Cost-Effective Patenting Produces The Broadest And Strongest Patents

Given the very high cost of patenting, it behooves applicants to choose very carefully between technology that should be pursued and that which should be eschewed. But that rarely happens. The inventors usually care little about the financial effects of patenting, and the business people typically have little understanding of technology. The result is that every little improvement finds its way to the patent attorney for filing.

That is a very poor strategy. A better approach is to: (1) focus on patenting as a critical component in defining the goals and resources; (2) choose the market(s) with patentability in mind; (3) target patent strategies to the choke points; and (4) develop tactics that cost-effectively implement the patent strategies.