Patent Strategy
How Big Law Hurts Startups
Many inventors and entrepreneurs like to tout their relationship with a Big Law Firm. It is too bad they do not know how the sausage gets made. Touting that Big Law wrote your patents is not a badge of quality I review countless patents for startup companies and talk to lots of entrepreneurs. One of…
Read MoreCramdowns, Receivership, Bankruptcy – Why Patent Financing is Good for Founders and Angels.
BlueIron’s patent financing puts your IP in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) – an LLC that holds your patents. It can be thought of as a lease with a buyout option – similar to leasing a car. A special feature is that it can help you survive a cramdown, receivership, or bankruptcy of your portfolio…
Read MoreUSPTO’s Track One vs Patent Prosecution Highway
Updated April 2020 Why the USPTO’s Track One is the mark of a lazy patent attorney. If your patent attorney is suggesting “Track One” to expedite your patent case – be wary. It is a trap. I would go so far as to say that Track One is the mark of a lazy patent attorney.…
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,…
Read MoreThe Patent System is Broken – but not in the way you think it is.
The patent system has some weird quirks that makes it feel broken. In truth, you do not want to know how the sausage gets made at the Patent Office, and patent laws are all weirdly nuanced with few bright lines. That is just the way it is. The real problem is the patent applicants, not…
Read MorePatents and Psychology – The Fear of Loss and the Lottery Ticket
The Fear of Loss A patent brings out weird psychology of entrepreneurs and investors alike. They are their own worst enemy. By the way, this is one of the reasons why the patent system is broken, but not the way you think it is. Note: this is an excerpt from my forthcoming book “Startup IP…
Read MoreWhat to Consider When Filing Patents Internationally
Updated 1 Jul 2021 Most Foreign Patents are a Vanity Project Many entrepreneurs like to go after foreign filings. The normal course of business is to file a PCT application, then enter “national phase,” typically about two and a half years later. (“PCT” means Patent Cooperation Treaty, often mistakenly called an “international patent application.” The…
Read MorePatents Help Sell Your Company
(Updated 10 Oct 2021.) IP plays a big role to sell your company, especially if you are a startup company. Most people think about building an IP portfolio for “protection.” Somehow, the patent value is that they can mystically enforce their patent on an infringer. The notion of “protection” is mostly an illusion, unless you…
Read MorePatent Myths – “Broad Claims are a Good Thing.”
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 it is basically a sales pitch that patent attorneys use to make more money. Narrow patents are bad, too. (Learn more about this and other…
Read MorePatents Are Call Options On Technology
The only way for your patent to be valuable is to bring a product to market. This post was published on Medium. You can read it here. This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book “Startup IP Strategy.” A call option is an option to purchase a stock at a defined price. It is…
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