The High-touch Legal Services® Blog…for Startups!

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You Can Have a Successful Business Even if You Don’t Have a Patent

I recently met a software developer who wants to start a business. He immediately started talking to me about obtaining a patent. Condensed a bit, our conversation went roughly as follows:

  • Dana: Without giving away information that would jeopardize your ability to obtain a patent, what would the software do?
  • Developer: It is enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) software.
  • Dana: What is novel and non-obvious about it?
  • Developer: It will be based on a unique algorithm.
  • Dana: You cannot patent an algorithm.
  • Developer: I can get a patent on software that implements an algorithm.
  • Dana: Perhaps. But there are other means, such as trade secrets, that might adequately protect the software [cut off in mid-sentence]….
  • Developer: VCs want to invest in companies that have patents.

Leaving aside the singular focus on VC funding – something that few entrepreneurs obtain (see Realistic Financing Options for Startup Companies) – the would-be entrepreneur was similarly myopic in focusing on a patent as the only type of intellectual property that matters.

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