Examining ideas for patentability

There is no such thing as a 'silly idea' when it comes to patents. Sometimes even a simple idea can make powerful patents if it can be placed in proper context and if properly argued given the existing prior arts.  We examine your existing ideas and product features that you may have been thinking of patenting and were wondering about their patentability. We combine a thorough research of prior art combined with our intuition/experience in dealing with USPTO in regards to our own patents to recommend which of the your ideas might be patentable and are likely to be approved by USPTO. Should you decide to go ahead on our recommendation, our research becomes the basis for the patent attorney writing the patent application and also provides ammunition in the case of any potential Request for Explanation from the US patents office.

 

Examining existing products and patents portfolio to mine for patentable ideas

We examine  your existing products and patents portfolio to look for patentable nuggets  hidden in there that you may not have known were patentable on their own. We use a combination of one or more of the following methods to arrive at a list of patentable ideas. We look at your product demos, videos, read up product documentation, research the competing products in the market, do a through contextual analysis of your patents and that of your competitors for that product, talk to the development team and possibly some of the end users. As a result of our IP investigation, we recommend a list of patentable ideas that will provide competitive distinction and will future-proof your products. Should you decide to follow up on our recommendation, we will provide support at every stage of the patent filing process until it is granted by the USPTO.

 

Defensive patents targeting one or more current or potential competitors

We help you build an aggressive defensive patent portfolio in response to one or more current or potential Intellectual Property threat. It may be that a competitor or a partner is encroaching on your product turf or is building patents portfolio that will hinder the future development of your own products. For instance, how would you deal with the fact that some of the most promising features of your upcoming releases in the next couple years are now part of patents of a competitor or partner? How would you get IP leverage for cross-licensing? How can you deter them from replicating the most coveted features of your products ifthey own the patents for those features?

 

The terminology in the IP world for such scenarios is defensive patenting. You create a patent portfolio not to go after and sue your competitors but to deter any competitor from suing you. If a competitor or partner owns patents for features of your products, you use defensive patenting to force a cross-licensing deal on your terms. In defensive patenting, you not only file patents for your own products, features, and ideas but also on that of your competitors' even if you never intend to actually build such products or features!

 

We study your competitors' product and patent portfolio in a particular area to look for patentable ideas that have not already been patented. Further, based on our investigation and on our own expertise of extrapolating what exists in coming up with new ideas, we predict some of the compelling features in the future product roadmap of your competitors. And we recommend a list of patentable ideas that if patented, will not only keep your competitors from suing (in fear of non-defensible counter-litigation) you but will also persuade them to cross license on your terms.

 

Strategic patents in collaboration with your business development and marketing teams

We work with your business development and marketing teams to identify strategic areas that need IP protection - it could be either existing products, or future roadmap of existing products, or even products that are still in the early conception stage. We not only help you identify the possible patentable pieces but also suggest innovative product features that may not be on your roadmap but those that are patentable and will add competitive distinction to your product line. We do all the necessary research on existing and pending patents in the area, both yours as well as your competitors', to ensure that our recommendations have a very high chance of being accepted by the USTPO.

 

Working with patent attorneys to draft a strong patent application

Once we have mutually agreed on a list of patentable recommendations, those ideas need to go through patent attorneys for drafting the appropriate patent applications. We work with your corporate/patent attorneys, or if you prefer, we will recommend one or more of our patent law firm partners with whom we have worked closely for several years in drafting a large number successful of patent applications. We prepare a short write-up on each patentable idea followed by one or more interview sessions with the patent application drafting attorney. We review the draft application for accuracy, argumentation, and other details and send back our comments to the attorney for another iteration. This back and forth iteration continues until we are satisfied that the patent application meets or exceeds our unusually high standards. Once we sign off on the application, we assign the application to your company and the application is filed by the drafting attorney.

 

Answering any RFEs on the patent applications approved by us

A patent application becomes public information (that is, it can be accessed by anybody from the USPTO website) in about 18 months after submission. Thereafter, it can another 4 years or more for the patent to be formally approved by the USPTO and grant it to your company.

 

During this time, the USPTO may send one or more notice of actions and request for explanations (RFEs) that are questions from the patent examiner at the USPTO assigned to this patent application. We work with the attorney who had drafted the original application to prepare strong rebuttals and formal arguments - both technical and legal  - on why our application should be accepted by the USPTO.  We provide this support until the application is accepted and granted to your company.

 

If the USPTO provisionally rejects the application (very rare with our applications), we work with the drafting attorney to appeal the decision and prepare convincing arguments to support our appeal.

 

Exploring rebuttals in case of existing or future IP litigation - expert opinion to your attorneys

If your company is involved in any IP litigation, we provide expert technical opinion to your patent attorneys. We review the patents involved in the case as well as review any related patents in the field and work with your attorneys to prepare rebuttals or supporting arguments. We have done this several times in the past with results that have significantly altered the course of the litigation.

 

Patent process training

We provide training to your employees on the patent process - right from the brainstorming stage, to spotting novelty, to coming up with new ideas, to doing background research, to interviews with attorneys and drafting applications, to answering RFEs, etc. until the final stage of a patent applications life cycle.  This interactive training session increases the awareness among your employees about what can be patented and what not, how to come with patentable ideas in whatever they are working on , how to proceed on a patent idea. We will incorporate any company specific patent process that you may have in-house as part of our training.

 

Facilitating brainstorming sessions

Our brainstorming sessions are very effective in producing immediate results. Your employees not only walk away with their innovation and creative switches turned on but you get a whole list of patentable ideas that your own employees have come up with during the training session! We facilitate and maneuver the session to suit the interests and abilities of the attendees. We seed the session with ideas and teach by example how random thoughts and ideas combine and get refined to emerge as a patentable idea. The inventors for these ideas are your own employees and you are free to file them using your own or our attorneys.