How To Get A Patent Archives

I Do Not Want a Patent I Do Not Deserve

I do not want an entrepreneur to bet the farm on a patent that has no value. It is really tempting to think that you can get an enormously valuable patent. Then you can dominate some big market and get paid handsomely. Entrepreneurs are fond of saying that their patents are “broad,” and investors desperately…

I’m A Recovering Patent Attorney

What is Really Wrong with the Patent System I am a “recovering patent attorney.” I became a patent attorney after years as an engineer. I went to a patent attorney and I expected my patent attorney to help me, but I was sorely disappointed. I was so disappointed that I took the Patent Bar Exam,…

IP due diligence for startups

Due diligence is essential for any business deal, and IP due diligence is shockingly left out of the equation for most angel investors and venture capital investors. IP is left out of most due diligence efforts for good reason: most patents are worthless. This patent due diligence checklist helps anyone evaluate IP and patents –…

Valuable patents solve contradictions

Amazon’s One-Click patent is the epitome of “non-obviousness” Inventions are not obvious – they have to solve some kind of contradiction. This idea holds true for businesses. Startups that can solve a contradiction in the market have a particular advantage – and so do patents. One of the most talked-about inventions 10 or 15 years…

How Much Does A Patent Cost?

Updated 18 June 2021: The average cost of a patent in the US is over $50,000. The figures below come from the AIPLA bi-annual survey, last updated in 2019. Please note that this will vary widely – especially because the amount of back and forth with the patent examiner can be one or two Office…

USPTO’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.…

Why Startup Patents Are Doomed From The Start

Patents for small companies are fundamentally different from patents for large companies. The decisions made – and skills needed – to develop the two are very different. There are several problems facing a startup company when getting patents. The biggest problem: the skillset needed for a startup’s patents is not practiced in the conventional law…

What Does A Quality Patent Look Like?

What does a quality patent look like? We evaluate patents every day. We underwrite investments in intellectual property, either for financing patents before they are written or for providing loans against patents that already exist. After doing this for a long time, there are certain elements that we evaluate every time we pick up a…