INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Bryant Lee, Ed Steakley - Saleh KaihaniContributor
Bryant Lee is the co-founder and managing partner of Cognition IP, a YC-backed IP law
Ed Steakley was the Head of IP at Airware and Senior Patent Counsel at Apple
Saleh Kaihani is a partner at Cognition IP. Deciding what to patent can be a confusing process but by creating a formal process it is
something that every startup can manage.Intellectual property (IP) is one of the most valuable assets of a startup and patents are often
chief among IP in terms of value
Patents allow the startup to prevent competitors from using their technology, which is a powerful feature that can grant unique advantages
in the marketplace.From a business perspective, patents can help with driving investment and acquisitions, provide protection during
partnerships and business deals, and help defend itself against patent lawsuits by others.However, startups also often have a hard time
determining when and what to patent
Innovative startups are inventing new things on a regular basis, and there is a danger of slipping into a haphazard approach of patenting
whatever happens to be available rather than systematically analyzing the business needs of the company and protecting the IP that moves the
needle the most.Moreover, startups must balance the need to protect IP with other areas of the business: Patents are complex documents that
require an investment of time and resources to obtain
They often require specialized legal counsel to write and a lengthy examination process at the U.S
Patent - Trademark Office (USPTO).This article is a how-to guide for startups to make the decision on when and what to patent with a mature
approach to IP strategy.Table of ContentsCreating a regular IP harvesting processIn order to make a decision about what to patent, a startup
must first know what IP it has
For very small teams, it may be possible for everyone to have a shared idea of the IP
However, once teams grow beyond a few people, it is no longer possible to have complete visibility into what everyone on the team is doing
and potentially inventing
Therefore, a regular IP harvesting process must be put in place to ensure proper reporting of IP to the executive level.Most startups are
best served with a simple IP harvesting process involving just three steps: (1) disclosure (2) invention review and (3) patent filing
In the disclosure stage, employees who are in IP creation roles must be trained to disclose ideas that are potentially protectable IP.
