Ignorance is not bliss. Before any significant moneys are spent on R&D or Product Development, a basic FTO (freedom to operate) search you be performed to ensure the idea, technology, or product is not infringing the IP rights of another party. IPstreet.com's search tools will help you avoid third-party infringement.

You need IP intelligence to meet corporate objectives related to your business function. If you are a HR director, you can utilize TalentScout™ to identify the inventors that are essential to corporate success. If you are an IP portfolio manager, you can utilize our tools to identify the IP landscape. If you are a licensing executive, you can utilize our tools to identify potential inbound and outbound relationships. IP Street will assist you in better understanding patent duration and patent analytics.

Before you decide to visit a patent attorney, you should educate yourself. Whether you are a newbie or a guru, our tools can help you know more so you can be better prepared. You can learn about patents related to your invention for just $99. Compare that to the average $250/hour your lawyer will charge you.

We believe that intellectual assets, commonly taking the form of patented technology, are the least-understood and most-relevant resources to stimulate economic development through innovation. To make this happen, intellectual property (IP) needs to be more comprehensively understood so that better business decisions can be executed. This is why we are in business. An invention must have economic utility to benefit society. Some times, inventions are way before their time. However, most of the time, the business execution to commercialize the invention fails. In fact, those that conceptualize the invention rarely reap the rewards of the innovation's ultimate success. Using the search tools at IPStreet.com, you can better understand if your idea is patentable, patent duration, patent analytics, and the value of a patent business intelligence from intellectual property assets.

If the complexities of legalities seems simple, you may want to consider becoming a patent agent or patent attorney. If you are a do-it-yourselfer (DIY), you may want to get David Pressman's book "Patent it Yourself" or David Hitchcock's book "Patent Searching Made Easy". If you are like the rest of us, this process does not seem simple. Sure it may cost some money to engage someone to guide you through this process, so you need to carefully consider your innovation in context of (1) is it patentable? and (2) is it a viable business opportunity? It may, however, be in your best interest to learn as much as you can about the system and then hire a competent patent attorney to get the job done. Just think what it would cost to great idea, poorly patented, which may ultimately cost you "like a bigillion dollars in lost royalties or something like that."