How Original Should Your Patent Application Strategy Be?
There are endless discussions to be had about the fairness or viability of patents, but the fact remains that, in many cases, an aggressive patent strategy is good for success. And innovation. At least, some of the most successful and innovative companies in current times have found this so: Apple is just one case in point. So, if you are a small business or an individual inventor, can the strategic and marketing lessons of one of the largest and most successful companies apply to you? A better question may be… why wouldn’t they?
Once They Were Davids
It’s important to remember that Apple didn’t start out as the giant it is today. In fact, when it was just two guys with a dream, few could have imagined that the company would grow as it did. Patenting early and often not only protected Apple’s products as it grew, it allowed room for even greater innovation by giving imaginative inventors incentive. How, you wonder, can this apply to your small operation? In just the same way
Innovate, Protect, Corner the Market, Repeat
Whether you are the imagineer, or have a team, get with a patent attorney once you have something patentable—and then begin innovating and pushing the patent-worthy part of that invention out as far as it can go. You’ll be protecting your market from competitors at the same time you are encouraging your creators to think bigger, wider and on a grander scale. Whether you agree or not on the effectiveness of patents, and whether they create a climate for innovation, may depend on how you use this strategy.
Your company may not become a giant, no matter how successful your patent strategy—reaching that goal depends on a number of factors—but you can become a leader in your field. A business known for innovation, strategy and thinking not only forward but sideways and in the far corners has a greater potential of becoming the company that others strive to catch up with.
Contact your Patent Attorney to learn more.
