Moving Into Patent Acquisition As Part Of Your Business Model? Discuss These Two Issues With Your Attorney
As the Internet of Things (IoT) begins to emerge, with more and more everyday objects becoming connected to the internet to keep people automatically informed and updated on everything from which local gas station has the lowest prices to their resting heart rate, there's an increasing market for intellectual property—and the acquisition of patents has once again become big business. If you're going to take your company into those waters, however, it's important to understand that doing your due diligence can make or break the value of a patent. If you fail to dig deeply enough, you can end up spending big bucks on an unenforceable asset that's essentially worthless.
There are several different things that have to be examined in terms of due diligence where patents are concerned:
1. What are the future intended uses of the patent?
If your attorney isn't aware of the technological areas that you foresee taking the patented device into in the future, your attorney is going to be hamstrung when it comes to advising you about the potential value of the investment. For example, imagine that you are interested in buying a patent on Product X, which was a specialized device that was used primarily in automobile glass to reduce glare and prevent drivers from struggling with refractive light issues. However, if you have visions of using the technology to revolutionize computer monitors and reduce the problems users of electronics everywhere have with glare, you need to let your attorney know the field that you are wanting to branch into.
Otherwise, your attorney can't know to look for potentially troublesome patents in the crossing industry that could end up blocking the use of the patent that you want to acquire. That could severely limit your freedom to achieve your goals for the patent.
2. What is the strength of the patent and how well can it be protected?
A good patent should be sufficiently broad enough and strong enough to withstand a competitor's attempts to design around it. The ability of a patent to withstand that kind of play for avoidance directly affects its value. It's important to remember that a patent can be devoid of any defect and still have relatively little value if it offers the competition too many opportunities to add their unique design elements and come up with improvements that either keep you from exercising the patent you have or simply make your product less attractive.
While a patent search always includes a check to see if it is valid and enforceable, keeping in mind these other two areas of concern and keeping an open line of dialogue with your attorney will help you avoid patent acquisitions that aren't going to be worth your investment.
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