Do Patents add Economic Moat

While most of the start ups are busy devising a firm patent portfolio, have you realized how a potent patent portfolio can add the maximum economic moat to your start up business. For those who aren’t aware of the term:  “Economic moat” refers to competitive advantage of a business over others.  Angels and VCs are likely to invest in the business showing wide economic moat.  Keeping this in mind, a start up entrepreneur can add substantial economic moat by attaining IP rights conferred by Patents, Trademarks , Copyrights and Designs.

 The early stage start ups find it difficult with limited budget to accommodate for attorney’s fee, filing fee, responding to office actions and this could deter many young entrepreneurs from building a potent IP portfolio in the nascent stages. But trust me, if you manage to pass this stage, you won’t regret later. The economic benefit that a well constructed IP portfolio confers is far more than the initial investment. For a start up it is imperative to gain competitive advantage after bringing the idea to the market. A well constructed IP portfolio enables a start up to validate and position their idea considerably, thus, adding an adequate economic moat to the business. All in all, it’s the survival of the fittest and if you wish your start up to prosper, add the right mix of nutrients! 

( Image courtesy here)

Devising a potent Patent Strategy

A well formulated Patent portfolio is the soul of any business venture, typically when you are dealing with high throughput technologies.  While it is obvious that the big players are diligently working to enhance their patent portfolio but on the other hand start ups have geared up to have an active eye on their building patent portfolio. Nobody wants to lose the game and the very fact has led to drafting of broader and enhanced patent claims with a scope for future claims expansion during patent prosecutions.

 Patent landscaping is one crucial factor that has contributed in strengthening the existing patent portfolio. Landscaping gives a clear indication of the technology area to focus upon, analyzing the geography of markets of interest, identifying the competitors and their area of practice and formulating core business and R&D strategies.

 Businesses have to carry out a robust IP due diligence search before foraying into the red ocean. While, entering a red ocean has its own merits and demerits, but stringent competition obviously will lead to a race in acquiring the most diverse patent portfolio. The more diverse your IP portfolio is, the stronger is your business reputation.  On the other hand, if your technology is foraying into the blue ocean, you certainly have an advantage of undisputed marketplace but this does not neglect the fact that such a situation could possibly lead to an ample number of episodes of “Designing around”. In both circumstances, you need a practical and effective patent strategy to survive.

In a nutshell, a potent patent strategy will be motley of various factors discussed above but the very fact of implementing it is a challenge. Many businesses worldwide have overcome this challenge and created a robust IP portfolio for their ventures. Devising a potent patent strategy will definitely win you many accolades in the near future. Thus, give your business a boost and adopt a pragmatic IP strategy and reap the future benefits. 

( Image by Claudia Meyer)

UN witness a handsome hike in IP fee

Since the time Intellectual Property has been in the global focus, there have been many speculations and constant discussions on the monetary value attached to IP related works. It is a  great piece of news that this year WIPO witnessed a boom in the global royalty and business licensing fee which estimates to about $180 billion a year, a whopping 60 fold increase from $2.8 billion a year in 1970.

While France, Germany, Japan, Britain and the United States have been the major contributors for the global R&D and patent applications filed with the WIPO but China seems to be a fair player emerging in the global market with a share of  12.8 percent R&D. Thus it is obvious that the Innovation curve has shifted to China and we will be expecting more global innovation and research from them.

The current data reveals one prominent factor. The importance of global technology and knowledge based IP at its best. Thereby, the monetization associated with Intellectual Property is reaping great benefits and will continue to do so in future as well. So readers keep a track !

(Image by Steven Goodwin)

Patfrigate IP solutions at a glance

Spectrum of Intellectual Property rights blog takes this opportunity to convey our readers that we are the official blog courtesy of  Patfrigate IP solutions. Patfrigate offers an entire gamut of strategic IP services to enable global clients formulate an effective IP culture and IP management protocols. A wide range of solutions like Patent & Trademark services, IP audits and asset management, IP licensing consultations, IP strategies for start-ups and SME’s are the highlights of Patfrigate IP solutions.Our consultations give high priority to your concerned IP and develop extensive and reliable framework for cost effective IP management.

For more information and request for quotes, you may email us at contact@patfrigate.com or access us : here

IPO publishes discussion paper on Intellectual Property rights

Indian Patent office currently published another discussion paper on Intellectual Property rights reviewing the organizational structure of  Controller General of Patents, Designs, Trademarks and Geographical Indications. The discussion paper highlights operational issues, statistics of patents and trademarks, designs applications filed, organizational structure of various International patent offices including USPTO, Japan, UK patent office, German Patent office, Australia Patent and Trademark office and Malaysian Intellectual Property office.  Readers can find  a set of questions on Issues of consideration which includes establishment of independent Trademark and GI registry, legal changes required for reorganization of office of CGPTDM, ideal model , measures for improvement in the examination applications, etc. you may access the paper here.

 

(Image by Eduardo Santos)

WIPO approaches Audiovisual Performance protection

A recent move of WIPO has been towards protecting Performers Rights in audiovisual performances. The diplomatic conference on the “Performers Rights in Audiovisual Performances” will be convoked in Geneva in the year 2012 .The International treaty will be finalized then. This is congratulatory news for the artists and performers across the globe. The international copyright fraternity will be glad to hear such a beneficial decision which will enable artists and performers to have a legitimate control on the showcase of their audiovisual performances internationally.

 There has been a constant debate on the protection of Performers rights in the digital media, although some countries have laws incorporated which give due consideration to performers rights. The finalization of this treaty will pave the way for performers and artists to prevent unauthorized showcase of their performances internationally in the audiovisual media. There are certain conventions which impart significant  importance to performers, broadcasters and sound recordists like the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations(1961) and WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty (1996). At last, we welcome this essential decision and certainly it will add more strength to the global community of artists.

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This is a "Sweet Patent"!

Well, I have covered many IP topics, Patents and Trademarks. But this one for sure is the “Sweetest Patent” to be issued. The applicant for this patent is “Sweetfields Inc.”, a family owned business, located in Southern California and deals with Crystallized edible flowers or Candied edible flowers. It is reported that USPTO will issue Sweetfields Inc. , a patent for the invention resulting in edible or non edible , non-perishable , flower derived food items which will possess improved durability, aesthetics, scent and flavor.

The patent is expected to be issued on Oct 4, 2011. You may access the patent application here.While the art of crystallizing flowers isn't novel and has been practiced by many others in the business for ages but it is reported that Sweetfields's invention will aim at improving the overall shelf life of the edible crystallized flowers and the method devised will introduce scalable process for mass production of such candied flowers.

The grant of this particular patent will definitely boost Sweetfields market growth and will bring more business to the company in the near future. All in all , it's a sweet patent, isn't! 

( Image by Rafal P.)