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I was hoping someone would say this, because I want my struggles to be about finding the right set of features do deliver, not about who invented what when. But

by jkl 16y ago

I was hoping someone would say this, because I want my struggles to be about finding the right set of features do deliver, not about who invented what when. But to be clear, are you saying that your startup ran into some legal threats, that you more or less ignored them, and that strategy worked?

pg 16y ago
Yes, actually, we did have someone from a competitor call Viaweb, telling us that we should license some bogus patent they'd been granted. I told the guy we thought the patent was bogus and we weren't interested, and he replied by asking if we were hiring. You can't ignore all legal threats, but I usually advise startups we fund to ignore threats from competitors involving IP.
- VanL 16y ago
  This is right. Patents and patent games really only become important when you have enough money that people care about trying to take some of it away. For tech startups, execution is 100x more important. IAAPL, and the only time when I would recommend that a tech startup get a patent is when: - There is a hard technical problem that you solved that is core to your new product/service (think Google) - You are building a device that requires custom hardware. - You are in the Biotech space.
  - PerryStallings 16y ago
    Patents are long term intangible assets. There are two reasons to patent a technology. 1) Protection. Pharmaceutical companies invest billions in drug development. Patents protect them from low cost providers coming in without the dev cost. 2) Licensing. The Unreal game engine is in hundreds of games. However with the accelerated development and apllication schedule in the tech industry, it is often more profitable to keep the technology in house. Unless you are developing products for licensing don't worry about patents. Conversely, startups that try to get into the patent game are not likely to have developed anything worth worrying about. Remember, the patent process takes time and you as the patent holder are required to police their property.
    - staunch 16y ago
      > 2) Licensing. The Unreal game engine is in hundreds of games. You can license the right to use a patent, but you don't have to have a patent to license technology you own. Epic Games owns the engine technology (source code, documentation, data files, etc) that licensees pay for the right to use.

by jkl 16y ago

pg 16y ago

Yes, actually, we did have someone from a competitor call Viaweb, telling us that we should license some bogus patent they'd been granted. I told the guy we thought the patent was bogus and we weren't interested, and he replied by asking if we were hiring. You can't ignore all legal threats, but I usually advise startups we fund to ignore threats from competitors involving IP.

VanL 16y ago
This is right. Patents and patent games really only become important when you have enough money that people care about trying to take some of it away. For tech startups, execution is 100x more important. IAAPL, and the only time when I would recommend that a tech startup get a patent is when: - There is a hard technical problem that you solved that is core to your new product/service (think Google) - You are building a device that requires custom hardware. - You are in the Biotech space.
- PerryStallings 16y ago
  Patents are long term intangible assets. There are two reasons to patent a technology. 1) Protection. Pharmaceutical companies invest billions in drug development. Patents protect them from low cost providers coming in without the dev cost. 2) Licensing. The Unreal game engine is in hundreds of games. However with the accelerated development and apllication schedule in the tech industry, it is often more profitable to keep the technology in house. Unless you are developing products for licensing don't worry about patents. Conversely, startups that try to get into the patent game are not likely to have developed anything worth worrying about. Remember, the patent process takes time and you as the patent holder are required to police their property.
  - staunch 16y ago
    > 2) Licensing. The Unreal game engine is in hundreds of games. You can license the right to use a patent, but you don't have to have a patent to license technology you own. Epic Games owns the engine technology (source code, documentation, data files, etc) that licensees pay for the right to use.