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Organizing your Information

Be ready to file for your patent

As  I have worked with any number of inventors over the years I have found a very large disparity in the way they provide information that is necessary for myself and ultimately the patent attorney to file a patent application.  

Most inventors, unless they already have several patents,  are not thinking about patents when they do the research that results in their invention.  They are thinking about solving a problem, not about defending the solution that they ultimately find.

One thing I tell inventors is that the patent world is backwards from the way good science is done.   In a well-structured research paper one  provides all the information in support of the conclusion.   We certainly don't document all the blind alleys and false trails we followed to get there.  However it is exactly that information that is most valuable in a patent prosecution, because it proves that the solution that arose is "not obvious".   It has been said that one of the best defenses you can have of your invention is a competitor who says in print that what you accomplished is impossible.

So step one in documenting your invention, is collecting the information in the first place.  That is why inventors are usually advised to keep a good patent notebook.   This notebook was essential  when the US used the "first to file"  system, which is now going away under the terms of the "America Invents Act".  Still the notebook is very important when writing the application even if it now doesn't need  to be shown to the patent office or a court.

I often advise inventors to look for the                                  "Novel Inventive Features "  of their inventions.  But there is a step that needs to be done before you even begin looking for those features.  Here's the process:

Take  a sheet of paper and answer the following questions-

1. What is the problem that you set out to solve with your invention and why is it important?.
2. How is that problem being solved today?
3. How did your invention solve the problem?
4. What solutions to the problem have  been proposed by others , and who are they?
5. Why is your solution better than the solutions proposed by others?
6. What are the limitations of your invention? 

If you need more  help  preparing  your invention  for patenting  or any other  patent issue check us out at www.alacartepatents.com , write us at rblazey@businessmetamorphosis.com or  give us a call at       (585) 520-3539  

Where does one find potential buyers for an invention?   This topic is a lot more difficult to answer than many inventors think.   The first choice of most people is major companies with a strong presence in the market where their invention belongs.   However, these obvious choices while highly desirable because of their usually deep pockets and large market reach are often the most difficult to convince to try something new.   Usually they have their own internal R&D activities and folks in those departments are often hostile to anything coming from the outside,  even if it has superior qualities to what they are working on.   They can always find something wrong with an invention that was "Not invented Here (NIH) ". 

 At one point Kodak's internal defenders of NIH argued vigorously that a competitors new product that was devouring the existing market for a Kodak product could never succeed because it had failed "Company Keeping Test #39".  Apparently the customers didn't care about Keeping Test #39 as they bought the competitors product and not Kodak's.

Some of the larger corporations often have departments ostensibly set up to evaluate outside inventions but actually their mission is to protect the company from inventors who might sue them at some point in the future for stealing an idea which is similar to what the company was working on internally.

In Stephen Key's book  "One Simple Idea"  he recommends avoiding both the   R&D departments and the  "Submitted Ideas Offices"  and focus on the marketing departments of large corporations.   They don't have "turf"  to protect and they can often see the potential value of an outside idea that is ready to market.  They can be your champions in  internal arguments with the forces of NIH.

Another effective approach is to target smaller companies that want to make inroads in markets that are dominated by the larger players.   They can often be persuaded to go after market niches that big companies would  feel were not worth their time and effort.

To learn more about the many different options you have for monetizing your patented invention, contact ITTr.  You can reach us via our website at www.ITTrifecta.com