What are dumb patent mistakes you can avoid?
Getting a patent can be a long and expensive endeavor. If you are going to invest in this costly process, it helps to know what you are getting yourself into and how to minimize costly mistakes. The point of this article is not to bash folks since we’ve all had our share of mistakes. The goal here is to help you avoid making patent mistakes.
Need to get the right patents? Contact US patent attorney Vic Lin at vlin@icaplaw.com to explore how you can benefit from our expertise in obtaining over 1,100 granted patents. I’ve written hundreds of articles on patents and trademarks to help business folks make wiser decisions when it comes to protecting IP.
Not Filing Any Patents on Successful Products Copied by Competitors
Business owners often hesitate in patenting new products that may or may not do well. You need time to see if the product will take off in the market. Waiting to confirm proof of concept is understandable.
What is baffling is the failure to file patents after the market has confirmed success. US law gives inventors a 1-year grace period to apply for US patents. When the market has confirmed acceptance of your innovation and competitors are copying your product, why would you not file patents?
Getting Utility Patent Claims with Too Many Features
Utility patent claims can be tricky to understand. It’s counterintuitive, but less is more when it comes to claiming an invention. As shown below, a claim that recites only features A and B is broader than a claim that recites A, B and C.
The more features you include in an independent claim, the narrower the scope. Claims packed with a bunch of features or specific details will be easier to design around.
In the end, you might end up with a patent that covers your product, but not the products slightly changed by competitors. Your independent claims made it easy for the competition to avoid infringement.
Failing to File Design Patents for Software
One fundamental principle that everyone in business should know is that design patents cover appearance while utility patents cover functionality. What you might not know is that you can still file design patents to cover certain visually ornamental parts of a functional product.
In fact, you can think of design patents for graphical user interfaces (GUI) as a backup plan in case your utility software patent application does not get allowed.
Failing to File Child Applications
Why do you think IP savvy companies keep filing child patent applications? Do they just love filing patents? If you’ve ever experienced the disappointment of finding out your patent was too narrow, you know what I’m talking about.
One of the biggest regrets experienced by patent owners has to do with the failure to file a continuing application. Child applications give patent owners a second bite at the apple when competitors realize ways to avoid infringing the parent patent.
Failing to File a Provisional Before Public Disclosure
Suppose you have created an innovative product, but you are not sure about investing in patent protection. You want to see if the product will reach commercial success. That is understandable.
Why not file at least a provisional patent application before launching the concept? Securing a patent filing date before your earliest public disclosure date gives you the option to pursue foreign patents. You may or may not want foreign patents, but why not give yourself the option?
Failing to File An International PCT Application
Much of patent strategy relates to keeping options open. Due to high costs, it is understandable to defer investments in foreign patents.
Filing an international PCT application works buys you extra time to file foreign patents. As shown below, you get an additional 18 months of delay tacked on to the original 12-month foreign filing deadline for a total of at least 30 months (some countries have a 31-month national stage deadline):
To borrow a term from the investment world, it’s like buying a call option for foreign utility patents. You get extra time to see if any particular foreign countries are worthy of a patent investment.
Valuing Money Over Time
You can always make back money. You can never gain back time. Some patent mistakes are irreparable because you cannot travel back in time to fix them.
Prioritize time over money. This guiding principle will serve you well not only in patents but in business as well. So many folks have this backwards and will pay a price far greater than dollars.
Want to Avoid Dumb Patent Mistakes?
Educate yourself as much as you can by reading my patent Q&A’s. At the end of the day, perhaps you should pick a patent attorney who knows what they’re doing as opposed to someone referred by your uncle.
