Patent Kinetics, LLC

CES 2012: Thoughts On The Way Home

There's a ZDNet post by Jason Perlow suggesting that the show has 3 years to live given that APPL doesn't participate and that MSFT has withdrawn starting next year. May be correct despite this year's apparent high energy and positive tone. It seems like a lot of "also rans" chasing market share of the remainder after Apple has gobbled up smartphones, tablets, etc.

The 3D printers from MakerBot and Cubify and the 3D printing service from Sculpteo were very interesting. Hard to tell whether this will be a "great idea" with limited markets or whether the vendors can do the right marketing to grow revenue sufficiently to sustain each of these companies.

For inventors working on ideas that have physical instantiations, 3D printing may help decrease the time to from initial conceptualization to the first reduction to practice to working physical prototype to licensing. Inventors organizations,garage works, and selected startups may want to consider having a 3D printer demo day if the vendors will cooperate.

The OLED TV screens (Samsung, LG) are superduper: vivid colors, very bright, very thin, very expensive although the prices will come down as manufacturing gets down the learning curve. Living room integration and home control integration have made incremental progress since last year, but no big "Ah Has". More floor space to digital health gizmos and applications. Auto / Entertainment integration continues incrementally in both the new car and aftermarket products. The distraction factor remains a concern.

There were all too numerous small companies trying to get design wins for their component products. Hope springs eternal, I guess. Then there were the also all too numerous companies displaing add-ons to Apple products.Substantially fewer--although more than last year--were displaying Android phone and tablet add-ons.

 

A Succinct Summary of the 2011 Patent Reform Act.

Yesterday the Senate passed without amendment the Leahy Smith America Invents Act, H.R. 1249 which will become law when signed by President Obama. This bill brings numerous changes, larger and small. A useful summary posted on  the Pharma Patents blog (at Foley & Lardner) can be found here.

Inventors Alliance Meeting Presentation: Common Patent Mistakes

On saturday morning, July 23rd, I gave a presentation to the Bay Area Chapter of the Inventors Alliance on Common Patent Mistakes That Waste Inventors' Time and Money.  The presentation can be downloaded here in PDF format.

The main points include:

• It’s possible to keep costs manageable and work with a registered patent attorney

• Discipline, patience, and diligence are required

• The two most important value killers are:

(1) not searching the prior art, and
(2) poor claim language

• Ego and greed frequently get in the way

• Small teams nearly always improve the outcome

• Bring a sense of humor and have fun

 

Getting the Most Value From Your Patent Claims

Heather J. DiPietrantonio and Edmund J. Walsh at Wolf Greenfield & Sachs have published an article on claim language that is both informative and useful. They relate this cautionary tale:

10 Common Mistakes That Detract From Patent Value

Creating a patent portfolio is time consuming and ultimately expensive. For a single US patent, some estimate that it may take on average $30K to create a patent specification and as much as another $20K for patent prosecution and maintenance fees over the lifetime of the patent. Yet it has been estimated that only 7% to 10% of US patents ever provide a monetary return to their owners.¹

In evaluating patents for sale or enforcement, I frequently encounter a wide range of mistakes that detract from patent value. Here are some of the most significant errors and what might be done to avoid them.

  (1) Being one’s own patent attorney:

An inventor does not have to hire a patent attorney to file an application at the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Especially in these difficult economic times, the incentive to go it alone may be irresistible. If possible, resist that urge.  There are so many rules and risks involved that will not be apparent at first blush, and even if you convince the PTO to give you a patent, you could find out years later that it is not worth the paper on which it is printed.

Building "Super Patent Portfolios" Article In MHT Including Sidebar

Mass High Tech published my article, "The reasons for building 'super patent' portfolios" in their April 18th edition. Some ideas from the article:

One approach that has gained some traction recently is that of a "super patent," a "portfolio of portfolios" with a common theme or focus area. Thematic examples include wireless communications, RFIDs, microprocessors, memory chips, bar codes and computer security.

Among the many benefits provided by such a high-volume, broad portfolio approach is a strong defense against competitors armed with their own patents. Super-patent portfolios are likely to deter litigation because of "mutually assured destruction," to borrow a Cold War concept. Conversely, broad portfolios increase the incentives for cross-licensing and co-existence among competitors in similar markets.

Weber's Presentation from Dec ENet Meeting - update

Robert Weber, Managing Director of Patent Kinetics, LLC, was among the featured speakers at the December 4, 2007 meeting  of the IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs' Network. The topic for the meeting is Protecting & Leveraging Intellectual Property. Weber's presentation focused on, "What Every CEO Needs To Know About the Value of Patents." An expanded version can be downloaded here (PDF).

Others on the panel included Brian Moriarty, a litigator at Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds and long-time licensing professional Joe Cote. The session was moderated by Scott Southworth, an independent intellectual property attorney. Meeting details can be found on the ENet website here. All the presentations can be downloaded from the ENet archive page.

Time Magazine's Best Inventions of The Year

Time has published it list of the best inventions of 2007. Innovations perhaps. But as Paul Saffo (among others) has pointed out, commercialization often takes decades from invention to market presence. Times list of Best Inventors begins here (with Archimedes).

Do Unused Patents Have Value?

The Boston Business Journal has published my article on the value of unused patents.