Selling a Patent – Part 1

January 21, 2011 By Aminda

IdeaConnection provides a useful forum for patent owners to pitch their invention to a market of motivated buyers. Any inventor will maximize their return if they first maximize their research.  Here are few tips on getting started.

 Plan Your Patents

Inventors Digest contains a wealth of information for those looking to profit from patents. One piece of advice on getting noticed is to develop a strong, sellable patent. Interestingly, some of the tips are counter-intuitive. For example, a wildly creative inventor might conclude that an invention should be completely unique and self-sufficient in order to stand out from the crowd. In reality, buyers are looking for an ROI on their purchase so a strong patent should relate to at least one other product or service in wide use and generating significant income.

Think that a patent should be lengthy and detailed in order to be completely understandable to potential buyers? Not entirely. Claims should describe a minimal set of steps required to implement the invention and be written so that it is easy to detect their use.

Know the Competition

In addition to having a strongly developed product, an owner is going to need to position it correctly against the competition. The only way to do this is to educate oneself on the industry and products currently in the space as yours. This step involves some honest soul-searching, according to on-line IP Marketplace, Idea Buyer. Is your product so revolutionary that it could redefine an industry or is it more like a unique variation of existing products?

The Trick of Timing

According to Inventors Digest, if a patent is solidly developed, but not yet widely used, an owner may want to wait before moving forward with a transaction. However, decisions to wait need to be carefully considered. Technology trends change quickly and waiting too long may mean the invention is overlooked, offered for free by someone else or simply becomes obsolete. In any case, the patent’s value drops.

Patent owners also need to consider expiration dates, which affect the amount of time available for potential royalty payments. Patents with less than five years left until expiration are less valuable than those with more.  It’s important that owners avoid spending too much time and money trying to protect an idea, and not enough time getting it sold.


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