JANUARY 27, 2021

Where Did the Name Fargo Patent & Business Law, PLLC Come From?

Fargo Patent & Business Law, PLLC is a great name. It communicates two basic service concepts. The name Fargo Business Law or the name Fargo Patent Law could have been simply used, but neither of them really communicate the full picture.

Patent law and business law are so intertwined that I believe both need to be taken into consideration.

What I tell clients is that most patented ideas don’t fail because of technical reasons or legal reasons, they fail because the business model is not fully developed or properly conceived. Business planning should be a part of the patenting process from day one. The patenting strategy can vary greatly depending on what the inventor has for goals. For example, if an inventor has a limited budget and hopes to simply license the idea to a manufacturer, one provisional patent might be acceptable. If the inventor is part of a large manufacturing company that competes at a national level, multiple patents may be needed to create a “patent wall” around the concept. This second method may use in excess of ten unique patents. Applying and prosecuting ten patents can become quite costly.

Another aspect that can be affected by your business plan is the level of prior art searching that should be completed. Generally a Preliminary Patentability Search or a Preliminary Patentability Opinion is completed when an inventor wants to get an idea if it is possible to get a patent given the level of prior art out there. This typically looks at prior art that has been patented or published by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Some inventors may choose to skip the patent search as their goal is to simply try to quickly license the idea to another company. Though a provisional patent may not be enforceable as is a nonprovisional patent, it still represents a potential intellectual property right which a licensee may choose to license instead of fight.

To learn more about Fargo Patent and Business Law, click here. 

There are many aspects to obtaining success with a patent and the first step an inventor needs to take with their idea is to look at how they want to make money on it. That is, the inventor must look at both the patent strategies and the business strategies. Fargo Patent & Business Law does just that, it combines patent law and business law. 

The firm is not just Fargo Patent Law or Fargo Business Law, it covers both.

Fargo Patent & Business Law, PLLC – in**@fa************.com – 701-566-7571