Conducting a thorough patent search is difficult, particularly for the novice. Patent searching is a learned skill. A novice in the United States could contact the nearest Patent and Trademark Depository Library (PTDL) and seek out search experts to help in setting up a search strategy.

Patents have a maximum life of 20 years and, therefore, a 20-year potential monopoly. Patents that are just beginning their life and which have longer to run on the their potential monopoly position understandably will have more value. It is rare that a patent nearing the end of its term will cause a great threat to its competitors. It is almost certain that they will have devised technologies or products of their own by then that will not interfere with the patent owners monopoly position. In addition, one has to take into consideration the potential business life of a patent, i.e., the duration, which a patent is likely to be economically useful, if other subsequent patents are providing better alternatives to it.

"A new approach to customer intimacy is critical in the new economic environment and this necessitates a stronger commitment than ever before. Organizations that are best at extracting previously undiscovered insights from vast amounts of customer information have a huge advantage in deepening existing connections and creating new relationships. (1) Make customers part of your team. (2) Solicit customer wants. (3) Co-innovate and interact with customers in new ways. (4) Deliver true process transparency. (5) Tap the value of limitless data. (6) Translate data into insight into action that creates business results. (7) Share information freely to build trust and improve customer relationships." According to IBM 2010, Capitalizing on Complexity: Insights from the Global CEO Study. Patent attorneys and IP counselors are key stakeholders in the innovation economy. We want to empower you with our patent-analytic tools that enables you to have more meaningful (and more profitable) relationships with your clientele. IP Street was founded and is currently directed by Lewis Lee, a well-known and respected attorney in the IP space. He understands the challenging of operating a law firm in the economically-distressed digital age. Not only has he helped ideate ways you can directly use our patent search tools to do things smarter, quicker but he has also directed IP Street to help patent lawyers connect to potential customers.

Here at IPstreet.com, we want to change the story. In fact, we want to help inventors get beyond (1) conceptualization and through the important stages of (2) gestation, (3) early incubation, and (4) late incubation. To help you and your inventions, we also need to help those who support the invention process: patent attorneys, IP portfolio managers, senior executives, and investors. We believe you are the engine that drives economic development, and the supporting cast fuels the innovation process. In this section, you will learn more about how your inventions can be protected and commercialized. Whether you are a new inventor or are a patenting guru, we hope you will find our resources relevant and practical. Our content is developed by subject matter experts in business and IP law; an uncommon union of PhDs and JDs to help you make sense of the IP landscape in the development of your invention, and its ultimate commercialization.

The Japanese commissioner in Washington DC in the 1900's studying the American patent system said, "We have looked about us to see what nations are the greatest, so that we can be like them... We said, 'What makes the United States such a great nation?' and we investigated and found that it was patents, and we will have patents."