PATENT PROSECUTION MANAGEMENT
Penny-Wise--and Pound-Wiser
Patents are the bread and butter of innovative start-ups. Even big companies supported by big IP departments with lawyers of their own get patents wrong by not planning ahead, not selecting advisers who understand business--their business--as well as IP, and by cutting corners on their most strategic assets. Drafting a patent, and especially a patent in lucrative, yet difficult, areas such as software and business methods, requires a set of skills and knowledge that cannot be learned in the short run or from a do-it-yourself kit. There are many examples in recent years of even large companies that lost millions due to carelessness in not adequately protecting the ideas of their inventors and of the company; and conversely, examples of tiny start-ups that made millions by having the foresight to invest just a small portion of their capital in the IP that could make or break their business.
A patent is a legal right, not an invention. Before disclosing your idea to other people, it may be a valuable trade secret--if you have the capital and market access to use it without advertising and investment. Disclosing your technology does not protect it; it only provides others with a road map to copy your ideas and business. It is how the claims of a patent are drafted--whether they reflect a sophisticated understanding of IP law, or even fall within the scope of what is patentable or not--that protects you and your business by defining what you can (and do) legally claim as rightfully yours. Many patents fall short by trying to protect the essence of an invention so naively that copycats and competitors cannot be prevented from knocking it off with token or trivial changes to escape the specific legal rights granted by the patent. In patents, as is often the case in life, you get not what you deserve but what you negotiate; unless the person preparing a patent is an expert who can identify what makes a patent useful and enforceable, the resulting patent will fall short. You want a valuable and enforceable patent--not regrets over a missed opportunity.
A patent is a legal right, not an invention. Before disclosing your idea to other people, it may be a valuable trade secret--if you have the capital and market access to use it without advertising and investment. Disclosing your technology does not protect it; it only provides others with a road map to copy your ideas and business. It is how the claims of a patent are drafted--whether they reflect a sophisticated understanding of IP law, or even fall within the scope of what is patentable or not--that protects you and your business by defining what you can (and do) legally claim as rightfully yours. Many patents fall short by trying to protect the essence of an invention so naively that copycats and competitors cannot be prevented from knocking it off with token or trivial changes to escape the specific legal rights granted by the patent. In patents, as is often the case in life, you get not what you deserve but what you negotiate; unless the person preparing a patent is an expert who can identify what makes a patent useful and enforceable, the resulting patent will fall short. You want a valuable and enforceable patent--not regrets over a missed opportunity.
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