​​Patently Strategic - Patent Strategy for Startups

The life sciences are currently facing at least two major plagues in our patent world. The first is that many life science innovations have been deemed ineligible in terms of patentable subject matter. In other words, the courts and the patent office believe that the patent laws are not meant to protect these innovations. The second plague is that the courts believe that many life sciences patents are not enabled. In other words, they are not described in sufficient detail to enable one of skill in the art to make and use the invention.These subject matter eligibility and enablement plagues manifest in dreaded Section 101 and 112 rejections. In this month’s episode, Dr. Ashley Sloat, President and Director of Patent Strategy at Aurora, leads a discussion, along with our all star patent panel, delving deeply into these rejections and, in the interest of avoiding a podcast 101 rejection, provides some very practical application tips that will help to fortify your life science patent applications. Ashley is also joined today by our always exceptional group of IP experts including:⦿ Kristen Hansen, Patent Strategist at Aurora⦿ Daniel Wright, Patent Strategist⦿ David Jackrel, President of Jackrel Consulting ⦿ Shelley Couturier, Patent Strategist and Search Specialist⦿ David Cohen, Principal at Cohen Sciences⦿ Amy Fiene,  Patent attorney at Vancott and adjunct professor at BYU⦿ Steve Stupp, Partner at Stupp Associates, LLC. ** Resources **⦿ Show Notes⦿ Slides⦿ The Death of the Genus Claim ⦿ Final office action rejection frequency for life science patents ⦿ Examiner statistics (not an endorsement)** Follow Aurora Consulting **⦿ Home⦿ Twitter⦿ LinkedIn⦿ Facebook⦿ InstagramAnd as always, thanks for listening! ---Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.Let us know what you think about this episode!

“Metaverse” is the buzziest of the buzzwords in tech today and will soon be joining the ranks of “AI” and “ML” as requisite keywords in the next generation of pitch decks and patent applications. But what are the core components of the Metaverse? And what are their implications in the world of intellectual property? The Patently Strategic Podcast will be exploring this topic over the course of several upcoming episodes. We begin our exploration with Web 3.0. While it may prove to be the next great tech revolution, the broad shape and definition of the Metaverse itself is still more firmly baked in science fiction than in commercial tech reality. Many of its core building blocks, however, are likely right in front of our eyes (or headsets, perhaps). History shows that most major technology revolutions are rarely leaps, but instead evolutionary products of incremental steps, composed of many existing building blocks, met with market readiness. The Web 3.0 innovations of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs that are taking shape in front of us will no doubt be among these essential building blocks. This third phase of the internet also poses some of the most interesting questions for the world of IP. What will the impact be on digital property rights in a secure marketplace, governed by smart contracts? How will copyrights play in digital worlds with their own art and governance? Is there merit in considering a new type of protection category outside of patents and copyrights?  In our very first IPWatchdog episode, Kristen Hansen, Patent Strategist and software patent guru here at Aurora, leads a discussion along with our all star patent panel, digging into:⦿ The fundamentals of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs – and why the hype⦿ The state of the technology⦿ Questions around what web evolution, blockchain, and NFT technology means for IP ownership⦿ And strategies for protecting blockchain and cryptocurrency innovationsKristen is also joined today by our always exceptional group of IP experts including:⦿ Dr. Ashley Sloat, President and Director of Patent Strategy at Aurora ⦿ David Jackrel, President of Jackrel Consulting ⦿ Shelley Couturier, Patent Strategist and Search Specialist⦿ Daniel Wright, Patent Strategist** Resources **⦿ Show Notes: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-into-the-patentverse-vol-1⦿ Apply to come work with us: https://www.aurorapatents.com/careers.html** Follow Aurora Consulting **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ And as always, thanks for listening! ---Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.Let us know what you think about this episode!

In this month's episode, our experts help to demystify the concept of Common Ownership and how it can be leveraged to disqualify prior art that might otherwise cause a rejection during prosecution.  Dr. Ashley Sloat, President and Director of Patent Strategy here at Aurora leads this discussion along with our all star patent panel, digging into Common Ownership exceptions, joint research exceptions, and terminal disclaimer practice. And if this all sounds like a foreign language or if you’re wondering why you might care, we include a primer that will help you quickly get up-to-speed on key concepts like inventorship, ownership, assignments, prior art, and terminal disclaimers. One of the recurring themes of this podcast is helping inventors avoid sharp corners and we’ve found that these concepts in particular trip up a lot of newer inventors and the resulting problems that come from misunderstandings around these core concepts can be difficult to untangle.Ashley is joined today by our always exceptional group of IP experts including:⦿ David Cohen, Principal at Cohen Sciences⦿ Shelley Couturier, Patent Strategist and Search Specialist at Aurora⦿ Amy Fiene, Patent attorney at Vancott and adjunct professor at BYU⦿ David Jackrel, President of Jackrel Consulting ** Resources **⦿ Show Notes: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-common-ownership** Follow Aurora Consulting **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ And as always, thanks for listening! ---Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.Let us know what you think about this episode!

In this month’s special episode, we’re sharing a great sit down with three very innovative, up-and-coming inventors – as we also launch the next installment of our RISE award.  We are joined today by:⦿ Keith Phillips, CEO & Founder of realLINGUA⦿ Theresa Smith, CTO of the Ola Filter Corporation⦿ Brendan Wang, Founder of CAPNOSThese inventors share their stories and provide invaluable tips and advice, much learned the hard way. Along the way, we explore:⦿ Challenges in bootstrapping – especially as companies coming up through the pandemic⦿ The importance of patenting and how the RISE award helped solve critical challenges⦿ Advice for inventors new to patenting⦿ The  importance of feedback** Learn more and apply for the RISE award **  The RISE award offers a free provisional U.S. patent application or $5,000 towards a non-provisional U.S. patent application to a selected applicant. https://www.aurorapatents.com/rise-up-with-aurora.html** Learn more about our featured inventors **  ⦿ Keith Phillips and realLINGUA: https://reallingua.com⦿ Theresa Smith and the Ola Filter: https://www.olafilter.com⦿ Brendan Wang and The CAPNOS Zero®: https://mycapnos.com** Resources **⦿ Show Notes: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-inventor-stories-vol-1** Follow Aurora Consulting **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ And as always, thanks for listening! ---Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.Let us know what you think about this episode!

We're officially kicking off our second season and in this month's episode, our experts tackle software patents. As Silicon Valley engineer and investor Marc Andreessen famously said, “Software is eating the world”. It is central to so much of today’s innovation and the growth potential is off the charts. Five companies, all with software at their core, are worth a quarter of the S&P’s entire market cap. The AI powered market will grow to $180 billion by 2025. By the end of this year, the Global Edge Computing market will reach $6.72 billion and the global AR and VR market will exceed $209 billion. By 2030, there will be 50 billion IoT devices in use worldwide. That’s 6 devices each for every man, woman and child on this planet – and all of them are powered by software. The stakes are high, the value is soaring, and the importance of quality software patenting has never been more strategically vital. In this month’s episode, Dr. Ashley Sloat, President and Director of Patent Strategy here at Aurora leads a discussion along with our all star patent panel, digging into:The social and legal issues surrounding software patentsStrategies for how to protect software innovationsA great overview of IP implementation concerns and strategies as they pertain to outsourcing, code ownership, agile methodologies, and open source useAn inside look at how Google manages its IPThe group also concludes with an insightful brainstorming session around two problems that plague this space. The first is around a new patent type that would help overcome many of the current prosecution and court problems faced by software patents. The second, pulling from adjacent IP law, is a mechanism for small inventors to receive compensation for using their patents, similar to how music copyright royalties are handled.Ashley is joined today by our always exceptional group of IP experts including:David Cohen, Principal at Cohen SciencesShelley Couturier, Patent Strategist and Search Specialist at AuroraAmy Fiene, Patent attorney at Vancott and adjunct professor at BYUKristen Hansen, Patent Strategist at AuroraDavid Jackrel, President of Jackrel Consulting Daniel Wright, Partnership Manager and Patent Strategist at Aurora** Resources *** Show Notes: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-software-patents** Follow Aurora Consulting *** Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ And as always, thanks for listening!Let us know what you think about this episode!

David Cohen and Ashley Sloat discuss the key anatomy of a patent, including its purpose, structure, and components. They also explore the significance of ambiguity in patent applications and provide tips on finding and accessing patents. The podcast offers valuable insights and practical advice for startups navigating the complex world of patenting.

In the US especially, patents are granted to inventors. More often than not, that’s more than one person and the ideas themselves are fluid concepts that often evolve through many handoffs from initial conception through implementation and sometimes even throughout patent prosecution, but how do we determine who all should – and is legally required to be – officially named as an inventor? In the constitutionally expressed interest of protecting inventors and the conception of their ideas, failure to include the right people can be a death sentence for a patent and grounds for invalidity.In this episode, Daniel Wright, Partnership Manager and Patent Strategist here​​ at Aurora, will lead a deep dive into the origins of inventorship, break down who is and isn’t eligible for inclusion as an inventor, and explain how improper inventorship could result in revoked patent rights.Daniel is joined today by: * David Jackrel, President of Jackrel Consulting  * David Cohen, Principal at Cohen Sciences. ***** Resources *** Show notes: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-inventorship** Follow Aurora Consulting *** Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ And as always, thanks for listening! ---Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.Let us know what you think about this episode!

Listen in as we discuss the impact of the AIA and the PTAB with inventors gathered as part of the "Decade of Stolen Dreams" rallies, happening in front of regional USPTO offices all across the country, marking the 10 year anniversary of the passage of the America Invents Act – an event described by advocacy groups as the worst event in U.S. patent history.The inventors and entrepreneurs at the rally we attended, all from diverse backgrounds with very different stories, have one thing in common and that is their shared belief that the AIA and the PTAB – with its eye-popping 84% invalidation rate – have crippled innovators and created a Decade of Stolen Dreams, ruining the lives of countless inventors and shutting down numerous start-ups, in favor of Big Tech and multinational corporations.In this episode, we break down the AIA and PTAB through a wide array of personal perspectives from inventors, patent practitioners, and even a former USPTO patent examiner. We explore its origins, core problems, and proposed solutions. We also provide some very practical tips that inventors should consider now to help future-proof their patents, should they ever find themselves on the receiving end of an IPR.Inventors are not only the real engine of our economy, but they’re also the reason we do what we do here at Aurora. This is a complex issue, with high stakes, involving the people who matter most to our business and what the world will look like for our kids, so we can’t think of a better use of a podcast episode than to lend a voice and hopefully shine a light on the key issues and some potential solutions. I am joined today by an exceptional group of industry experts, founders, and inventors including:* Ashley Sloat: President & Director of Patent Strategy at Aurora Consulting* Dan Brown: Professor at Northwestern, owner of 40 utility patents, elected to the National Academy of Inventors, and serves as the inventor rep on the Patent Public Advisory Committee.* Bob Schmidt: Founder, Chairman and CEO of 5 companies including Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies and Cleveland Medical Devices, Co-Chair of the Small Business Technology Council, and has 40 patents to his name* Louis Carbonneau: Founder & CEO of Tangible IP, one of the largest patent brokers in the world* Kip Azzoni Doyle: Inventor of the CardShark WalletSkin and the author of the upcoming book, “Blood in the Water, America’s Assault on Innovation”* Tariq Najee-ullah: 10 year patent examiner, former NASA engineer, and current Principal at Patent Insider***Learn more: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-american-inventor-horror-story** Follow Aurora Consulting *** Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ And as always, thanksLet us know what you think about this episode!

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the war games filled world of patent buying and selling. We are joined today by special guest host, Louis Carbonneau, Founder & CEO of Tangible IP. Mr. Carbonneau is a recognized expert in intellectual property with close to 30 years of professional US, Canadian, and international experience in all facets of intellectual property law and business. His firm is the largest brokerage firm in the world and has transacted over 4,500 patents in the past decade.When we sat down with Louis, we hoped to be able to provide our listeners with a 101 style talk on the ins and outs of patent monetization. What we got was so much more and so very consistent with our mission of helping our audience see around corners and help their future selves. Louis begins with some excellent historical perspective and an overview of the state of the market, but really drives it all home with a plethora of forward-thinking strategies that make for more robust, defendable, assertable patents. Patents are a long game. The little things you do now can have tremendous impact over the next 15 or more years of your business journey and it’s vital that inventors and practitioners start keeping these strategies in mind, if they have any hope of crafting battle ready, commercial-grade patents. Louis is joined today by our always exceptional group of IP experts including:* Ashley Sloat – President & Director of Patent Strategy at Aurora Consulting* Shelley Couturier – Patent Strategist and Search Specialist here at Aurora* David Jackrel – President of Jackrel Consulting* David Cohen – Principal at Cohen Sciences * Amy Fiene – Patent attorney at Vancott and adjunct professor at BYU* Neil Thompson – Patent agent at Torrey Pines Law Group***** Resources *** Show notes: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/new-podcast-patent-monetization** Follow Aurora Consulting *** Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/* Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ And as always, thanks for listening! ---Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.Let us know what you think about this episode!

The podcast discusses the challenges of patent searching and the importance of conducting thorough searches. It emphasizes the value of manual analysis and the limitations of automated platforms. The chapter explores offensive and defensive patent strategies for startups and provides tips for effective searching. They also analyze the power transmission of a mobile device and discuss modifications made by Apple to overcome a similar reference. The process of conducting a comprehensive patent search is explored, including examining examiner's reasons for allowance, forward and backward searching, and finding multiple references to support claims.