Patent Strategy
Patent Rejection – What it takes to get a patent issued
Your patent will typically be rejected by the examiner. Do not worry. The back-and-forth process between the examiner and applicant is a necessary part of getting a strong patent allowed. We want the examiner to fully understand the invention and do a competent job of searching. If the examiner does a poor job, your patent…
Read MoreConsidering Constraints When Evaluating Patentable Ideas
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Every invention has a set of constraints, and it is imperative to uncover and evaluate them when considering patenting. This applies to an inventor or business manager who is trying to ferret out ideas contained in a new product as well as the…
Read MoreRenting Your Patents – How does that work?
What does it mean to “rent” my patents? Isn’t it better to own them? BlueIron’s financing allows you to “rent” your patents by having an exclusive license to the patents. This gives you all the legal benefits of owning the patents, such as being able to enforce the patents, license and sublicense the patents, keep…
Read MorePatents Make Your Company More Valuable to Acquirers
Good patents make your company more valuable. A well-crafted and curated patent portfolio has patents that make your company much more valuable to an acquirer. When curating a portfolio, BlueIron often targets potential acquirers. We look for where the market will move, how competitors tend to operate, and target inventions that will likely be useful…
Read MorePatents Make Your Company More Valuable Going Into Financing Rounds
Good patents make your company much more valuable when raising money. A patent portfolio increases your value when raising money. A strong portfolio sends a signal to investors that you are sophisticated, understand the marketplace, and mean to be a strong competitor in the marketplace. The stronger your patent portfolio, the more of an “unfair…
Read MorePatents Give You Opportunites for Outbound Licensing
Patents are business tools Patents are useful only when they give your business options that increase your chances for success. Patents can be “trading cards” for negotiations. A competitor that might sue you for infringing their patents are quickly settled with a cross license of your patents. Part of crafting a good portfolio is building…
Read MorePatents Give You Defensible Space in Your Market
A well crafted patent portfolio can give you a defensible space in the marketplace. A good portfolio will cover the key elements of your current products, plus your next several generations of products. A solid, defensible space in the marketplace will greatly increase your business opportunities. Having “patent pending” on your products and advertising sends…
Read MoreLicensing Patents as Part of Your Overall Patent Strategy
Outbound licensing is one option with a good patent portfolio. One or more patents can be developed for a licensing strategy in conjunction with or separate from a company’s main product. There are some technologies that are so large that one company may not have the resources to bring the technology to market or where the…
Read MoreDefensive Patent Strategies
Patents and patent applications are very effective marketing tools and deterrents to competitors. When a patent application is filed, a product may be properly marked as “patent pending.” This marking serves two very important functions. In a general marking sense, the “patent pending” or “patented” markings indicate to consumers that the product is unique and cannot…
Read MorePatents Help Sell Your Company
When building a patent portfolio with the intent to sell a company, the main audience is not potential infringers, but the acquiring company. Depending on the situation, the acquiring company may have any of several different reasons for the acquisition. For example, the acquiring company may be looking to add an existing product to its product…
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