With the energy crisis and the worldwide push to “go green”, innovation in the automotive sector is at an all time high. This puts automotive patent holders in a prime position to sell or license their patent. However, it would behoove you to do some research on how automotive patents are typically capitalized on, as well as who would be most likely to buy or license said patents.

Most of the action in the automotive industry takes place in Michigan, specifically Detroit, or “Motown.” A recent article called “Auto Industry Fueling Growth in Michigan’s Patent Applications” describes the recent surge in auto innovation there:

“The auto industry may be bleeding money throughout Michigan, but it is fueling a rise in innovation in the state, federal data on patent activity shows.

The state saw a 20 percent rise in the numbers of patents granted between 2000 and 2006, the years for which the most recent data is available, compared with the seven-year 1993-1999 period, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”

SRC: http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/03/auto_industry_fueling_growth_i.html

 However, a number of auto leaders do business internationally as well. Wikipedia offers a handy chart that breaks down, by volume, the largest auto makers and their divisions and subsidiary companies. The table is based on the most recent OICA data.

SRC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry#World.27s_largest_vehicle_manufacturing_groups_.28by_volume.29

General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are the largest players in the United States market, in that order. Under the GM flag are brands like Buick, Cadillac, Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn, and Saab. Ford encompasses Lincoln, Mercury, and Volvo, while Chrysler markets the Dodge and Jeep line of trucks and SUVs. The divisions of each auto maker should inform your decision on who to contact about selling your patent.

If your patent pertains to low-mid range sedans or gigantic SUVs, you might look to score a meeting with someone from GM. If your patent applies to luxury models like the Lincoln Towncar, a call to Ford might be best. And if your invention would be best utilized in a heavy-lifting work vehicle like a Dodge Ram or Jeep Cherokee, Chrysler is probably the ideal networking target. Of course, there are several other auto makers worth considering who operate outside of the U.S., but it often helps to start closer to home.

 It is also worth noting that many automakers own stock in and have business partnerships with other automakers. This means that even if you fail to sell or license your patent to one automaker, they might be able to put you in touch with one that would be more amenable to your proposal. Here is a quick reference of ownership overlap within the automotive industry.

• Porsche holds a 20% stake in the Volkswagen Group (30.97% voting rights), as of 2006-12-31.
• The Renault-Nissan alliance involves two global companies linked by cross-shareholding, with Renault holding 44.3% of Nissan shares, and Nissan holding 15% of Renault shares.
• Ford holds an 33.9% stake in Mazda. and an 8.3% share in Aston Martin.
• Hyundai Motor Co. holds a 38.67% stake in Kia Motors.
• Daimler AG holds an 19.9% stake in Chrysler Holding LLC.
• General Motors still holds a 3% stake in Suzuki. Suzuki is also partner with GM in GMDAT and CAMI.
• Toyota holds 51% stake Daihatsu hence having a controlling interest in the company.

However, not every automotive patent holder should necessarily target auto makers. Instead, some patents are probably more attractive to auto dealers, of which there are tens of thousands across the United States. If you are unsure of which auto dealer to contact or how to get in touch with them, the National Automobile Dealer Association is a good place to start. They are an automotive industry trade group that represents some 20,000 dealerships across the U.S. and boasts some 43,000 worldwide franchises. They also develop comprehensive research data on the auto industry, which might be of use to you in putting your pitch together.

You can contact the NADA by phone, e-mail, or snail mail.

National Automobile Dealers Association
8400 Westpark Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
(703) 821-7000 or (800) 252-6232
nadainfo@nada.org

Of course, you will want to consult a patent attorney before diving headlong into negotiations. Furthermore, this attorney should be one with experience and success in the auto sector. One proven winner in this field is Quinn Law Group, PLLC. “Auto Industry Fueling Growth…” discusses the track record and auto industry connections Quinn has at its disposal:

Principal Christopher Quinn said patent applications in areas such as hybrid technology, vehicle safety and electronics are helping drive annual revenue increases of 20 percent or more. The 19-member firm works with customers including General Motors Corp. and suppliers, as well as with out-of-state companies, many with Michigan offices, whose patents wouldn’t necessarily show up in USPTO data, he said.

 Quinn can be contacted at the following web URL:

http://www.quinnlawgroup.com/contact.htm

All in all, your quest to sell or license an auto patent should begin with a careful matching of your patent to the right auto maker, and end with the assistance of a proven attorney in the field.

 Eric Corl is the President of Idea Buyer LLC, a new product development company that owns and operates IdeaBuyer.com- The Online Marketplace for Intellectual Property.  The site gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.

Valuing intellectual property is no easy task. No matter what kind of intellectual property you own, there are certain bases you need to cover in order to assign a reasonable value to it. It cannot be done on a whim, based on what you feel your patent, trademark, or copyright is worth. As with anything else, your intellectual property is only worth what someone is willing to pay. Obviously, the key then becomes setting a value that is high and convincing. You want potential buyers to feel like the price you have set is commensurate with its true value. In this article, we will explain some of the most crucial steps in setting such a value.

The first step is to get the advice of an intellectual property attorney. The valuing and sale of intellectual property is not like holding a garage sale. There are thorny, complex laws and regulations governing how to assign a value to different kinds of intellectual property. It is not the kind of thing a beginner should try to jump into with no experience or research. Instead, take the time to find a respected intellectual property attorney and spend the money to acquire his services. He will advise you on key considerations, as well as offer advice on how to set a value effectively and legally. Beyond that, he will ensure that any transactions after the fact are documented in a professional, comprehensive way. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough. If your valuation becomes the subject of patent litigation, what will be more comforting: knowing that a licensed attorney stands behind the valuation, or that you concocted it with no professional help? The moral of the story: don’t cut corners on legal advice!

The next step is to assess your intellectual property from an outsider’s point of view. You might think your patent or trademark is the best thing since sliced bread, but you may be looking at it through rose colored glasses. This affects creative people in all fields, not just intellectual property. But before you set a value, you need to take those glasses off and see your IP like a complete stranger would. If someone tried selling you a patent, what are some of the questions you might ask?

-          What is the market and market size?

-          What are the competitive advantages the patent offers?

-          How much will it cost to implement the underlying idea?

-          How long before competitors start crowding in?

There is simply no way around these questions, and your valuation must take them into account if you hope to be taken seriously. The more appealing the answers are, the higher your valuation should be. A huge, untapped market with few competitors is more valuable than a marginal niche filled with established players. Again, these are market realities that you cannot ignore. Once you have a rough valuation in mind, it’s time to consult the professionals once more.

You need to research comparable transactions and see what similar intellectual property has sold for in the past. The best way to access this data is through an appraiser, or your intellectual property attorney. Together, you can discuss what you think the value of your IP should be as compared to comparable values. Try to settle somewhere between your own idea of the value and the values of the comparables you research. This is a time-tested formula for valuations that stand up and get taken seriously.

Finally, you need to heed the age-old warning against being greedy. You cannot ask for too much in valuing your intellectual property, or else you will scare off potential buyers. To prevent yourself from doing this, ask yourself some more hard, honest questions:

-          How long would it take you to develop this idea yourself? Months? Years? And how much money would it cost on top of your time? Thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds? Generally, he longer and more expensive this would be, the lower your valuation should be. The other party will still be doing most of the work, and they know it.

-          What about unexpected problems or challenges that might come up? Businesspeople are familiar with the maxim that everything is harder than you think and takes longer than you think. Ask yourself whether holding out for a few extra thousand dollars is really worth committing yourself to years of headaches and problems that you can’t even anticipate right now.

The point is that whoever buys your intellectual property will be assuming all of these risks. You shouldn’t lower your value to the ground, but you shouldn’t be overly greedy, either.

If you keep these considerations in mind and execute them in order, you can accurately value your intellectual property. Good luck!

Jay Cross is a staff writer for Idea Buyer LLC which owns and operates http://www.IdeaBuyer.com – The Online Marketplace for Intellectual Property. The site gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at JayCross@IdeaBuyer.com.

Some inventors make the mistake of pouring years of their lives and thousands of dollars into bad ideas. Maybe their idea was ill-formed and nobody actually wants it. Maybe they wasted years pursuing an idea that actually will not work the way they originally thought it would. Whatever the case may be, the end result is lots of wasted time and energy on a dead idea. By this point you are probably thinking, “There must be a better way!” Fortunately, there is. It is a bold, decisive strategy that is best summed up as “Kill your ideas quick.” What does this mean, exactly?

Basically, you want to expose your idea to as much critical scrutiny as you can, as early as you can. In this article, we will discuss two main ways of doing that. The first and easiest way is to collect feedback about your idea. Ask people questions like, “Would you buy this? What need would this fill for you? Can you think of any reason why you would not want to buy it or use it? What about your friends? Do other products do what my idea is going to do, better? How so?” The more detailed feedback you get, the better. However, merely collecting this feedback is just the starting point. What you want to do is implement the feedback you get into your prototype or working model. Doing this as quickly as possible will help you determine whether your idea is a winner or a bust. As you force yourself to actually create it rather than endlessly theorize, you will discover whether it is too expensive or too big or too hard or impossible.

Of course, the best scenario would be if you know someone in your field that you trust and can ask for advice. They above all people will have a good sense of whether your idea is unrealistic or not. The feedback they provide will also be immensely valuable, especially if your idea doesn’t need to be killed.

Another way to kill your idea fast was pioneered by Internet advertising guru Perry Marshall. He advocates using the cheap, fast-response ad medium of Google AdWords to test public interest in your idea before diving headlong into pursuing it. Perry describes the nuts and bolts of his approach in his free e-course on Google AdWords:

“Let’s say you’ve got a product idea. The product itself costs $50,000 to develop, and you’re sure it’s a good idea because it solves a really thorny problem.

So here’s what you do: You write a report, e-book or white paper about how to solve that problem. You create an opt-in page where people can get your report in exchange for their contact information.

Then you buy keywords, send people to that page and see how many people you can get to opt in.

That alone will tell you something.

And if you absolutely cannot get anybody to opt-in to your report - or if you can’t find keywords that anyone is searching for - then that’s a good sign you should abandon the project before you throw any more money at it.”

SRC: http://www.perrymarshall.com/google/day4.htm

Perry’s point is that you can use an inexpensive testing medium to see if your idea is a winner. At the very least, you will be positioned to proceed on the basis of actual knowledge instead of wishful thinking. Perry continues:

“Not only will this process validate that you’re solving a worthwhile problem; it will also fine tune your efforts so that you’re dealing with the real problems that real people have!

It’s worth repeating: after testing your concept on Google AdWords, you’ll never throw good money at a lousy product idea. And when you need assistance or investment money, you’ll have proof that people are looking for what you have to sell.”

Perry’s method can be applied to virtually any invention relating to something that people would look for on a search engine. Best of all, it does not need to be expensive. If you can spare a few hundred dollars, you will get real-time market research from people who are actively looking for what you are making. What could be more valuable than that? And like Perry says: if no one likes your idea, it is probably a dud and at least you know for sure.

Whichever method you choose, killing your ideas quick is sound practice. It is also a bold step away from the “Inventor Baby” mentality who seeks to protect his idea from harsh contact with the real world and its desires. You will be facing reality as it actually is. You will not spin your wheels on ideas that are doomed to fail. And most importantly, this will free up your precious time and energy for more fruitful projects.

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, the online marketplace for intellectual property that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.

While the swift cut-and-parry of creation is the heart of an inventor’s life, there is another important component – networking. Let’s face it; no matter how great your invention may be, you can always benefit from talented professionals in your field that might be willing to lend a hand. Maybe it’s that database programmer you’ve been scouring the earth for, or that distributor you need to get your product on store shelves, or a patent attorney to make sure your intellectual property is protected. Whatever the case may be, there are steps you can take to put yourself in the path of networking success. In this article, we will examine five of the most helpful. By applying these tips to your day-to-day efforts, you will increase your odds of meeting the people you need to move your invention forward.

1) Have a clean, approachable website.

The benefit of having a simple website to send people to cannot be stressed enough. Let’s say you are at a party or industry conference. Suddenly, you meet a new colleague and the two of you get to talking about your respective projects and goals. As the conversation comes to a close, the colleague asks you, “So, how can I stay abreast of what you’re up to, how can we keep in touch?” If you are networking-savvy inventor, you will reply, “Oh, no problem! My website is www.JohnDokes.com, it has all my contact information and what I’m working on. Check up on me there from time to time!”

This is extremely simple to do. Your website does not have to be flashy or fancy; a clean, black text on white background HTML layout will do just fine. As mentioned, your website should include your name, profession, hobbies, and areas of expertise, achievements, and maybe a periodical blurb about what things of importance you are working on at the time.

2) Print business cards and carry them at all times.

But what happens when you meet someone on the fly? There isn’t always time to scribble down web URLs or phone numbers, and lack of preparedness could kill an otherwise great networking contact. Fortunately, this does not have to befall you. The solution is a timeless standby of professionals everywhere: business cards! Simply visit your local Kinkos and print up 200 standard business cards with your name, e-mail address, mobile phone, and anything else you deem relevant. Then, make a point of carrying 5-10 of them in your wallet with you at all times. With business cards in tow, you will be able to capitalize on networking opportunities wherever you happen to be – on vacation, at restaurants or coffee shops, even in the grocery store. You truly never know when you will meet someone important.

3) Consider a separate phone line or wireless phone for professional purposes.

While not an absolute necessity, you need to consider how a potential contact or partner might perceive you. If they call your house line and hear lots of family commotion in the background, it might send the message that you are ill-prepared to take on a serious venture of any kind. Whether this is reasonable to infer or not, perception is reality for many people. Therefore, it might make sense to get a separate landline or wireless phone for your professional needs. You would then print this number on your website and business cards instead of your house phone. A wireless phone is best because you can carry it with you and never miss an important call. In addition to upholding your professionalism, doing this also helps you delineate between different areas of your life.

4) Follow leads wherever they may appear.

Anyone who has been in business for long knows that leads and opportunities can crop up almost anywhere, at any time. It is not uncommon for new business partners to meet on vacation, over dinner and drinks, or while playing golf at a country club. Therefore, you should keep this in the back of your mind and be ready to pounce on new opportunities as they arise. If you are out on the green with someone and you get to talking about your professions, there is no shame in “testing the waters” and seeing if he is interested in new projects. Do not assume that just because you aren’t in a business setting, you cannot pursue business leads. Truly successful inventors are creative and resourceful.

5) Use the direct approach whenever possible and appropriate.

Many people take a passive approach to life. Instead of acting to bring about some outcome, they simply hope it comes to be through osmosis. When it comes to networking, this attitude is a death sentence. If you want to meet the best people and bring them into the fold, you need to proactively seek them out. Let’s say you are in desperate need of a graphic designer, for instance. Throw up an ad on Rent-A-Coder that says you’re looking for one! Better yet, ask around your circle of friends and contacts to see if they know anyone with the skills you need. This is how networking happens. Of course, you should seek to establish some kind of relationship with a person before you just mine them for contacts. You wouldn’t want to bombard someone you just met. But by all means: once you are on good terms with someone, feel free to ask them who they know.

Apply these tips to your inventing and you will soon find that networking is not so difficult and it can make the difference between a successful invention and a failed one.

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, the online marketplace for intellectual property that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.

One big concern on inventors’ minds is the rampant spread of Chinese intellectual property developments. It seems that no matter where you turn, opportunistic Chinese companies are flat-out stealing intellectual property from American companies, be it in the form of designs, processes, algorithms, or even entire products! Clearly, the rising tide of violations from this part of the world is worthy of some further study.

One prime example of Chinese intellectual property theft is a device called the miniOne. To the naked eye, the miniOne looks identical to the popular new iPhone from Apple, right down to the smoothe buttonless interface. However, the miniOne offers some things the iPhone does not. It runs popular mobile software that the iPhone wont support, in addition to being compatible with every worldwide wireless provider and not just AT&T. As if that were not enough, the miniOne promises to cost half as much as the iPhone and be available to 10 times as many customers.

Now, the troubling aspect of all this is not the additional capabilities this Chinese company is seeking to add. On the contrary, these are all welcome additions to the sphere of wireless technology. The problematic element is simply the wholesale theft of the iPhone’s design and aesthetic properties, the “grifting” of its style, and applying it to a separate product as though it were their own.

But the intellectual property violations do not stop at iPhone clones. Vehicles are another prime target for cloning and cheap resale by Chinese entrepreneurs. Take the Laibao, for example. It’s a small SUV that would pass to any casual observer for a Honda CR-V. Indeed, many in the automotive industry speculate that the engineers at Laibao simply copied the CR-V, virtually part for part, in creating their own car. Or take the Geely Meerie, a carbon copy of a Mercedes C-Class. All the style and sophistication of Mercedes for a fraction of the price: 120,000 yuan, or $15,000 US dollars to be exact.

However, the problem of cloned vehicles is made most clear by the “sweet spot” of the Chinese market; vehicles that sell for around $5,000, which is just a bit shy of the typical middle class Chinese family’s income. When it comes to this segment of the market, the Chery QQ is top, front, and center.

The QQ is a part-for-part clone of a car known either as the Daewoo Matiz or the Chevy Spark. (The actual car is a joint venture between General Motors and the Korean company Daewoo.) In fact, Sparks are sold worldwide. In the United States, an upgraded $10,500 version called the Aveo is cheaper than any other car available. This helps explain the astonishment of American officials when the rock-bottom priced $5,000 QQ first surfaced on the marketplace in 2003. The shock and awe of Congressman James Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin) after a 2004 jaunt to China sums it up:

“If you didn’t have name tags on the cars, you couldn’t tell them apart. It’s such a good knockoff that you can pull the door off the Spark and it fits on the QQ, so close that the doors match right up.”

Clearly, the complete and shameless cloning of other companies’ products for cheap resale is an alarming problem in the IP community. To understand all the developments that led up to the present state, it helps to analyze the history of IP theft in China. In fact, the problem evolved through several distinct stages on its path to today’s frightening condition.

Chinese industry did not become capable of piece-by-piece cloning overnight. Far from it. A report from consulting firm A.T. Kearney segments the growth of China’s clowning prowess into five separate periods. The first period was the 1980’s, marked by primitive, fragmented efforts to produce cheap textile knockoffs like t-shirts. Few were alarmed at this point because the violations in question were trivial. The second period ocured during the 1990’s. Clothing and accessories were the primary focus of this period as well, but with a twist: high-quality merchandise fakes from Reebok and Nike began to flood the market and gain acceptance by budget-minded westerners. By the mid-90’s, Chinese copycats had moved from simple trademark infringement to low-end tech wares: things like Duracell batteries and DVDs.

From this springboard, says the study, an era of “advanced technology piracy” was launched. Difficult-to-detect knockoffs of Callaway golf clubs, counterfeit auto safety class, and other products appeared beginning in 1998. And by the new millennium, Chinese piracy had become so adept at cloning that they successfully duplicated Intel computer chips, Viagra sex tablets and Bosch power tools.

One practical way that Chinese cloners go about their actions is using “ghost shifts.” That is, a factory contracted out to make authentic goods moves to a 24 hour operation, during which it pumps out copies. Some may be made with inferior materials, others are made properly, but all are destined for sale on the black market: from midnight until morning. The only problem with ghost shifts was that they could not run full time. To solve this problem, developers began in the mid 90’s to build shadow factories – entire plants identical in composition and function to the original, often created from the very same blueprints that actual manufacturers used to launch. Using these and other tactics, the Chinese are literally siphoning American brainpower and innovation into their own pockets by way of making cheap knockoffs.

Clearly, this is a serious problem that anyone involved in intellectual property would do well to be mindful of. Chinese IP violations could create a whole host of adverse incentives for inventors if the problem is not addressed.

Luckily, there are still reliable Chinese Manufacturer representatives out there that can help inventors and companies take advantage of the pricing benefits that Chinese manufacturing can offer. However, be sure to conduct due dilligence to protect yourself from predatory manufacturers. Request references from their current clients and ensure that all of your proper documentation is in place. Ideally, try to find an American manufacturing representative (US Citizenship) that is on site in China. This typically reduces much of the friction in doing business overseas.

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, a marketplace for new technology and products that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com. You can visit the site by clicking here > Patents for Sale.

Selling Your Patent

Selling your patent outright is a quick and easy way to exit with cash in hand. It is a “take the money and run” strategy, something one would do in recognition of the fact that thousands of patents produce no wealth and it is prudent to take the early payoff if one can get it. This reality cannot be stated enough. Most patents produce nothing; in fact, some inventors toil for so long trying to find a market for their idea that the patent expires! By selling a patent outright, you avoid this outcome and ensure that you gain at least some reward for your efforts.

Selling a patent is also an attractive option for serial inventors; that is, those who intend on developing many more ideas to patent and pursue. Anyone who does this knows that it is an expensive business. Supplies, living expenses, legal costs, and other items make the creative process a rewarding but costly endeavor. By selling a patent, you can generate some quick capital to pay these expenses and/or fund the development of other ideas. This way, your operations become more self-supporting as you rely less and less on savings or income from your day job.

That said, there are some potential drawbacks to selling. After all, if your patent protects a new or unproven idea, the patent buyer probably wont want to spend a ton of money for it. It would simply be too big a gamble. Then again, what if it becomes a huge hit? More concretely, what if you sell your patent for $10,000 and it generates $10,000,000 in profits for the new owner? This is a very real possibility that you must reckon with before selling. For many people, this possibility is enough to scare them (irrationally) into rejecting perfectly good offers and holding onto their patent indefinitely.

However, you can and should make this decision intelligently. Think long and hard about your idea. Is it so innovative, so groundbreaking, so over-the-top revolutionary that it is going to redefine an industry? Or are there similar products out there for sale already? In the former case, you might want to hold on to your idea or hold out for a higher sum. In the latter case, however, you should reason that you might make money or you might not. You should take the sure thing: ie, sell the patent if someone makes an offer.

(It is worth noting a potentially lucrative alternative to selling: licensing. Licensing your patent grants exploitation rights to a licensee in exchange for royalties and performance options to ensure the licensee acts to make the patent a success for you. For a more in-depth explanation of patent licensing, see our article on the subject.)

How do you actually go about selling your patent? Several options exist, and you should choose the one that best matches your strengths and resources.

One way to sell your patent is through direct contact. Very simply, you would make a list of manufacturers and potential users of your product. A good place to start is the Thomas Register, which is available in most public libraries and on the Internet. It has contact information for thousands of companies across hundreds of sectors. The Yellow Pages are another solid resources in this regard.

When you do make contact with a firm, you want to present yourself as a Product Developer, not a mere inventor. This exudes an air of professionalism that established companies prefer. Then, request a face-to-face meeting with a Sales Manager or Product Manager within the company. Now, a word of caution is in order. You only want to schedule such a meeting if and when you have secured a patent for your idea. Otherwise, you have to ask the company to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements which they are unlikely to sign for standard business reasons. Therefore, a patent is your best (and often, only) means of selling your patent through direct contact methods.

Another option is to attend trade or invention shows. Here, you will encounter companies or people interested in your product and potentially buying it. Generally, it helps to have secured a patent here as well, if only because it would be easy for an interested party to run with your idea him/herself.

If neither of these options suit you, you can also advertise in trade journals or inventors’ magazines to scout out potential buyers for your patent.

In closing, selling your patent is a potentially lucrative way of capitalizing from your invention. If you have secured the patent already, you are in prime position to market it to interested parties and evaluate potential buyers in your quest to profit from your labor.

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, a marketplace for new technology and products that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com. You can visit the site by clicking here > Patents for Sale.

One of the most common obstacles facing the new inventor is running a patent search. There are many reasons why an inventor would want to do this. The most obvious reason is to justify spending a great deal of time and money on an invention by determining that no one else has patented it. You may even have a specific patent number that you want to investigate further for any similarities to your project. Whatever the reason may be, the ins and outs of conducting a patent search are not always obvious. In this guide, we will explain how to do so in easy to follow steps.

Step One: Narrow your search to a 5-15 very specific names.

This is a crucial yet oft-overlooked step in the patent search process. Before running any type of search, anywhere, you need to narrow your search to a handful of very specific names. This is because the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) demands specificity. The vaguer a patent is the more control the holder can exercise over the market. Therefore, there is an immense burden on patent applicants to be as narrow and specific about the nature of their patent as possible. You need to heed this fact when running a patent search. For example, if the patent you are looking for pertains to an online shopping database that ties a user’s shopping preferences to his shopping history, running a search for “online shopping database” is almost pointless in this context. It will return more results than you could possibly screen, and few if any will be relevant to what you are looking for.

Instead, a much better search would be something like “online shopping history based matching metrics.” The closer you can get to describing what the patent truly protects, the more helpful your search results will be. Simply think long and hard about what you are looking for and come up with 5-15 very specific potential names for it. These are the names you will use to conduct your search.

Step Two: Run the search via the USPTO’s official website.

It used to be that the only way to run a patent search was hiring a patent attorney. Prior to the advent of the Internet, these attorneys had a near exclusive monopoly on running searches and doing all manner of patent-related work. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. Anyone who wants to run a patent search can visit the USPTO website and do so in a simple, self-service fashion.

SRC: http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html

There are a couple of options at this page that you can use depending on your exact needs. If you just want to run a cursory search for the patent you have in mind, the Quick Search will work wonders. From here, you can type in two descriptive terms and specify the years between which you would like to search: either 1976 to the present or 1790 to the present. Now, common sense will go a long way towards making your life easier in this regard. If the patent you are searching for is in any way high-tech, you can filter out a lot of irrelevant results by choosing the “1976 to the present” option. However, if your invention is timeless or mechanical in nature, the full “1790 to the present” option is probably best.

You can also drill down into the patent database for the exact type of information you want. Clicking the “All Fields” drop-down menu turns up a cavalcade of search options. You can search for the abstract, the issue date, patent number, assignee name and city, and about a dozen other options.

SRC: http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html

However, what if you already have a patent number and just want to see information about what it pertains to? This link takes you straight to a patent number search. Just key in the number and click “Search” to find the full text of the patent in question.

SRC: http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm

Now, you may notice in using these pages that the USPTO’s website is not the most user-friendly resource out there. Luckily, there is an easier way: Google Patent Search. The reason we covered the USPTO’s site first (or at all) rather than Google is because this is the official first source of all patent-related data. While Google is by all counts reliable, you should use the USPTO’s site if there are any worries about gaps in the patent records you are seeking.

Step 3: Use Google Patent Search

Google Patent Search is a beta service that combines the easy searching of Google with the patent data from the USPTO. That is the true beauty of using Google instead of the USPTO: your search results and patent profiles are significantly cleaner, more readable and easier on the eyes.

SRC: http://www.google.com/patents

As a demonstration, we will run a search for the patent on the electrophotographic copier, or “copy machine.”

http://www.google.com/patents?id=Pp48AAAAEBAJ

As you can see, the page is very helpfully divided up into distinct sections, making it easy for you to find the information you are interested it. You can choose to download the whole patent, view it as an Adobe PDF document, or even click a direct link to the USPTO’s record. On this same page, you can also view the patent’s list of citations, the claims it makes, and the drawings the patent holder accompanied with his patent application. Again, while these things can be found at the USPTO site, those unfamiliar with patent records will waste hours looking for what Google organizes so readily.

There you have it: three simple steps to conducting a patent search. Above all, remember that the more specific your searches are, the more likely you are to find the patent you want – or – the more justification you will have to conclude that no one has your patent, if the search comes up empty. Good luck!

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, a marketplace for new technology and products that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com. You can visit the site by clicking here > Patents for Sale.

What is old becomes new again with a high-power microwave

John Gerbich

Inventor Frank Pringle might have begun the end of an era of wasted energy with the introduction of his new “Hawk” microwave.

Do not let the name fool you; it is not any ordinary microwave. According to Popular Science magazine, this microwave is capable of extracting the hidden oil and natural gas bound together inside of almost everything around you, including such items as tires, plastic cups and even rocks.

The secret is that all of these items contain a base of hydrocarbon. This giant microwave can break down the old strings of hydrocarbon that the item was originally composed of into component parts. One tire, when broken down to a size that the microwave can handle, can be broken in to four different parts: diesel fuel, carbon black, combustible gas and high-strength steel, said an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The process is fairly straightforward. The item is placed into the microwave in manageable pieces and the microwave is turned on. Once separated, the diesel fuel goes into a glass container and the natural gas goes to a tank. The only thing left in the microwave unit itself is the carbon black. Video of the microwave in action is available online.

This new process is a huge advancement in the world of recycling. Many experts have been unsure as to what to do with these materials once they are no longer usable. Stockpiles of old used tires are often stored in large tire dumps – wasted energy. This new microwave provides a solution. As many of these materials were once thought of as useless, they are now able to be renewed and reused.

The development of the microwave took Pringle 10 years, much of that time spent perfecting the correct microwave frequencies to extract resources from a variety of materials. Because of this, many materials can be extracted, all at different wave frequencies – hundreds of materials. His exhaustive efforts have not gone unnoticed. With this large number of workable materials, his invention can appeal to an extremely large market.

The most obvious market is that of the scrap metal industry. According to NewScientist.com in reference to a particular auto recycling company, “for every ton of steel that the company recovers, between 226 kg and 318 kg of (trash) is produced.” With the new microwave, the auto recyclers are no longer stuck harvesting only scrap metal; they can now make use of almost all parts of the vehicle. This greatly reduces the amount of materials that must be deposited in landfills. Not surprisingly, the first of Pringle’s microwaves was sold to an auto recycler in New York. The price was $5.1 million.

Another possible customer is the US military. The war in Iraq has produced massive amounts of plastics from water bottles and food containers that could easily be converted back to essential fuels needed by the military. An investment such as this would definitely be valuable in reducing unnecessary waste as well as creating more energy sources in a limited environment.

Oil companies may also provide an unexpected market for the Hawk. The microwave creates competition for them, but might also prove to be extremely useful in extracting petroleum trapped in shale. While an investment in the Hawk might be financing their potential opposition, the benefits far outweigh the possible negative effects.

The Hawk is also able to make recycling of other materials much more simple, said NewScientist.com. An excellent example is that of recycling copper wiring. When recycling this wiring, there is no need for its insulation. The insulation, however, can be recycled with the use of the microwave. Not only does this allow the recycling process to be more inclusive, but it makes the copper itself much easier to obtain. The wiring with insulation can be put in the microwave and all that will remain inside of the unit is the copper and the resulting carbon black – metals cannot be extracted.

Inventions as useful as this new microwave are not created often. These kinds of tools could help make the world a cleaner place. They can also help us hold on to what few natural non-renewable resources we have. The ability to reuse will undoubtedly drive us to a more “green” future. Creative minds must continue to create and lead us there.

This article is provided for your personal use by http://www.IdeaBuyer.com. Idea Buyer is the online marketplace for intellectual property and gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and retailers who are looking for new products to bring to market.

Please do not redistribute or reproduce this article without written permission.

John Gerbich is the Staff Writer for IdeaBuyer.com, a marketplace for new technology and products that allows inventors to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. Visit the site by clicking here > Patents for Sale.

A ruling was just confirmed that orders Microsoft to pay well over $140 million dollars for the violation of a patent owned by Z4 Technologies. The patent, which may seem a little general, essentially covers asking a user for two passwords on Microsoft’s software.

Microsoft had used the technology to curtail piracy, however, I’m doubtful that this patent has offered them any true economic benefits. You can read more about the ruling at Mashable.com where Mark Hopkins wrote an interesting piece here.

The lawsuit was filed and won in Texas which is considered a patent troll friendly court.

Mark Hopkins goes on to discuss that it is even questionable as to whether or not the patent should have been issued. The one thing that is clear is that if the patent system is to be improved, it has to happen at the point of approving a patent. If the patent system was reformed then we would not have overly broad patents which individuals would have incentive to exploit.

However, it is important to note the substantial benefit that patents offer the U.S. economy in terms of economic incentive. If we had no intellectual property protection there would be less incentive to take risks both in terms of time and financially to innovate and better the economy.

Wikipedia has an excellent article(here) on what a patent troll is and how they effect the patent system. Below is an excerpt;

Patent troll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Patent troll is a pejorative term used for a person or company that enforces its patents against one or more alleged infringers in a manner considered unduly aggressive or opportunistic.

Over the past seven to ten years, Microsoft has been on both sides of numerous patent law suits with settlements totaling billions of dollars including creative patent pacts with software companies.

What’s interesting regarding this particular patent is that it was a functionality of a large piece of software whose added use added little value nor did it cost consumers extra capital to have integrated (aside from possible development costs carried over which is negligible). So, essentially what Microsoft paid for was that they were using an infringed patent to further protect their software from being pirated. Isn’t that ironic?

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of Idea Buyer, a marketplace for new technology and products that allows inventors to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers at www.IdeaBuyer.com. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.

There are many misconceptions about what a patent is and is not. Many believe that patents can “protect an idea” in the sense of preventing people from acting on a concept you thought of. Others believe that mailing yourself notes and drawings is a “poor man’s patent” that provides sufficient protection. In fact, patents are only granted to inventions, and the only way to achieve patent status is to apply for one and have it approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

In the US, a patent is a set of exclusive rights granted to an inventor by the government or a set period of time. In exchange for these rights, and to assist in their being upheld, the inventor discloses the relevant details of his invention to the Patent and Trademark office.

The two main parts of a patent are the specifications and the claims. A specification is where you describe the inner workings of your invention in gross detail. For example, the creator of a new, lighter and more puncture-resistant bicycle tire might disclose that his tire employs a revolutionary new rubber alloy that is 50% more durable than anything currently on the market. He might further elaborate that the spokes of the tire are the result of a completely unique ergonomic design that the inventor and only the inventor knows, and that this design is what makes the tires lightweight. If the inventor receives his patent, this is what will be protected.

Claims are the part of the patent that explains precisely what this invention does, and is capable of doing. Claims are where you define the invention and what it is from a customer’s standpoint. So for example, you would state something like “Bicycle tire employing X proprietary rubber alloy for and Y spoke design to achieve maximum durability and lightness.” This illustrates, concretely, what your patented invention is.

To get a patent, inventors must also typically include a drawing or prototype of their invention. Many novices assume that patents protect mere ideas. That is, you can think of something, write down your idea in a patent application and own sole rights to it. In fact, this is not the case. To protect and foster innovation, the Patent and Trademark Office will only grant patents to those who create something based on an idea.

Contrary to popular belief, a patent is not a right to use the invention in question. Rather, what a patent does is give an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the patented invention for however long the patent lasts. In the US, this is generally 20 years from the date of the patent being filed.

When and if it becomes necessary to enforce a patent, this can generally only be done through civil lawsuits. In most cases, the patent holder will seek monetary compensation for any past infringements. In addition to any damages, he will also seek an injunction. This is a court order prohibiting the infringer from infringing on the patent at any point in the future. It is the court’s way of saying, “We know what you did, and it needs to stop.”

To prove that a patent was infringed upon, the patent holder must prove that the infringer practices all of the requirements set forth in at least on of the patent’s claims. Recall that a patent’s claims are literally the patent. They set forth exactly what it is that this invention does. So if someone stole your spoke design and bribed your scientist into spilling your rubber alloy formula, you will most likely be successful in getting an injunction against that person. Your patent will be recognized and upheld by the courts.

It is also worth putting a naïve patent myth to rest. Many believe it is possible to bypass the lengthy patent application process and high fees by simply mailing yourself an envelope with lots of sketches and idea notes in it. By sending it via federally certified mail, this supposedly “proves” that you were the first to conceive of an idea at a certain time. While this might be useful under certain circumstances, it alone will not provide you with the protection a patent does. Courts will not recognize this as sufficient evidence that you have rights to an idea.

In short, the best advice for those seeking patent protection is to spend the money and consult a patent attorney. These are people who have spent years studying the ins and outs of patents and patent law. If you are thinking of staking your livelihood on a patent idea, these are the people whose advice you want to seek.