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  • Startups’ New Creed: Patent First, Prototype Later

Startups’ New Creed: Patent First, Prototype Later

The Schox method revolves around teaching startups to view intellectual property as a weapon. How might a rival get around those patents? What features might they think of? Schox often asks engineers who haven’t even built their first prototype to conceptualize unusual extensions of the technology, so that these ideas can be protected just in case. It’s well worth the trouble. Schox says the going rate for a hot patent now is about $1 million.

With the new patent law coming into effect in 2013 (first to file replaces first to invent), patenting first will become even more important. It will be hard for the independent inventor – even for most universities who outsource their patent filings – to submit the number of patents they really should be submitting. In my experience most technology commercialization offices still want a viable path to license in a few years to even consider paying for a patent application. But now, you really should be patenting everything.

Bloomberg, 8/9/12
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