Software Patents for Startups

Some startups, like AccelerEyes, are inventing new ways of doing things. For those startups, patents are an important asset. There are several considerations for patents in startups:

• the cost of filing a patent can quickly approach $10k and consume a lot of the inventor’s (typically the startup’s founders) valuable time, without immediately contributing to the startup’s top line revenue
• patents must be filed before the invention is publicly disclosed, stunting the important customer development processes that are vital to early stage startups
• US patent law recently changed from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system, meaning that more companies will be filing more patents sooner than ever before

Patents can offer valuable business leverage, offering a limited-time monopoly to those that invent and go through the patent process. Several of the founders of AccelerEyes were granted a patent late last year, which we first filed in 2007. It can take a LONG time for patents to actually be reviewed and granted. We view our patent as very important to our business, offering us the limited monopoly to monetize our inventions.

Of course, this is all independent of how I think the political system with respect to software patents should evolve. My point is simply to say that independent of one’s views on the system, the reality is that software patents should definitely be considered by startups inventing new ways of doing things, due to the valuable business benefits, competitive protection, and tangible asset.

To actually protect your company with its patent(s), you have to litigate. AccelerEyes has faced litigation before and has the benefit of understanding the patent litigation process very well. We also have excellent patent litigation firms that represent our business.

Have you applied for patents for your startup? How does patent law help your business?

Note: This is not legal advice; consult a lawyer for legal advice.