During development, IP Street was very fortunate and grateful to have early partners that signed on to use our tools, often in beta form. Through timely and constructive feedback, our partners were instrumental in helping us develop features that evolved from "interesting and cool" to "nice to have" to "got to have". Below is a sampling of some of the enterprise partners who understood our vision very early on. They became annual subscribers and were afforded the benefits of having direct access to our development team, enabling us to design more relevant tools and allowing them to enjoy influence in design priorities. They include: Alibaba, Amazon, Lee & Hayes, PAML, T-Mobile. Thank you to all of our enterprise partners.

Our partners included enterprise partners, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small companies. Among our enterprise partners are US and international businesses. We've also received input from research organizations and tech transfer operations. We've sought and received feedback from inventors, a group we believe are the heroes of the knowledge economy. Friends in the IP profession were given opportunities to use and provide feedback. We also engaged investors, venture capitalists, private equity, analysts and others in the financial world to hear what types of tools would make a difference to them when analyzing companies or IP assets. This robust representation has led to better designs. Our development team built tools with these varied personas in mind, so that the suite would assist not only the largest of IP holders, but would be relevant and immediately useable by SMEs, individual inventors, and business professionals. We are confident that you will find these tools valuable for your endeavors.

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.

Knowledge is power in developing and implementing strategy. Ignorance is not a defense nor an excuse in attempts to navigate the IP landscape. Utilizing our tools, we can help you understand more about your patent portfolios so that you can executive better business strategies.

Sadly, the value of a patent is generally determined by the courts. Most litigation involves infringement, but there are also other lawsuits regarding ownership and inventorship and SEC anti-competitive allegations. Let IPStreet.com help you better protect against patent infringment, better utilize patent search tools and patent your invention under the guidance of an experienced patent lawyer.