One of the most important and least understood hats a patent agent must wear is that of businessperson. All of the training associated with becoming a patent agent or attorney focuses on the mechanics of writing patents, getting the patents issued, problems that come up in litigation that effect how patent are written and prosecuted, but little is taught about the business implications of patents.

Rather than writing a patent for the patent’s sake, the cost, expense, and time devoted to a patent must have a business reason behind it. Is the result of many thousand dollars and several years required to get a patent justified in the end? How valuable will the patent be when it is issued?

These questions require that the patent agent understand the client’s business and not only the mechanics of the litigation processes. How are patents used within the particular industry? What are the client’s short term and long term business goals? How is the industry going to grow? How could the industry change and when? Who are the competitors? Who are the potential licensees?

All these questions can help the patent agent draft an application that addresses the company’s business. For example, if a competitor is expected to go in a particular direction, the patent specification and claims may be drafted with an eye to protecting the client with respect to that competitor as well as other competitors.

If these questions are not asked and these issues discussed, the client may get a patent that misses an important feature or emphasizes the wrong aspect of the invention. This can severely limit the patent’s effectiveness.

I am both a patent agent and an entrepreneur. I took the Patent Bar Exam so that I could invent and license my own technology. I attend several tradeshows a year looking for products to invent and companies to license. My interest in patents is that of an entrepreneur as well as an inventor.

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For a topical sample of my work, click here.
For a complete review of my published patents and applications, click here.