In the usual situation, a patent attorney is the “ball carrier” for the inventor as a patent application moves through the Patent Office. Each “play” in the “patent game” is focused on getting a patent application to the goal line as the “win” of an issued patent. However, when the primary objective is on winning, the focus necessarily becomes the patent itself, not the reason why the “patent game” is being played in the first place.
I have learned in my 20 + years as a business-focused patent attorney there is often a huge mismatch between the coverage of a patents and the business value that the patent creates for its owner. In other words, most clients look at the patent itself as a the “win,” and cannot articulate why they even played the patent game in the first place. When the patent is intended to protect valuable innovations, gaps in patent coverage and value created can result in eventual business losses, even when the patent itself was regarded as a “win.”
It is time for those seeking patent protection to objectively examine the roles of the players in the process. Instead of letting their patent attorneys define the game itself and call the plays, clients must demand a new “playbook,” at least for those that require patents that will meaningfully protect their businesses value. Learn how I already deploy an innovative “patent playbook” directed toward creating patents that can better protect valuable product and technology breakthroughs at this blog post.