Best Bang for the Budget
--Comments by Marty
We at Stoneman Law Patent Group are frequently requested to go into a little more detail about one of our taglines - "Best Bang for the Budget". Since our firm typically operates on a job basis, typically on a fixed price contract with no hourly billing, our fixed-price is based entirely on the scope of the work to be done. Thus, if a client lets us know the amount of any fixed budget the client has, or gives us a budget range, then, considering the specific client goals, we may use our intellectual property expertise to advise/propose a scope of work within the client's budget.
Typically, using expert advice, for example, even for a budget close to zero, our clients may be able to do a lot more at that budget than without expert advice. This is true also for moderate budget ceilings and even high budget ceilings. Using your knowledge along with ours, we can fine-tune a scope of work that has no fat and will best help the client toward the client's goals within the client's budget.
If you or your referrals want to know how "Best Bang for the Budget" works in a particular situation, please call us for a no-charge chat.
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 Intellectual Property News
PATENTS: COMMON MISTAKES
INVENTORS MAKE
- Mistake: Not recognizing that innovative technology is potentially patentable
- FACT: Many businesses don't realize that their innovative processes, software, etc., are potentially patentable. Patents are available for many types of innovation, not just mechanical devices.
- Mistake: Thinking that your competitors can't patent your trade secrets
- FACT: If your competitors independently develop the same innovations as your trade secrets, those competitors could patent the innovations which might prevent you from using your trade secrets.
- Mistake: Believing that patents don't provide value
- FACT: Patents can provide additional revenue streams from licensing. Patents can also be used to maintain a monopoly and hinder competition. Some innovative solutions your business has developed may have applications in other industries and fields (which could result in licensing income from non-competitors). Patents can also be leveraged in cross-licensing agreements to allow your business the use of others' patented innovations.
- Mistake: Not knowing that intellectual property is time sensitive
- FACT: Innovations and methods can become public domain (and be rendered unpatentable) if patent applications aren't filed in time. Disclosure, advertisement, use, or sale, etc., of an innovative product or process before filing a patent application may result in the loss of international and/or United States intellectual property rights.
- Mistake: Thinking that all patents are created equal ("A patent is a patent is a patent...")
- FACT: The strength or weakness of a patent depends on several factors, such as the language chosen to enable and claim the innovation. A well-written patent is more likely to provide broader protection and less likely to be invalidated by litigation.
- Mistake: Believing non-disclosure agreements alone can protect intellectual property
- FACT: Non-disclosure agreements do not provide licensing rights, do not establish a priority date for overcoming prior art, and do not protect against independent development by others. It may also be difficult to establish when and if non-disclosure agreements are breached, since use of independent innovations cannot be prevented.
- Mistake: Thinking patent costs are hard to predict or budget
- FACT: Stoneman Law Patent Group provides competitive fixed fees, quoted in advance, so that businesses may make decisions and budget predictably. Our office can help with intellectual property strategies to fit any budget.
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Patent Payoffs
Why Your Patent Portfolio Might Benefit from the Patent Prosecution Highway
As of this writing, the USPTO has a backlog of more than 700,000 unexamined patent applications and estimates its average first response at almost two and a half years from date of filing. While a long waiting period has advantages for many of our clients, some clients may benefit by routing their patent application to a faster track in the USPTO. Qualifying clients may be interested in some relatively new programs that are being implemented by the USPTO as part of an international cooperative program known as the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).
The value of the PPH depends largely on your organization's business goals and patent portfolio. Generally speaking, this program may speed up the prosecution of a patent where a foreign patent office has already completed its own prosecution of the application. The USPTO has also recently included examination fast-tracking for some applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PPH is not available or desirable for all patent applications, as it shares its own set of risks and rewards, and eligibility must be determined on a case-by-case basis.
If this new opportunity interests you and you would like our help in determining whether your patent application is eligible, please give us a call to schedule a review with one of our professionals.
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Patent Tidbits
Water-Handling Patents More than 100 Years Old
What would we do without water heaters and faucets? Modern versions of both of these inventions may be found in almost every household in the U.S.
Water Heater patent
Faucet patent
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