Category: Working with Attorneys
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Bad Advice – Non-publication Requests for Patents
How incompetent patent attorneys hide their work product from public view. Occasionally, I run into patents where the patent attorney talks the client into a non-publication request. This is always a bad thing. Non-publication requests…
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Gullible Angel Investors and Provisional Patent Applications
Last time, we discussed the provisional patent application hoax perpetuated by patent attorneys. In this post, we look at the scam from the inventor/entrepreneur side. Many so-called inventors/entrepreneurs like to file their own provisional patent…
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The Provisional Patent Hoax
One of the greatest hoaxes in our industry is the notion that provisional patent applications are a good thing. They are not. I am always amazed how some hoaxes are told over and over to…
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Trading on the Differences
Uncertainty is not a Bad Thing, it is Opportunity. Every time you see a news story or read a blog about a topic you know very well, it is amazing that the stories have lots…
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IP Valuation in a Regulatory Framework
When an invention requires regulatory approval, a patent is a secondary element of intellectual property protection. Regulatory requirements trump patents as the primary form of protection or moat[1] against a business. Medical devices and pharmaceutical…
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Handing the Keys to the Drunken Sailor and Hoping You Get Home
Letting the CTO manage patent policy is bad for business. Some CEOs abdicate their IP policy to the CTO. The CTO spends lots of time with the patent attorney, so it just makes sense to…
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Registration Numbers
Due diligence in patents requires looking at the patent attorney. When I review patent applications, I always download the full prosecution history of the patent from the USPTO. The prosecution history is the formal, legal…
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Assignment Due Diligence: Unassigned Assets
Spotting bad behavior in startup companies. It is heartbreaking to see bad behavior by ‘inventors’ and their startup companies, but it occurs over and over again. Let this lesson be an example of the things…
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Patent Attorneys Do Not Live with Their Mistakes
The Feedback Problem in Patent Law. Patent attorneys typically have zero feedback about the quality of their work product. This is an inherent weakness of the whole patent system. The attorneys do not have to…
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Why You Cannot Hire a Patent Attorney Who Worked for a Competitor
I talk to countless patent holders, and I often hear that their patent attorney did all this work for a direct competitor before doing their patents. Somehow, the client seems to think this is a…