Business Uses for Patents
How Patent Pools Work
Patent pools and standards essential patents are the Holy Grail of intellectual property. Patent pools are sophisticated ways that companies can bring technology together, cross license them, and license that package of intellectual property to the market. For many major technologies, such as Bluetooth, MPEG, 3G, 4G, and even electric vehicle charging, companies have banded…
Read MoreFinancing patents for pre-angel or pre-seed startups
Good patents only come from a good business BlueIron provides financing for patents – but only when the patent makes good business sense. When we finance patents, we do extensive due diligence to make sure the patents will have value before our investment. We have skin in the game. In this article, we talk about…
Read MoreHow Much Does A Patent Cost?
Updated 5 Feb 2023 The average cost of a utility patent in the US is over $50,000. This is just the cost to file a utility patent application and the patent examination process. It does not cover the cost of enforcing your patent, which can be in the millions. All patent owners should have patent…
Read MoreHow to Find a Realistic Patent Value
(Updated 27 Dec 2021.) A realistic patent valuation can be determined using many of the same techniques used to value businesses. However, it all depends on whether someone is actively copying your invention. How to value a patent all depends on whether there is product in the market – not how “cool” the invention is.…
Read MoreHP CapShare: How a failed product yielded huge revenue
HP’s CapShare hand-held scanner is a great example of patents that come from problems solved on they way to the vision – not the vision itself. Patents can be vehicles for spinning out technologies. When any company is exploring a new space, they encounter problems that need to be solved. In many cases, other companies…
Read MoreSelling Patents: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend
When selling patents, it is tempting to think of competitors or direct infringers as the appropriate people who would be interested in your patent. But the truth is there is a much, much larger pool of companies to consider. I was having lunch with a friend who was chief patent counsel at a company that…
Read MoreUsing 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…
Read MorePatents 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 –…
Read MoreWhy 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,…
Read MoreThe Entrepreneur and the Angel Investor – The Story of Bad IP Protection.
An angel investor will ask the entrepreneur “Do you have a patent?” The next thing the entrepreneur does is run out and gets a patent. Is this smart? Note: this excerpt is from my forthcoming book “Startup IP Strategy.” The calculus is simple to the entrepreneur: they think a patent will help to raise money,…
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