The competitive landscape can be brutal, and commonly is referred to as the Red Ocean--you know, blood in the water with sharks lurking about (yeah, a few lawyer jokes come to mind, but I will restrain myself). Research at Harvard Business Review and elsewhere suggests that the most profitable business strategies are related to finding and/or creating Blue Ocean to reap rewards in a new space. How does that relate to studying patent data? Simple. You first need to understand what patents already exist in the invention-space. Second you need to understand and articulate how your invention is unique. Next you need to write your patent so it makes as many unique and new claims as it possibly can. Then you need to consider all possible opportunities to secure and expand your space. In IP lawyer-speak, this means that your invention needs to have a valid legal scope. If you find out, using our tools, that your invention is in a very competitive space (sharks in the bloody ocean), you may want to forego the costs associated with pursuing patent protection. IPstreet.com can help by searching millions of patents and simplifying the complexities of the data into an intuitive "scatter plot" that identifies your idea in context of the universe of patents and patent-pending applications. Ultimately, we can provide important business intelligence from the immense and excessive information available. Our goal is to take TMI (too much information) and report it to you which will better inform your business decisions. If you are searching for questions such as, "how to patent my idea, " or "how to patent my idea," then you've come to the right place. IPStreet.com's patent search tools are designed with you in mind. Using the patent search software, you can better understand how to patent your invention or patent idea, patent duration and find an experienced patent lawyers.

The adage "you get what you pay for" certainly is meaningful in the IP legal landscape. However, it is a challenge to get new, first-time inventors in the door to start discussing why they should retain an patent lawyer. With our co-branding options, we can help advance potential clientele through your pipeline. Become a co-branding partner and we will generate a promotional code to your potential clientele that will give them a discount on our services (10% savings). When they login, your logo will be co-branded with our software, a subtle reminder to the potential client.

A design patent covers the unique, ornamental, or visible shape or surface ornamentation of an article or object, even if only on a computer screen. Thus if a lamp, a building, a computer case, or a desk has a truly unique shape, its design can be design patented. Even computer screen icons and an arrangement of printing on a piece of paper can be patented. A design must be for an article that is different from an object in its natural state; thus a figure of a man would not be suitable for a design patent but if the man is in an unnatural position, this can be patented. The uniqueness of the shape must be purely ornamental or aesthetic and part of an article. If the design is functional, then only a utility patent is proper, even if it is also aesthetic. A good example is a jet plane with a constricted waist (narrow body) for reducing turbulence at supersonic speeds: Although the novel shape is attractive, its functionality makes it suitable for a utility patent only. A useful way to distinguish between a design and a utility invention is to ask, "Will removing or smoothing out the novel features substantially impair the function of the device?" If so, as in the jet plane with the narrowed body, this proves that the novel features have a significant functional purpose, so a utility patent in indicated. According to David Pressman's book "Patent it Yourself" two useful questions to ask to define design innovations are: (1) Is the novel feature(s) there for structural or functional reasons, or only for the purpose of ornamentation? (2) Does the novel feature make it look better or work better? (The utilitarian function always prevails.) If the state of the arts is such that the general nature of the feature and its function is old, but the feature has a novel shape that is an aesthetic improvement, then only a design patent will be proper. The design patent application must consist primarily of drawings, along with formal paperwork and a filing fee. Design patents last 14 years from the date of issuance.

Executives need vision to convert patented R&D into a profit center. Consider EMI, a london company that produces music (a music label company). In their Central Research Laboratories in Hayes, Godfrey Hounsfield had an idea to integrate X-ray slices to create a 3-D image (originally known as an EMI scan), today know as a CT or CAT scan. Godfrey was awared a Nobel Prize for his work, and later knighted. The idea came to him while picnicking in the park; however, the senior executives realized this was no picnic. They leveraged the technology (foundation patent #3,778,614), securing over 120 of the first 450 patents in this space. The legacy competitors (General Electric, Philips, Siemens) were playing catch-up with this innovator. Few executives would be brave enough to execute such a divergent business strategy.

Peter Drucker said, "Business has only two functions - marketing and innovation." Here at IP Street, we provide the tools for you to succeed in both.