How to come up with ideas for patents


    The need for patenting inventions for business is covered in almost every second article on intellectual property. But what to do when it is necessary to protect the company's product, and when talking with the developers, the answers are one more substantial than the other: “I just improved the code”, “there is nothing new here”, “I just fixed bugs”, “I am not interested” and “ leave us alone, we have already proposed everything ”etc.? Recipes under the cut.

    Faced with such a reaction (and also, in principle, with the problem of finding patentable ideas), I highlighted several points that help to collect ideas and organize the process of protecting intellectual property in a company.

    Clarify the highlights for potential inventors


    First you need to explain what a patent is, what it is used for, what protects, the benefit for the company and for the developer.

    For example:
    Patent - a document confirming the exclusive right (the right to prohibit use by others), authorship and priority of an invention, utility model or industrial design.

    The granted patent allows the owner to prohibit any unauthorized use of the invention described in the document, that is, to protect the product from copying and claims of others on the result of the developer’s creative activity. However, there may immediately be exclamations from the same developer that there was no creative activity whatsoever, and everything is ordinary and simple. The solution is to analyze some of his work and show what can be considered novelty in it, or show what can be added to it so that it appears.

    The copyright company may receive the following benefits from the patent:
    • Protection against attacks from competitors and trolls;
    • Copy protection;
    • Sale of licenses for secure technologies;
    • Selling technology;
    • Increasing the value of the company (IP is an intangible asset of the company).

    For the inventor, the use of patenting is slightly different:
    • Scientific publication confirming the novelty of the proposed technologies;
    • Payment of bonuses for patentable inventions created as part of official duties.

    With this approach, even if the developer does not really understand the purpose of patenting ideas, he will be motivated by improving resumes or bonuses.

    If the developer insists only on improving the code, and what exactly the written code (updated, rewritten, improved, etc.) is the subject of a patent, you can make it clear that the code is an object of copyright, not a patent . In a patent application, it is necessary to describe a method or function, namely to see what the written code performs, what problems the product solves and what improves.

    Give examples of patented ideas.


    However, it is far from always clear what is meant by this and what ideas can be offered for patenting.

    To solve this problem, I advise you to prepare a presentation with examples of already filed applications and issued patents (preferably your company, if there are none, then it is possible from the Internet).

    Given that the invention in the application is described in a peculiar way, it is worth explaining separately the idea, and what is written in the claims and description. This will show how the patent application is composed of the proposed idea and what ideas can be protected in principle (including “delusional”, inconspicuous initially and even the most insignificant).



    Brainstorm


    At the next stage, if the programmer does not have any ideas and still adheres to his position, you can organize brainstorming sessions, group or one-on-one.

    From experience in a group, the result in the number of ideas is better, but after such meetings one-on-one conversations are still needed to discuss individual ideas proposed.

    It is more efficient to organize group discussions for 3-6 people, taking into account the scope of employment and the knowledge of each of the guests. In Parallels I try to talk about teams, for example, one day a team on client applications of a Parallels RAS product , another day on a VDI component of the same product, etc.

    So people will be more open and discuss any ideas or problems with their colleagues, the main thing is only to talk to them. It’s not worth discussing the details of each proposed idea immediately with everyone - you’ll only lose time, it’s better to put as many ideas as possible and then separately meet with the author and clarify everything. At such meetings, ideas that are not suitable in view of the prior art (analogue) known to one or several participants are also immediately reclined. Moreover, ideas can arise both by what has been done in the product, and by what is planned or can be done. There have been cases when new features for the company's product, which were implemented in the future, were born from the brainstorms for patents.

    At a one-on-one meeting, it is more difficult for a programmer to relax, so it’s better to go over what he has already implemented and see how else he could improve the parts of the product with which he works.

    Tip: invite to any brainstorming session additionally a person who works with the product for a long time, preferably with deep technical knowledge and who somehow interacted with patents (there are already patented ideas).
    On brainstorms it is better to collect all ideas, spherical and narrowly applicable, unprocessed and implemented. And only then decide what to do with them.

    Analyze new product features


    Another option for collecting ideas for patents is to analyze new functionality in the latest and planned releases with project managers and product managers. Here it’s also not worth focusing on trifles and details, everything can be clarified later with a developer working on specific functionality. The purpose of this analysis is to identify potential ideas for patents.

    So, for example, I periodically organize a meeting with the project manager of Parallels Desktop and the manager of the same product, where we go through the list of implemented updates. In parallel with the written potential ideas, I write down the names of the developers who work on them. Next, I’ll clarify all the questions that interest me specifically with them, which does not waste leadership time and makes it possible to thoroughly discuss the implementation.

    Do not forget that first of all you should work on functions that have already been implemented in published updates. Of course, it depends on the legislation of the country, but in most cases they can be patented only for a certain period of time.

    Also, do not discard ideas related to innovations that can be applied to your product. It can be useful to discuss them with management and analyze the possibility of introducing them into the product, and as a result, the likelihood of an invention.

    Organize the process of analyzing ideas and work on patent applications


    All collected ideas can be discussed on the patent committee, this will allow a comprehensive look at the proposed inventions and decide what to work with, what needs to be finalized and what is not suitable for protection. On the patent committee, there is also the likelihood of new ideas appearing, since when discussing the proposed ones, participants can modify, combine, or even come across a completely different idea.

    We have 6 members in such a committee, and includes a representative of each major project and the head of the entire development of the company.

    At such a discussion, ideas are analyzed taking into account not only three criteria of patentability (novelty, utility and non-obviousness), but also the need for a patent for the company.

    Clearly show the process of processing ideas in the company to developers and their management, where ideas are written, what stages of application development exist and what I would like to see from the inventors.

    Total


    Correctly motivated programmers will be able to find inventions in the company's products, but it is worth helping them in understanding the goals, objectives, processes and organization of events. The right approach also plays an important role, remember: people are different - interests are different, someone listens only to the boss, someone is interested in bonuses, and someone just loves everything new and will happily work together.

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