Patent Strategy

They are for business negotiations. Patent trolling is the business of extortion.  Generally, patent trolling is when someone sues for patent infringement but is willing to settle for less than the cost of litigation.  It is extortion, pure and simple. Patent litigation will cost at least $500,000 in attorney’s fees to get to the first…

One of the many curses of a self-written provisional patent application Entrepreneurs buy into the myth – perpetuated by the patent bar – that they should write and file provisional patent applications before bringing their product to market. There are many reasons why provisional patent applications are wrong for startups, but this post explains yet…

The Myth that You Want An Early Filing Date When I studied for the patent bar exam, it seemed that every other question was about priority dates.  The priority date is when time stands still.  Anything that is done before that date is “prior art,” and anything afterwards does not matter. Examiners cannot use any…

The simple fact is that patents only have value when they are infringed.  When I invest in a patent through patent financing, I need the startup company to bring their product to market, otherwise, the patent will have no value. This is true of any patent: value comes from the market wants to use the…

Sophisticated companies view patents as *enabling* innovation, not as a result of it. This comes from a much more holistic view of IP protection. Startups and first time entrepreneurs/inventors focus on “protecting” their investment in R&D through patents. This report highlights a much more sublime – and much more powerful – use of patents. Clarivate…

How much should a typical company budget for patent protection? One of the best books on IP and patents is Patent Portfolios by Larry Goldstein. In this book, Mr. Goldstein analyzes how companies build out their patent portfolios. Much of this post is derived from his book. What is a good budget for patents? 1%…

Many companies want to license their technologies. But what happens when a company takes a license, then decides to quit paying – or refuses to negotiate after the first license runs out? LG Electronics is facing the same thing with TCL, a Chinese manufacturer of televisions. LG had a license agreement in place with TCL.…

An angry “angel” investor commits federal crimes by stealing IP. How an investor stole intellectual property from a portfolio company. This is a true story. Sadly, predatory actions by so-called “angel” investors are more common than it should be. An angel investor has a portfolio of maybe a dozen startup companies. This investor takes a…

Not all “due diligence” is created equal. There are hundreds of angel groups all across the country, and each one has a different flavor. Some are occasional “dinner clubs” fashioned after Shark Tank, where a couple startups pitch and investors might make an investment on the spot. Others are extraordinarily sophisticated in their screening, mentoring,…

“Grown ups” use patents to their strategic advantage. Intellectual property can be a very strategic asset for smaller companies – when done well. Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh corporation, a $6.6B market cap company, might not be a startup company, but they can be a smaller player in a big market. Oshkosh has been…