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Patents aren't "meant to protect you from bigger companies muscling you out". That's a common story told to justify them, but US patents are meant to do what t
by greglindahl 8y ago
Patents aren't "meant to protect you from bigger companies muscling you out".
That's a common story told to justify them, but US patents are meant to do what the US Constitution says about them: “To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.”
Many people who do small startups think patents are a net negative for small startups.
- pnw_hazor 8y agoTheir investors sure like them though. Patents are business assets that can be very important for valuation during exits or funding rounds. In most cases, due diligence auditors are going to want to see a company's patent portfolio. A bad or weak portfolio may not tank the deal, but it certainly impacts valuation. I have seen this first hand, if BigCo is choosing between two or more companies to acquire, they are more likely to select the one with the stronger patent portfolio. edit-to-add: trademarks are very important too -- and often overlooked by startups until it is too late. Trademark trolls are real too.
- greglindahl 8y agoInvestors like patents and trademarks in the "better to have some than have none" sense. That can be still be true even when the patent system is a net minus for small startups. Source: filed a lot of patents and trademarks in my small startups, they were useful at exit, still hate patents with a passion.