge a patent, someone has to produce a prior art document that would have changed the examiner’s mind. This is known as raising…
Read MoreOver-broad Patents Are No Longer A Good Thing
It used to be that “broad” patents were the best things for litigation. That is no longer the case. A patent drafting theory from 10 years ago was to draft a patent with the loosest language possible and go for claims that are nebulous. This drafting theory results in extremely broad descriptions of an invention…
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