Innovation can come from anywhere—large established companies, individuals, and of course, small startup businesses. The innovation from startups can ultimately create new established companies. Many of today’s household names—Amazon, Google, Facebook, Intel—started out as a couple of founders and one innovative idea. So, if we want to see if innovation remains an important part of…
Tag Archive for startups
Mobile-Related Patents Are Increasing: One in Four Patents Issued Last Year Pertain to the Smartphone
by Dan O'Connor •
(Cross Post on DisCo) A few months ago, I pointed out that approximately ⅙ of all active patents (roughly 250,000) read on the smartphone. If you estimate that each patent has 20 claims, that is 5 million potential restrictions on smartphone innovation. With numbers that staggering, it is impossible for the patent system to function as…
Helping Startups Help Themselves: Why the SHIELD Act is TRIPS Compliant
by Dan O'Connor •
(Cross-posted on Disruptive Competition Project (DisCo)) As I have discussed before, patent trolls pose a unique threat to technology startup companies. The limited resources and small launch windows that constrain life as a startup company make them vulnerable to patent trolls. Trolls leverage the sheer cost of fighting a patent challenge — even if the odds of…