​​Patently Strategic - Patent Strategy for Startups

What are your options for protecting inventions across Europe? In this month’s episode, we’re taking a journey across the pond with a discussion on European Patent Practice. This episode is part two of a series we’re doing on International Patenting and follows Ashley’s exceptional Travel Guide to Foreign Protection from earlier this season. Even in a globalized economy, patents are still nationalized documents. For example, a U.S. patent only grants the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, and importing the claimed invention within the United States. It has no bearing on activities in Europe, Canada, Mexico, China, or anywhere else in the world. To restrict activities there, you will typically need a patent granted in each relevant country. This can boil down to filing and prosecution on a per-country basis. However, those seeking protection in Europe do have some additional options for a single application granting protection in multiple nations.** Guest Host:  Dr. Will Doherty **To help navigate the very complicated European landscape, we reached out to a good friend of Aurora’s—Dr. Will Doherty of Albright IP. And we’re so glad we did. In this episode, Will puts on an absolute masterclass on European patent practice.Beyond being a great teacher with a sharp sense of classic British humor, Will is an experienced Chartered British Patent Attorney, European Patent Attorney, and IP Litigator. As a Patents Director at Albright, he prepares, files, and prosecutes patents with great success in a wide range of technical sectors globally, in addition to handling patent infringement matters. Will is a member of and regulated by IPReg, the independent professional regulatory body in the UK for Patent and Trademark Attorneys. He is also a long-standing member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys in the UK and the European Patent Institute. Will’s academic background is in Chemistry, with a doctorate in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry. ** Episode Overview **⦿ European patent process, EPO participating countries, key players in the system, and how it all compares to USPTO and PCT processes. ⦿ Strategic considerations around filing in individual countries vs. using EPO, translation implications, cost considerations, fee timelines, filing timeline implications, market alignment, and rights enforcement.⦿ Interplay with newer Unitary Patents and the Unitary Patent Court.⦿  Key practitioner takeaways, including some insightful claim drafting tips for medical-type applications, which are viewed very differently in Europe than in the U.S.** Mossoff Minute: Price Controls on Standardized Technologies  **In this month's Mossoff Minute, Professor Adam Mossoff is discussing an issue that could cause huge problems in Europe and for the global innovation economy, more broadly. ** Follow Aurora Patents **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aurorapatents⦿ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aurorapatents/Let us know what you think about this episode!

In this month’s episode, we’re talking about patent marking – and its massive implications on your ability to collect on infringement damages.  We’ve all seen patent numbers on physical products. Much like their copyright and trademark cousins, these designations are far from cosmetic. And instead serve a statutory requirement to provide public notice about your protected intellectual property. In the case of patent marking, not only does it reduce the risk of infringement because you are informing potential infringers of the patent's existence, but the notice also marks the point in time from which you can go back to for collecting on awarded damages. As the panel will discuss today, American patent law operates on a simple principle: mark your products with patent numbers, or watch your damages disappear.  ** Episode Overview **Kristen Hansen, Patent Strategy Specialist at Aurora, leads today's discussion with our all-star patent panel, delving deeply into the Do’s and Don’ts for patent marking – both physical and virtual, for US and abroad. Along the way, Kristen and the panel discuss:⦿ Patent Marking basics⦿ Legal requirements for patent marking⦿ Benefits and best practices for marking⦿ A real-life case cautionary tale ⦿ Implications for worldwide marking** Mossoff Minute: Coke Morgan Stewart's Patent Reforms **In this month’s minute, Professor Adam Mossoff celebrates the accomplishments of Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart. Her tireless efforts over the past months are helping to light the path back toward reliable and effective patent rights for innovators across the country and in the global economy.** Follow Aurora Patents **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aurorapatents⦿ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aurorapatents/Let us know what you think about this episode!

Whether you’re a founder looking to take the next fundraising steps beyond bootstrapping, an aspiring angel investor looking to understand the risks of seed investing, or even a practitioner hoping to get a better grasp of how this all works hand-in-hand with patent strategy, today’s topic provides an incredible springboard into the high risk, high reward world of strategic fundraising for early-stage startups. ** Guest Host: Charlie Pascal **To help us with the specifics, we’ve enlisted the assistance of Charlie Pascal. Charlie is the founder and principal attorney at Pascal Advisory LLC, where he’s spent the last decade focused primarily on working with early-stage tech and life science companies to navigate the legal complexities of everything from the pre-incorporation cocktail napkin stage to helping founders pick teams and build a board, on through our focus today, which is advising on all of the funding rounds from friends and family on through venture capital. Much like Aurora does with many of our early-stage clients, Charlie functions as what you can essentially think of as fractional general counsel for companies that aren't yet ready or able to engage full-time in-house legal counsel.** Episode Overview **Charlie and the panel discuss:⦿ The various routes and rounds of fundraising available to early-stage companies.⦿ How patents can play into each and how differences in business models can significantly impact patent strategy. ⦿ As a founder, what goes initially into projecting a budget for fundraising needs, and later, how to think about valuation.⦿ How to get the most out of your patents when it comes to valuation and approaching investors.⦿ And great pro tips on some surprising sharp corners related to things like preferred stock, down rounds, the investor payout waterfall, and the very commonly used and freely downloadable SAFE equity agreement created by Y-Combinator. ** Related Content **⦿ What Investors Want in Patents: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/what-investors-want-in-patents-with-sridhar-iyengar⦿ Government Grants and Patent Rights: https://www.aurorapatents.com/blog/government-grants-and-patent-rights⦿ Key Considerations for IP Diligence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeeAmgAMtQA** Follow Aurora Patents **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aurorapatents⦿ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aurorapatents/Let us know what you think about this episode!

In today’s global economy, the importance of international patent protection cannot be overstated. Your invention could be conceived of with a workforce distributed across several continents. Your manufacturing could happen in Asia or India, while your products are shipped into and distributed from ports in the target markets of the largest economies across the globe. Would be competitors and infringers could be next door neighbors or perhaps across the pond. But as you’ll learn today, there is no such thing as an International Patent – no one global patent that protects you everywhere. Instead, patents are jurisdictional property rights. For example, a U.S. patent only grants the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, and importing the claimed invention within the United States. It has no bearing on activities performed in Canada, Mexico, China, or anywhere else in the world. To restrict activities there, you will need a patent granted in each of those countries.So, how do you choose where to file? How long do you have to decide? What pathways exist for filing internationally? How do you pursue international protection in an intentional, strategic, cost-effective manner that won’t break the bank? And what should you be thinking about now, while drafting your patent to set yourself up for the greatest odds of success once on the international stage?** Episode Overview **Dr. Ashley Sloat, Aurora’s very own international patenting tour guide, leads today's discussion with our all-star patent panel, traveling from the U.S. to Europe, Africa, India, East Asia, Australia, and everywhere in between, exploring the intricacies and nuances of ensuring your patent rights are protected everywhere it matters. Along the way, Ashley and the panel discuss:⦿ Reasons for pursuing international protection.⦿ How to choose locations with a cost-effective international strategy.⦿ Foreign filing deadline and strategy pointers.⦿ The most common pathways for foreign protection including, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Paris Convention, the European Patent Convention, Unitary Patents, and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization.⦿ Things you need to be thinking about well in advance, in terms of drafting your patent and the international dangers of public disclosure.⦿ And even some considerations for how political happenings like tariffs, trade wars, and Brexit can impact your patent strategy.** Mossoff Minute: A Friend to Inventors **In this month’s minute, Professor Adam Mossoff discusses Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick's remarks at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and what this positively signals for the near future of innovation policy.** Follow Aurora Patents **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aurorapatents⦿ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aurorapatents/Let us know what you think about this episode!

In this month’s episode, we’re getting high on innovation with a deep dive into cannabis patents! As more and more states relax restrictions on both medical and recreational uses of marijuana and hemp, the U.S. cannabis industry is projected to reach $50 billion in sales this year and over $74.6 billion by 2032! This rapid growth is happening despite immense challenges brought on by a complex and conflicting web of legal disparities between federal and state laws. These legal challenges include limited access to financial institutions and the inability to transport products across state lines, but what about patents? THC – the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis – was deemed a Schedule One drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. This is the most restrictive category for drugs in the eyes of the federal government. And unlike most other property rights, patents fall squarely within federal jurisdiction. So what does this mean for inventors in the space hoping to protect their cannabis-related innovations?** Guest Host: James Gourley **For the answer, we turned to *the* expert in this space. There have only been five or so cannabis patent infringement cases ever filed in the United States, and our guest host today has worked on two of them. James Gourley is a partner at Carstens, Allen & Gourley, LLP, and a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. James served on the Dallas Bar Association's Intellectual Property Section Board before moving to Denver. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and Colorado and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, the District of Colorado, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. James has been a pioneer cannabis IP law and brings incredible depth of expertise, based on first-hand experience, to our conversation.** Episode Overview **⦿ Cannabis at the molecular level, specifically THC and CBD, and how the subtle differences underscore the complexity of cannabis legality.⦿ The present legal framework around cannabis and the challenges that come via a patchwork of conflicting state and federal laws.⦿ Cannabis IP issues surrounding obtaining and asserting both patents and trademarks, including insights from the cases James has personally litigated. ⦿ Patent prosecution strategies to help ensure your rights are enforceable in a federal court.** Follow Aurora Patents **⦿ Home: https://www.aurorapatents.com/⦿ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuroraPatents⦿ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurora-cg/⦿ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorapatents/⦿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurorapatents/ ⦿ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aurorapatents⦿ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aurorapatents/Let us know what you think about this episode!