Ask HN: How do you monetize from Patenting? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do you monetize from Patenting?

4 pointsyogrish4 comments

I have filed quite a few IPs through my current company. But, the rewards my company pays are meagre. I think I have some more promising ideas that can be patented in areas of Autonomous driving/Computer vision.

How do I monetize them if I have to file on my own? Is it worth filing on my own as there is significant Cost I need to bear for Patenting. or are there any alternative options. Pls suggest.

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Patents are cheap and fairly easy to file - you can get a provisional patent for a few hundred dollars that gives you about a year to test the waters and see if you want to get the final patent. The total cost if you file yourself will be under $2k. Lawyers will add another 5-10k to that, but you don't need them if you're willing to do a little research. The big benefit of lawyers is that they know how to make the patent language vague so it is easily "weaponized."

The next step while you're preparing your provisional patent/final patent is to create a really slick demo to sell prospective licensees.

Once you have a provisional patent and a demo the next step is to actually find people to license to. If you have lots of industry contacts this could involve making a few phone calls, but in most cases you are going to need to work trade shows. Cold calling can work too but it's tough.

I second the recommendation to write/file patents yourself vice wasting money on lawyers. As implied, you generally won't be succesful selling an idea without a decent demo prototype, so dont fall into the trap of thinking the patent is the end-game. If you do consult a lawyer, I suggest thinking twice before filing any foreign patents (assuming you're outsie of the USA). If found foreign patents to be a major money pit, which pobably isnt worthwhile unless you've invented something like, say, "the wheel."

For patent images, you can do just about everything in PowerPoint and Sketchup.

Lastly, if you do file yourself, note that you can file your first few patents as a micro-entity, which lets you pay a little less. Don't forget however that ther are mainennance fees down the road though after the non-provisional is published. These can be a shock if you're not expecting them. Here's a rough summary of small entity USPTO patent lifecycle costs.if you file yourself (its a little cheaper for micro), details may vary slightly:

1. Provisional Filing - $130 ______________ (after 1 yr file non-provisional) 2. Non-prov. Filling - $140 3. Utility Search - $300 4. Utility Exam - $300

Total non-provisional fees (2-4): $800 ______________ (after ~2yrs patent will issue) 5. Notice of Allowance (i.e. issuance) fee: $480 ______________ (Maintenance fees over patent's life) 6. @ 3.5yr: $800 7. @ 7.5yr: $1800 8. @ 11.5yr: $3700

That's a really good info. Thank you.

My two cents....Patents are only worth what you can afford to defend them.

A product that is hard to reverse engineer is almost as good as a patent. And a product might be the quickest way to monetize any idea.

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