Perpetual Innovation

Author: BizMan

  • Busted, or not busted, our patent system

    One of the most revered, trusted and enduring of America’s industrial and technological advantages is our patent system.  Except that, it isn’t anymore.  Patents are included in the US Constitution, proof positive that the Foundering Fathers considered them critically important to the future of the country.  That was then, this is now and you’ll understand when you go to www.wired.com/2015/01/fixing-broken-patent-system.  It was written by Jay Walker,the founder of Priceline in the late 1990s.

    Here is an insightful chronology of how much the patent system benefited the country up until the last several decades.  The system is now too cumbersome and costly such that 95% (Walker’s data) of inventions are not available to small and medium size businesses.  Only the mega corporations have the human, financial and technological resources to fully utilize the system.  A study is cited stating that liberating the patent system from litigation-based costs and risks would create $200B/yr in increased economic output.
    Although Hall & Hinkelman (2015) in the Patent Primer 3.0 boast of Intellectual Property, mainly patents, as one of “the great equalizers of our lifetime”, not all companies who use patents are equally able to capitalize on them.
    References

    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2015). Perpetual Innovation™: Patent primer 3.0: Patents, the great equalizer of our time! An overview of intellectual property for inventors and entrepreneurs.  Morrisville, NC: LuLu Press. ISBN: 978-1-329-17833-5  Retrieved from: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/SBPlan

    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2015). Perpetual Innovation™: Patent primer 3.0e: Patents, the great equalizer of our time! An overview of intellectual property with patenting cost estimates for inventors and entrepreneurs.  [Amazon Kindle eBook].  ASIN: B010ISU7ZG

  • Chinese Hoverboard Booth Raided by US Marshals at CES – Patent enforcement

    Chinese Hoverboard Booth Raided by U.S. Marshals at CES | Watch the video – Yahoo Finance:

    Also, there’s a better story and another video on Bloomberg here.

    That’s very brazen. A Chinese knock-off shows up at a big gadget expo (Consumer Electronics expo) with samples of a single-wheel hoverboard that distinctly looks and functions like the Onewheel patented by Future Motion of California (inventor Kyle Doerksen). The Onewheel utility patent was already issued and this week a design patent was approved.

    Federal Marshals showed up to take the knock-offs off in handcuffs (so to speak).

    It is the responsibility of a patent owner to enforce patents. A willful infringer can be subject to treble damages (civil suit). But to really shut down a determined pirate, requires a diligent effort.

    To do this so quickly and so forcefully, requires some pretty impressive action on the part of Future Motion.

    Note the part that Alibaba, the Chinese answer to Amazon on steroids, plays in the infringement process. If you are buying a one-wheel for $500 but the real manufacture sells Onewheel at $1,500, you might be buying into something that is too good to be true.

    Note the part that Kickstarter played in launching this invention with a massively successful $630k campaign. See here.

    Note, lastly, that there appear to be quite a few patents within this space. (The Chinese company may have been infringing on dozens of patents, not just 2.)

    Well, time to go levitate.

    ‘via Blog this’

  • Viagra/Cialis Patents soon to fall on hard times in a Generic World

    Viagra to go Generic in 2017.
    2017 is going to be a good year for cheap(er) sex. First off, Cialis will fall off of the patent cliff. In the same year, Teva has negotiated with Pfizer to introduce a  generic version of the little blue pill. So guys will no longer have to pay $10 per pill for a good (or better) time. Since the hard costs of Viagra are so low, a very optimistic guy could buy a years worth of 365 pills for the price of the current 10 or 20 pill prescription.

    For some reason, I thought that the big patents for Viagra expired in 2015 and 2016, respectively. This article talks about 2020. But, if Cialis goes generic in 2017 —  and it works to leave a guy always in idle mode — then Viagra will find itself is serious price and market share pressure. The key Viagra patents were disallowed in Canada, so cheap pills are simply a phone or a Niagara trip away.

    Each of the last 5 or 6 years has resulted in major patent cliffs for big block-buster drugs. Big Pharma has been trying hard to replace the lost revenues.

    The active ingredients in Viagra is sildenafil citrate. The high costs of Cialis and Viagra lead some guys to buys stuff online from sources that have various degrees of credibility, reliability and varied levels of efficacy.  This seems like a hard way to meet the needs of an active love life.

    At least no one should feel the need to rut through the horns of elk or saw off the horns of rhinoceros to get that extra little pick-me-up for their love life. They should be able to simply pop into the latest pharma and buy it.

  • Here Are the Biggest Crowdfunding Campaigns of 2015 – Bloomberg Business

    Here Are the Biggest Crowdfunding Campaigns of 2015 – Bloomberg Business:

    Crowdfunding really hit its stride this year with people just crowding in to jump on the bandwagon of new and innovative ideas. Of course great fundraising ideas are for books and movies, especially those that sequels or follow-ons with an established groupie base. Veronica Mars, the high-school sleuth, is and example from last year on Kickstarter. (See our blog here,)

    This years list from Bloomberg Business is very enlightening. Of course there are follow-ons to games and movies. That’s a very straightforward use of crowd funding. There are philanthropic approaches, like remodeling historic buildings. And, of course, new inventions.

    One that caught a lot of buzz is Flow Hive, that raised ~$12m for a process to put a tap into a bee hive and simply pour honey when you want some (money). This process avoids the pain and suffering of opening the hive in order to get at the honey.

    Other things that draw funding include eclectic games and exploding kittens.

    No matter how you look at it, however, the Internet (and crowdfunding) is one of the great equalizers of our lifetime. Anyone, anywhere, can raise money for a good idea; simply spread the word in the right settings.

    Now, if the idea has intellectual property protection as well (patents, copyright, trademark), then the scaleability of funding and adoption could be off-the-charts.

    ‘via Blog this’

  • Bottoms Up Draft Beer Dispensing System on CNN – YouTube

    Bottoms Up Draft Beer Dispensing System on CNN – YouTube:

    Bottoms up! This is an invention that changes the way you think — I mean drink!

    And then combine that with promotionals that can be sold with each cup (designer magnet). Great for brand building for those people who are contemplating the bottom of their cups.

    The fastest beer in the world. The most consistent pour.

    This could make the absolute perfect black-n-tan too.

    CHEERS!

    ‘via Blog this’