Exercise in Prior Art Searches

• Two Cases: (1) Yours (2) Ours• Determine Keywords for your technology• Conduct a prior art search• Be prepared to discuss results– How many hits?– Did one patent stand out?

Tiene 1,5

horas

Exercise in Prior Art Searches Our Case The Invention is a paper ring to hold a paper napkin

wrapped around a fork and knife. The paper ring has Velcro at the top and bottom of each paper strip to connect it in a ring. The paper strips are attached end-to-end in a tear-off roll.La Invención es un anillo de papel de tener una servilleta de papel envuelta alrededor de un tenedor y el cuchillo. El anillo del papel tiene Velcro por encima y fondo de cada tira de papel para conectarlo en un anillo. Las tiras del papel son conectadas de punta a punta en un rollo de lágrima-de.

Exercise in Prior Art Searches Our Case

La Invención es un anillo de papel de tener una servilleta de papel envuelta alrededor de un tenedor y el cuchillo. El anillo del papel tiene Velcro por encima y fondo de cada tira de papel para conectarlo en un anillo. Las tiras del papel son conectadas de punta a punta en un rollo de lágrima-de.

Exercise in Prior Art Searches

• What did you find?• Knock-Out Punch?• Crowded or Not Crowded?• Who Owns Patents in the Area?

Exercise in Prior Art Searches

Our Case

U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,498 is a knock-out punch

Stage of Development

• Answers the question “How far along are you?”

• The key is knowing what is left to do before the innovation can be commercialized• It is a question of risk

¿Cuánto

tiempo ha

side

trabajado?

Stage of DevelopmentPharmaceutical Development Cycle:

1/1/

2010

1/1/

2011

1/1/

2012

1/1/

2013

1/1/

2014

1/1/

2015

1/1/

2016

1/1/

2017

1/1/

2018

1/1/

2019

1/1/

2020

1/1/

2021

1/1/

2022

0102030405060708090

10,000 Compounds

250 Compounds

5

1 Approved Drug

IND filed NDA filed

Discovery ReviewClinical TrialsPre-clinical

Phase I Phase II Phase III

(may extend)

Stage of DevelopmentPharmaceutical Development Cycle:

1/1/

2010

1/1/

2011

1/1/

2012

1/1/

2013

1/1/

2014

1/1/

2015

1/1/

2016

1/1/

2017

1/1/

2018

1/1/

2019

1/1/

2020

1/1/

2021

1/1/

2022

0102030405060708090

10,000 Compounds

250 Compounds

5

1 Approved Drug

IND filed NDA filed

Discovery ReviewClinical TrialsPre-clinical

Phase I Phase II Phase III

(may extend)

Risk

Engineered Product

Stage of Development

Intro Growth Maturity Decline

Sale

s

Time

Engineered Product

Stage of Development

Intro Growth Maturity Decline

Sale

s

Time

BetaDevelopment

Research

Inve

stm

ent

Engineered Product

Stage of Development

Intro Growth Maturity Decline

Sale

s

Time

Inve

stm

ent

BetaDevelopment

Research

Risk

• Literature research

• Pre-formulation• Formulation• Stability Test• Process

Development

Drug Development

• Learn the development cycle for your technology

• Ask what steps have been done

Stage of Development

Waste Management

• Learn tests needed– Certifications– Standards– Directives

• Example: Tin-based Solder– IPC– ANSI/J-STD-006B– ASTM B3– RoHS (Europe)

Stage of Development

• Experiments• Prototypes• Alpha and Beta Tests• What investment needed to develop?• What investment for use?

Stage of Development

Temas

importantes

Maintenance

• When you buy a car, you pay for it before you drive it away

• But, the purchase price is not your only expense

• You will have to buy gasoline and pay for service, tires, and repairs

Maintenance• When you license IP, you are

also not finished with costs• Consider:– Patent Maintenance– Accounting to Co-Owners– Sharing with outside inventors– Reports to funding agencies– Reports to Administration

Maintenance

• Some projects become very complicated

• The cost of maintaining the relationships of commercialization sometimes outweigh the benefits

Maintenance• High Maintenance Funding– Sponsor gets exclusive license…– And non-exclusive to background rights– You prosecute the patent app, but…– Sponsor has to approve all actions…– And you cannot abandon– You report interested parties to Sponsor– Sponsor negotiates license– Sponsor shares after recovery of funds

• Examples: SRC, EPRI

MaintenanceExample

• Case 1: 12 inventors listed– Some moved away– Improvements filed…– with 6 inventors…– some new

• Case 1 gets licensed– How do we share?

• Inventors argue– Stalemate reached

MaintenanceExample

• Case 1: Company fires CEO• Board of Directors argue• Company fails

MaintenanceExample• Case 2: Inventor moves

here from another institute• Improves an invention

made at former location• Moves to another institute• Improves again• Improvements appears

valuable

MaintenanceExample• Case 2: First institute

refuses to negotiate• Third institute wants all

rights assigned to them• We have two companies

interested

MaintenanceExample• Case 2: Companies each

negotiated with each institute independently

• Six agreements• Required 3 years of

negotiation

MaintenanceExample• Case 2: One company

raised $362 millones MXN• 200 employees

MaintenanceImportant Factors

• Number of inventors• Number of contracts to negotiate• Number of reporting entities• Look for cooperation of inventors

Maintenance

“You need to encourage internal IP staff to be business oriented, and to take risks based on proper assessments.” – Jean-François Serrier, intellectual assets

general manager, Solvay

SerrierExcerpts from innovation quarterly, Issue 18 Winter 09

Industry speaks

POP QUIZ!Prior Art question goes here?

What questions should you ask to reveal the stage of development?

What aspect of your assessment will be affected if you have 3 co-owners?