Do you seek an issued patent or a patent outcome (which may not, in fact, be an issued patent) that creates value for your business? If the former, go ahead and hire a competent patent attorney. She can probably (but not always) get you the result that you want. If, on the contrary, you seek a patent outcome that has the aim and goal of enhancing your business value and exit strategy, you cannot base your selection of a patent professional solely on the basis of her credentials and expertise.
The effort required to generate a patent that possesses business value is very different than a patent that provides only legal protection for an invention. Indeed, business value is a business question that a client cannot expect his patent expert to be able to discern for him. Instead, customer discovery, financial modeling, and business strategy must first be defined as navigation for the route traveled on the patent journey so as to make sure the lawyer’s driving gets the client passenger to the right destination. Put simply, no amount of “good driving” will get the client to the right result if, in the first order, there is no business goal defined for the effort and money expended on getting a patent.
This post provides potential patentees with an explanation of how the results of patent efforts shouldn’t “depend.” Rather, successful patent outcomes can be planned, and patent experts should be held accountable for generating the desired business results.
