Patent Law Practice Center

Getting to a patent as fast as possible

Patent attorney Russ Krajec is the CEO and founder of BlueIron, a patent-financing company. Krajec is an angel investor, a registered patent attorney, a former Chief Operating Officer of a venture-backed startup company, and an inventor on more than 30 US patents and applications. Russ started BlueIron because he was frustrated with what he perceives to be a conflict of interest between clients, particularly startups, and patent attorneys.

Every patent attorney knows the problems. We know what the client really should be doing, but the client either doesn’t want to pay for the proper solutions, or cannot afford the proper representation. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just do what is in the best interest of building the best, strongest patent portfolio possible without having to justify every dime to the client? Enter BlueIron. If you are a startup company and you have patentable technology, rather than calling an angel, you might want to consider calling Krajec, who offers free legal work in exchange for the rights to the patent which he then licenses back to the inventors. The inventors also retain an option to purchase the patent back at any time. The model is much cheaper than angel or VC financing.

(more…)

What every startup needs to hear about patents

Fatih Ozluturk is a prolific inventor, with 186 issued patents and 181 pending patent applications. His inventions have been licensed to every major cellular company, and have generated over $1 billion in licensing revenue. Today, Ozluturk is a Principal of the Soryn IP Group, and also Director of Patent Strategy at Liquid Patent Consulting. He is also an entrepreneur and an angel investor, he teaches workshops in the NYC startup community, and he is the author of the book “Patents. Simplified.”

I spoke with Ozluturk on the record in a lengthy interview that really should be required reading for anyone who is contemplating starting a software-based tech company. We discussed the importance of at least filing a provisional patent application even if you are not sure you want to get a patent, and we also talked about how easy it is to write software but how extremely difficult it is to write useful software. (more…)

Invention to Patent: The Pitfalls, Perils and Process

The following was written by Gene Quinn, of IPWatchdog and Practice Center Contributor.

So you have an idea and want to get a patent? There are a number of things that you need to know about the invention and patent process that can help you focus your efforts and know what obstacles lay in front of you.

The first thing to know is that you cannot patent an idea. Many people will have great ideas, but will not be able to put that idea into a package appropriate for a patent because there is no invention, only a concept. To be sure, the idea is the all critical first step in the invention process. After you come up with the idea or concept you now need to put together a game plan on how to carry that idea through. The idea and game plan together form what the law calls conception. Conception is an important concept in patent law because in the United States it is the first person to invent that CAN ultimately receive the exclusive rights on an invention. (more…)

PTO to Effectively Extend Provisional Applications to 24 Months

The following was written by Gene Quinn, of IPWatchdog and Practice Center Contributor.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office will soon unveil a pilot program that is aimed at trying to provide inventors with some additional options with respect to moving from a filed provisional patent application to a nonprovisional patent application. USPTO Director David Kappos wrote about this in the November edition of Inventors Eye, see Providing Inventors More Time and Options. In some circles this pilot program has at times been characterized as providing for an extension of a provisional patent application to allow it to remain pending for twenty-four (24) months.  That is not technically an accurate way to articulate what the new pilot program will do, and for those who might want to avail themselves of the soon to be announced pilot program it is worth getting a handle on some of the finer details of the proposal. The effect could look like an extension of a provisional patent application, but there are special steps that must be followed.

The Kappos Administration at the Patent Office has been criticized in some circles for even pursuing this path because it is too complicated, but such criticism smacks of a healthy dose of condescension if you ask me.  It seems far too paternalistic to believe that inventors and small businesses are not savvy enough to figure out what they want and what they need.  After all, the idea of attempting to extend the effective life of a provisional patent application was proposed to Director Kappos by an inventor.   (more…)