Novel & Non-Obvious

Strong intellectual property is one thing, but patents also have to make business sense. Too often, however, patent attorneys are more interested in billing their time than helping build profitable businesses around founder inventions.

Russ Krajec has been advising large and small companies on patent matters for more than 14 years. During that time, he has personally drafted and prosecuted over 1,000 patent applications and today runs patent investment and advisory firm BlueIron. On this week's episode of Novel & Non-Obvious, Yoriko and Russ discuss the business side of IP and how founders should be thinking about the value of their patents.

Contracts aren't all created equally. There are bad contracts just about as often as there are good contracts, and often the difference comes down to the details. In this week's episode of Novel & Non-Obvious, Yoriko Morita discusses what bad contract clauses look like and what the IP implications are.

Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) have recently become the subject of much discussion and controversy. People are understandably confused about what NFTs are, what rights they confer, how they can be sold or bought, and how they are made.

But NFTs come with some fairly basic intellectual property implications that are easy to understand. On this week's episode of Novel & Non-Obvious, Yoriko Morita explains just what NFTs are, what makes them different and how they're similar to more common types of IP.

No good idea happens in a vacuum. Entrepreneurs have to contend with the market and who else is serving the same product to their target audience, and patent filings are the boxing ring where this showdown begins.

Understanding your competitor’s patent filings, vis-a-vis their patent portfolio, is your window into their business model. It gives you an idea of what they offer the world and what they don’t. On this episode of Novel & Non-Obvious, Yoriko Morita explains how to use patent filings to better understand your competitive place in the market.

It’s not a rumor: Many VCs and other investors will not sign NDAs during initial discussions. The challenge for founders, then, is to get them to that second discussion when they are willing to take more interest in you and are willing to sign that NDA.

Should you be worried about putting your IP at risk? Probably not. In this episode of "Novel and Non-Obvious," Yoriko Morita explains how IP works during the fundraising process and what investors are really looking for when they ask to see your intellectual property.

The joy of launching a successful prototype can often derail a company that hasn't done their IP research. Enter the Freedom to Operate Analysis. Rather than get bombarded by cease and desist letters, startup companies can truly benefit from learning the process of de-risking their products and get a better grip on their competitors. Tune in to this episode of the Novel & Non-Obvious Podcast to learn more. 

The need for a comfortable, long-wearing earbud has gone up exponentially over the past year due to COVID-19. With the increase in earbud usage through Zoom meetings and podcast/audiobook listening, Buderflys has kept the earbud user's needs in mind by maintaining an innovative and strategic earbud development firm. Shea Gerhardt, CEO of Buderflys, explains in this week's episode of The Novel & Non-Obvious Podcast the importance of IP in relation to smart earbuds, the investment community, and brand/promotion management.