Global Patent Research and Alerts | Pearson Strategy Group, LLC
Helping businesses look before they leap. - TM
Entrepreneurs have repeatedly asked this blogger for a basic timeline of the patenting process. Because such a short article cannot begin to explore all of the forks in the road (or all of the details) of the patenting process I’ve been reluctant to try and summarize the timeline. That being said, and because I could no longer leave your sincere requests un-answered, here is an ABBREVIATED TIMELINE (with times measured before and after the filing date)
In an economic environment fraught with uncertainty, many companies face intense pressures to innovate in order to capture more market share or gain new markets. In this quest for the holy grail of innovation, leaders find themselves grappling with the question of what they can do to spark innovation within their organizations. The deceivingly simple answer is: act in ways that enable rather than stifle innovation. But what does this mean? Below, I will focus on two key points, underpinned by empirical research and practical experience, relevant for leaders trying to foster innovation.
I was honored to participate in this year’s MiniTrends Conference, an exciting gathering based on exposing that sweet spot where new and established businesses can find the tools and directional choices to profit and inspire themselves and their employees. The message that making money does not require tossing out your social responsibility was uplifting and contagious. The conference attendees I met were especially eager to learn more about being successful while making a positive difference.
The following is a questionnaire filled out for the Texas Entrepreneur’s Network Blog.
You get what you pay for. Case in point: provisional patent applications (with one notable exception related to the America Invents Act (AIA)). U.S. law allows inventors to file “provisional” patent applications for a modest fee. Since the costs for provisional applications beat the costs for regular patent applications by quite a bit, many entrepreneurs speed down this fork in the road assuming that they are “protected” (more on this later) and that they can easily convert their provisional applications into regular applications before the one year deadline for doing so.
To engineers, there is a natural tendency to put off such a task until they are certain the invention works and has merit. Maximize the efficiency of an inefficient process by waiting until you are sure! Of course, developing a concept to the point of commercial viability can take a long time. It would also seem to be most efficient to bring potential customers on board to develop the concept as quickly as possible. As much sense as these strategies make to the engineer, they are poison to the patenting process.
I am eager to introduce you a growing community that I am helping shape. Strategy and Innovation – Leaders for a Competitive Edge is an exciting group with a fresh perspective. We are a collection of business professionals who focus on the intersection of strategy and innovation and how to implement within a profitable environment.
As many people can tell you, I like to talk about the importance of combining innovation and strategy to ensure long-term company growth. And I’ve learned that lesson first hand. I used to work for Motorola and, while there, bought some stock in Iridium. Iridium was a satellite phone system that could replace all of our limited coverage problems with phone service that worked anyplace on earth. Innovative and cool! My stock purchase was only $1,000 but I just knew that stock would do well. I even chose not to sell when the stock almost doubled, believing that there was still a strong upside. Instead, I held on until the astonishing drop to a nearly zero valuation.
If you are interested in the future of combined heat and power or waste heat to power technologies, I hope you come to my presentation at the upcoming Combined Heat And Power (CHP) & Waste Heat to Power (WHP) national conference. I’m proud to be on the agenda with my co-author Dan Bullock, President of cleanDG Advisors, for this forward-looking gathering Oct. 7-9 at the Crowne Plaza in Houston. Our focus will be Emerging and Potentially Disruptive Technology Trends. You won’t be surprised to learn that our presentation involves a deep dive into intellectual property to piece together a reliable picture of emerging trends for CHP and WHP interests.
What type of environment have you created for innovation within your company? Ever wonder how that compares in your industry? It is important to know how we stand when we start evaluating the competition. Compare your strategy and innovation approach to industry standards in five minutes by completing this multiple choice questionnaire. You will get a powerful, easy to assess report within seconds. Ask for more information or stay completely anonymous.
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