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Freedom to Use
Get More out of ROTH
Leverage your Trade Show Visit
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 Newsletter - April 2011
  This newsletter is for the benefit of: our customers both current and past, our workers , board members and friends including those of you we haven't talked to recently. Please feel free to forward to others who might be interested in our activities

Freedom to Use

Just because you patented it doesn't mean you can practice it.

 

 

In the presentation Tracy Jong and I made on April 19 we discussed 5 common mistakes that inventors make regarding their patents.  Number 1 on the list was this one.  Not establishing "Freedom to Use".  You spent a lot of time and money coming up with your invention and more getting it patented.  Surely you can now go ahead and practice it without opposition?

 

Maybe not--  A patent gives you the right to exclude others from making your invention, not necessarily allowing you to practice it yourself.  For example there may be other hurdles you must leap.   If you have invented a new drug or medical device you may need FDA approval.   If you have invented a device with military or security implications, the government may classify it an prevent you from marketing it.

 

But these barriers are usually visible to the inventor.  What may not be visible is that your invention may be an improvement on someone elses patented invention. 

Then you can't use your invention without the other inventors permission to use there's.

 

If you invent the first Green widget.  You can prevent others from making it.   But if the general class of Widgets was patented by someone else, you will need a license from them.

 

Suppose they were making red wigets and their patent is sufficiently broad to cover widgets in general but made no mention of color. 

 

A Freedom to use patent search can uncover these land mines before you step on one of them.  Then you can find a way around them or negotiate a license with the patent holder.  Often these are old patent that will expire soon anyway. 

 

Checkout AlaCarte Patents to learn more

 

 

 

 

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Leveraging your ROTH score

 

We have had a large number of clients fill in our ROTH valuation tables.  ROTH returns a score which is a relative measure of the degree of development of the invention and hence is correlated with its value.  However there is lots more that one can get from a ROTH than simply a number between 0 and 100.   If your ROTH score is less than perfect the questions will show you where you need to improve.  Many of our clients score in the 50-60 point range, which is just short of being ready for market. 

 Often what is needed to raise that score into the 80's doesn't require that much money or effort.   Often the lower ROTH simply reflects tasks not yet done.  For example moving from drawings to a prototype increases your score.   Filing a patent application raises your score.  And identifying a market channel raises the score. All these are things you will need to do to make your invention ready for market and they will also increase its attractiveness to investors. 

 In some cases the strict interpretation of the ROTH needs to be modified.  For example question 6 will give a low score if your medical product needs a high level of FDA approval since FDA approval is often a long costly process.  However, if you have achieved FDA approval , its quite proper to assign the higher score that would be given if that FDA barrier had not been present.  In fact FDA approval is so important in medical products that if we had a separate ROTH for medical items we would have given it a higher weight than other questions.  At present all ROTH questions are rated equally so that the table can be used for all kinds of inventions.

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Rochester Penguin Group

Making the most of your Trade Show Visit
  
Penguin's Trade Show followup product was designed from a  manual process that Penguin President, Ruth Balkin had used for many years.   Ruth is a trade-show junkie.  She prepares well in advance for the shows that she attends and follows-up thoroughly when she gets back.   Here's some advice from her presentation.  We have posted it to the Penguin web site and linked it here.Get organized.
  • Don't get discouraged.
  • It's never too late to follow-up.

Ruth belives in  making careful preparations before you attend the tradeshow and then in following up with the leads you develop thereafter.   She collects this information with various software tools into databases that she uses to keep in touch with prospects.

We designed Penguin's TSF product to do the things that Ruth does for customers who don't have the time or inclination copy her example and follow up with every customer.   If you come back from your tradeshow with a pocket full of business cards, most of which end up in a drawer,  you are throwing potential business away.   Let TSF help you capture those sales that you would otherwise loose.  The TSF link leads you to our brochure.  Just click on the right file to download or view.

 
We appreciate your responses to our newsletters.  Please send us your comments.  We are always interested in what you want to know.
 
Sincerely,
 

Richard Blazey
Business Metamorphosis LLC

Referrals Welcome 

We are never too busy for your referrals.  If you know someone who could benefit from any of our services, please introduce them to us by phone or by email.  It will be much appreciated.