Posts Tagged ‘Patent Attorney’
Patent Ethics: Is it Ethical for the Patent Attorney to list themselves as an inventor?
The hallmark of a sleazy patent attorney is one who lists themselves as an “inventor” on patents that they write for a client. There is the “legal” definition of an inventor, and there is the realistic, practical definition. The legal definition of a co-inventor is anyone who contributes at least one limitation to one claim…
Read MoreThe “Walking Malpractice Suit”
The Attorney/Client Relationship for Patent Attorneys has Some Weird Nuance. The fiduciary responsibility (and the fear of being sued for malpractice) is why attorneys explain everything in dreadful detail. It is not just that they bill by the hour. The attorneys are trying to lay all the options out on the table and make sure…
Read MoreI’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,…
Read MoreInhouse vs Outside Patent Counsel
There are Two Types of Lawyers There are two types of patent lawyers: outside counsel and inhouse counsel. Each type of lawyer plays a completely different role, and the two types are at a constant battle with each other. It is not to say that there is a war, but there are diametrically opposed interests…
Read MoreWhy Your Patent Attorney Does Not Want Your Patent To Be Granted
There is a perverse incentive for your patent attorney to *not* get your patent allowed. It is called “money.” Clients are at the mercy of their patent attorneys. For small companies who do not have inhouse patent counsel, they outsource their patents to outside counsel who have a financial incentive to keep a patent pending…
Read MoreHow 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 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 MoreWhy 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…
Read MoreBlueIron is Changing the Legal Industry
BlueIron was formed in response to a weakness in the way patents are prepared. My personal experience was that I needed a patent attorney’s advice and experience – and I paid for it – but he had continually refused to give it to me. It wasn’t until after I took the patent bar and began…
Read MoreInvestment Grade Patents Do Not Have “Broad Claims”
Broad patents can hurt you. 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 also a sales pitch that patent attorneys use to make more money. Narrow patents are bad, too. Narrow…
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