Category: Patent 101

Learn about patents and the patent process!

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Design Patent 👑 VS Utility Patent 🛰

Coca Cola Bottle Design Patent

Should you be filing an industrial design (design patent) or a utility patent? The ultimate question: Design Patent VS Utility Patent. Okay, this is not the ultimate question, but a common question nonetheless.

Terminology

The first thing I want to clarify is terminology. In most of the world, you can file a patent or an “industrial design” application. In the United States, industrial designs are called “design patents.” This can be a bit confusing because they are quite different from “utility patents,” or what the rest of the world just calls “patents.” For the rest of this article, I will call them industrial designs, to attempt to reduce confusion.

Design VS Utility

The best way to think about whether you should file an industrial design or a utility patent is by asking yourself what is new, unique, and innovative about your product: how it works or how it looks?

If your product has a unique appearance, you may want to consider filing an industrial design. If you think it has a unique function, then you may want to consider patent protection, and we would love to help!

Strength of Protection

If you are able to get industrial design protection, this only enables you to prevent others from copying your exact design. Assuming you don’t also have a patent, others would be free to copy the function of your product as long as theirs had a different shape or appearance. Industrial designs can be easier to get, but they also have more limited protection. It is easier to tweak a design, or the appearance of a product to get around industrial design protection than it is for a well-written patent.

Multiple Forms of Protection

The initial question I asked at the beginning of this article related to “industrial design OR utility patent,” but the best IP strategy usually incorporates multiple forms of IP protection. For example, you may protect your software, written works, and images with copyright. You will likely protect your brand (the name of your company, logos, product names, etc.) with a trademark. You may keep certain elements of your back-end as a trade secret (data that goes into an AI or machine learning process, for example). If your product incorporates a unique process or function, you will certainly want to consider filing a patent application on your core technology regardless of whether or not it also has a unique design. Learn the best approach to filing a patent here!

And of course, even if you are pursuing a patent you should also consider filing an industrial design if the appearance of your product is unique and important to the success of your business.

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Avoid Patent Rejection 🙅

Avoid Patent Rejection

What are the patentability criteria and why are they so important?

In this video, I discuss the three primary criteria that the patent office will review when deciding whether to approve or reject your patent application: usefulness (whether or not your product is useful), novelty (whether or not your product is completely new), and obviousness (how innovative your product is).

Watch now to learn how these criteria impact your chances of getting a patent!

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Three Steps to Avoid Patent Mistakes

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working on a new presentation that really highlights the differences between the typical approach of going straight to a lawyer to get a patent application and the new and improved approach that The IP Link has developed.

Watch this video if you would like to avoid all of the common mistakes and roadblocks that tend to arise with the old approach to getting a patent.

In this video, you will also learn how to get a better patent and make the most out of your investment into patent protection:

In this video, I talk about:

  • How to get started with patent protection,
  • The three steps to getting a better patent that will bring value to your business,
  • How much patent protection costs,
  • How to avoid common pitfalls,
  • How you should prepare for filing a patent application BEFORE contacting a lawyer,
  • The typical timeline of the patent process (including costs) AND a timeline of our improved approach,
  • How the typical approach of going to a patent lawyer first can cause issues (and how to avoid these issues),
  • And MUCH more!

So don’t miss it!

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The Patent Mastermind Free Private Community 🌱

Over the past six months or so, I’ve participated in a few online communities for entrepreneurs that have really helped me learn and improve my business. These have been related to business generally, and so far I haven’t been able to find a community of entrepreneurs focused on patent strategy.

So…

I’ve recently created a brand new community for innovative business owners and technology entrepreneurs developing new products, software, or processes.

This is a platform where I and our community members will share the best strategies that we use to get better patents and make the most out of our investment into intellectual property protection.

If you’re just getting started with patents and want to learn, this is the perfect place to do it! If you have experience with patents, please join the community and give some of your knowledge back to those who need it!

You’ll get regular live training sessions, exclusive resources, and access to other business owners and entrepreneurs like yourself to mastermind with, learn from, help out, and protect your businesses together!

Since this is a new group, the first few people to join will have a greater impact in shaping the community so that it can become exactly what you need and want. Don’t be shy: join us and contribute to the conversation!

Join the discussion here: https://theiplink.com/group/

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Vaccinate Your Business Against Your Competition with a Patent 🦠

Moderna polynucleotide primary mRNA construct

I got my second vaccine dose this week and ended up getting pretty sick for a day or so. As I was laying in bed recovering (wondering how I would get around to writing my weekly patent post), it crossed my mind that the vaccine is actually a great analogy for patent protection.

It takes time to book an appointment, go to the pharmacy, and get your shot. And there is the cost associated with the fact that you may react with various symptoms that could last a day or two.

It also takes time and effort to prepare for a good patent application, and it is going to cost a fair bit initially to complete the preparation, draft, and file the application.

The vaccine protects you against COVID-19 and the patent protects you against your competition!

On the other hand, if you don’t get the vaccine, you could be facing a far more serious situation. There is a significant risk of getting COVID-19, and potentially even dying from it.

Similarly for innovative businesses that depend on their technology for their competitive advantage, if you don’t get a patent application it could cause serious issues. Your competition may create a similar product and run you out of the market, or even put you out of business.

If your business is innovative, get your vaccine against your competition by pursuing a patent!

PS: If you’re wondering about the image, it’s a polynucleotide primary mRNA construct from one of Moderna’s patents related to the COVID-19 vaccine.

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Worried About Wasting Your Funding on Legal Costs? 💸

Patents can be very valuable to a business (for certain businesses or in certain cases, they are absolutely necessary for success), but they can also be a complete waste of A LOT of money.

The only way to make sure you aren’t wasting your money on patent protection is by getting the help you need to understand how patents work from a business perspective (not just a legal perspective). How will a patent impact your business, positively and negatively? What products or aspects of your products should your business file a patent on specifically?

Once you understand the business side of patents and how they might fit in with your specific technology and plan, you will be in a far better position to make the right decisions and to optimize your investment into patent protection.

If you’re considering a patent, make the most out of your effort and budget by learning and preparing before going to a lawyer.

If you need help with this, we have a program with over 5 hours of training videos (among many other materials) and I’m prepared to personally coach you through every step of the way. Just get in touch!

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The Truth About Software Patents 👩‍💻

Is Software Patentable?

I keep hearing people say “software isn’t patentable”.

If you don’t consider software to be patentable, I would suggest you look more closely at Amazon’s 34,268 patents, Facebook’s 31,314 patents, or even Twitter or Netflix’s thousands of patents.

Amazon one-click

You may have heard of Amazon’s “One Click” patent, in particular. This patent prevented Amazon’s competitors from allowing their customers to buy a product with only one click.

There are clearly a few misconceptions around this.

Processes are certainly patentable, and what is software if not a process encoded into a computer?

If you are thinking, well that’s just the large, well established, tech companies, then I would argue with you on that end too. Although the majority of startups don’t have patents, there are many that do, and they get more funding. There is research that shows “start-ups that filed at least one patent prior to applying for VC funding obtained a 51.7% higher amount of VC funding than did start-ups that did not file.”

That’s not to say that ALL software companies should be filing patents. Just like with any business it is important to determine 1) whether or not patents make sense for your business, and 2) whether or not you have developed (or are developing) a patentable product. These are not easy questions to answer, especially when it comes to software, but The IP Link is here to help!

After getting the right help, if you do end up determining that you will move forward with filing a patent on your software, there are a couple legal subtleties around how software patents should be written to ensure they have the best chance of being accepted by the patent office. It is important to include certain language in software patents that might not be needed in other types of patents. But this should not be taken to mean that software isn’t patentable outright.

When it comes to software, there may also be some confusion over the difference between copyright and patent. Copyright may slightly reduce the likelihood that a competitor (or disgruntled employee) copies and pastes your code and uses it as their own. On the other hand, copyright has no power to stop another party from creating your exact app or software themselves from scratch once they see how it’s done and how successful your product is in the market. They can’t use screenshots of your media, but they can create their own.

Patents are a far stronger form of protection that may enable you to prevent competitors from using the idea behind what your software does and how it works, not just the specific code.

So if you’ve dismissed software as “unpatentable”, I would highly suggest you consider it more closely. Watch the video below for more info and book a call with me here to get started with a proper review of your patent opportunity: https://theiplink.com/book/

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Confused About Whether or Not to Get a Patent? 🤷‍♀️

Has anyone told you that you absolutely need a patent to move forward in your business? Has anyone told you not to get a patent because it’s a waste of time and money? These are not rhetorical questions, I really want to know. Please leave a comment below with any patent-or-not advice you’ve heard!

If you’re an innovative business or a tech startup, there are two things you should be considered closely in order to determine whether or not you should file a patent application.

The first is determining whether or not a patent would even make sense for your business.

You’re right to be skeptical about patents given the high cost. This is all the more reason to figure it out properly. You might have not previously thought about all the benefits and costs, much less calculated them out carefully and weighed them. The IP Link has a program called “Strategize” that gives you the expertise you need to be intentional about your goals for filing a patent, objective about the downside, and confident in your decision to pursue patent protection or not.

The second thing you should consider is whether or not the patent office will accept your application or reject it once they finally get around to reviewing it. If your application does not meet the criteria for patentability, it will likely be rejected.

For example, anyone anywhere in the world has publicly disclosed a technology or product similar to yours, then your patent could be rejected. Unfortunately, you won’t find out officially whether you meet their criteria until 2-4 years into the process and $50,000 – $150,000 invested. It would be very unfortunate to be rejected after spending that kind of time and money.

If you want to learn more about our business focussed alternative approach to the patent process, join our newsletter and gain access to our free patent training webinar at:

https://theiplink.com/patent/

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Inaction Is Not Indecision

If you don’t take steps toward developing and executing an IP strategy that suits your business, you have decided not to protect your IP, whether you intended to or not.

This may be the right decision (made for the wrong reasons), but it’s more likely the wrong decision.

Why leave it up to chance?

Ensure you’re putting conscious thought toward this decision and that you’re making it for the right reasons! If you’re not sure how to decide or what these reasons might be, send me a message – I’m always happy to answer IP and patent questions.

Note, you should be considering protecting your IP early in the development of your product. At least a month or two before you launch or publicly release your product. If you miss this, you will likely lose the ability to file a patent in most countries.

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Navigate Conflicting Advice with a Deeper Understanding of IP 🤔

Conflicting patent advice!?

Have you received conflicting advice from advisors or even multiple patent lawyers about how to move forward with protecting your product?

If so, you’ve gotta watch this video I recorded about dealing with such a situation!

I had a call with an entrepreneur last week and they told me they had heard conflicting advice from different advisors and even a few patent lawyers about whether or not they should file a patent application and how they should best proceed.

Certain elements within your startup or small business are important enough that you, as the founder or CEO, need to understand them fully in order to make the right decisions and avoid costly mistakes. Patent protection is one such element.

You just don’t know what you don’t know.

You are the expert on your business. How much better would your strategy be if you understood the factors and logic behind whether or not to file a patent application?

Given the eventual investment that might go into one or more patent applications, and given the potential upside, would you rather gain that expertise yourself or take a chance on picking between the conflicting advice of expensive legal professionals?

Rather than just outsourcing patent decisions and strategy to your lawyer, join The IP Link’s Product Protection Playbook program and finally gain the understanding you need to make the right decisions on how to optimize your IP so that it benefits your business.

Learn more here: https://theiplink.com/patent-playbook/