Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 27, 2014
I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. This patent holding company has charged infringement and demanded royalties from every app developer for the iPhone and Android, for a feature most agree has been in apps for many years.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 13, 2012
I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. This patent holding company has charged infringement and demanded royalties from every app developer for the iPhone and Android, for a feature most agree has been in apps for many years.
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Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 27, 2016
For a software startup, a patent can be the intellectual property providing the key competitive advantage, or it can be an expensive non-defensible bureaucratic nightmare -- or both. Some argue to simply eliminate software patents, while others put their hopes in U.S. Every business is global, but patent rules differ around the world.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 7, 2011
I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. The bad news is that patent trolls can squeeze the lifeblood out of innocent and unsuspecting entrepreneurs, as exemplified by the current mess around Lodsys patent No.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 29, 2010
I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. Yet the software patent process is a mess. I say this with conviction even after I survived the process, and have a software patent pending. Patents granted that don’t meet the criteria.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
In my years of advising startups, and also as an occasional angel investor, I still recommend this set of best practices to prepare you for platform applications: Formalize a business entity immediately. File a provisional patent or other intellectual property. Prepare a slide deck to highlight product and business.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 5, 2018
Unfortunately, too many of the technical entrepreneurs I mentor and advise are focused on their technology, and assume that the value will be self-evident to customers. Tech may be the tool, but hospitality – making life a little easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable for your customer, is the winning focus.
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