By: Stephen Key
Conflict exists between the interests of inventors and patent attorneys who are tasked with protecting their inventions.
Inventing and commercializing a new product is extremely challenging, period. Obstacles abound. You have to be committed, dedicated and full of passion. Even then, you’ll still probably fail. That’s the nature of entrepreneurship. To become a successful inventor, you must learn from your mistakes and keep getting up to bat.
In my experience, many inventors are blind to this reality. I can relate. I remember feeling so determined to make my invention happen, I refused to listen to anyone else. This attitude is typical of inventors I’m afraid. Our inventions are so consuming, we aren’t always able to see clearly.
This is especially problematic when it comes to the patenting process. Because if you spend tens of thousands of dollars on a patent that goes nowhere, how likely — let alone able — are you to take action on your next idea?
Selling fear is easy. “If you don’t file a patent, someone else will beat you to it!”
This is very shortsighted, I feel. Providing knowledge is much more difficult, and thankless. That’s just how it is.
Intellectual property is only valuable when deployed strategically, to further a business goal. That’s a far less sexy sentiment than what I hear over and over again online, which is that having a patent will stop someone else from stealing your invention. If only it were that simple!
I’m not alone in my frustration. Michael Marra is an inventor whose firm Marra Design Associates helps inventors license their toy, game, novelty, and seasonal ideas for royalties. Over the past three decades, he has licensed more than 150 product concepts that were not patented. He holds and has held patents in several industries — all paid for by licensees.
“Inventors and the public at large have been indoctrinated, conditioned and persuaded to first ‘protect’ their new idea by securing patents,” he wrote in an email. “But patents do not provide protection! Patent infringement lawsuits can easily cost six figures — with no guarantee of recovering a single dollar nor an amount covering legal fees, let alone banking a profit.”
To interest a potential licensee or retailer, an idea must substantially raise the bar in its specific category. But in Marra’s experience, most patent attorneys do not consider this aspect of the invention, which is key to profiting commercially. Instead, research is strictly limited to making sure the idea does not infringe on other patents.
Read more >> https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenkey/2018/10/30/signs-your-patent-attorney-does-not-have-your-best-interests-in-mind/#15cc65633b0a
