Question
We are an early-stage startup developing cloud-based Additive Manufacturing services. We would like to determine whether our technology could potentially be patented. We would also like to know what kind of patents are owned by our competitors in this field and how we can avoid infringing them.
The idea is that in the end we would have a complete picture of the value of our technology not just as a patent by itself but also in relation to what other companies have protected and where our market development could be. Is this something we would hire a patent attorney for?
Since we are a startup I would be very grateful for rough estimates of approximately how much such an analysis usually costs. We are located mainly in Germany and our current focus is on the European market, although we do not restrict ourselves to that. Regarding costs, I have also read that many lawyers in the U.S. have special payment options for startup companies, however I haven't really seen any offers like that in Germany (I wouldn't know the situation in other European countries). Is there such an option?
Answers: 1 public & 1 private
What you basically are looking for is what is called a 'landscape analysis'of the patent field on your technology, which may be followedby an in depth comparison of your technology with the technology of your competitors followed by a kaind of valuation.
The order of the above activities is also listed in order of price (in principle the effort that it would cost to obtain this information).
A patent landscape could already be provided for reasonable costs (in the Marketplace prices vary from about EUR 500.- to about EUR 4,000.-). Please be aware that generally in this case price equals quality of the analysis.
It would even be better if this landscaping (and the nature of the data that will be derived from this patent information) would be an iterative process where after a first preliminary landscape the patent searcher contacts you and checks whether his analysis would be useful to you and based on your comments and wishes adapt the search and/or analysis strategy.
The second step requires more of your input and that of people who know the technological sector where you are operating. Will you be able to patent your own technology,and if so, would these patents be blocking and provide you with a monopoly for the product? If the competitor has a patent on an important feature, how simple would it to circumvent the patent? How expensive would be a licence? These considerations then eventually will lead to a valuation of your technology and also insight in the technological position of your competitors, which could eventually lead to collaborations or negotatiations for licensing.
Recent questions
I sometimes see questions on forums like Quora about how to stop people stealing your invention i...
4 5386 2I am looking for useful sources on protecting copyright. I am in the process of writing a book ba...
3 6115 2What is the current wisdom on compiling news feeds on a third party website so far as copyright i...
1 3962 0This might be a silly question but I’m a bit confused by ‘prior disclosure’ as it applies to pate...
2 4824 1Do you have a question about your invention or intellectual property?
Search the questions below or post your enquiry to one of our experts via Directory.
(User questions are no longer posted publicly on this page.)
