Hybrid Coating Technologies Inc (fka HCTI)

[r clarke]

For Most Small Companies Patents Are Just About Worthless

Thought this Forbes article was interesting:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddhixon/2013/10/04/for-most-small-companies-patents-are-just-about-worthless/#49cc40ae16ab

"My suggestions for a small technology companies*:

Don’t base your business strategy on patents. And don’t try to raise money primarily on the basis of patents; most likely this will fail and you will appear naïve.

It’s worthwhile to file patents for your key inventions in the U.S. (what patent-savvy universities do), but don’t go much beyond that.

Pay close attention to patents that others hold which might enable competitors to block you. In my experience “freedom to operate” is more important when evaluating a business plan than patent ownership.

It will rarely make sense for a small company to sue a big company for patent infringement. The lawyers will probably be the winners.
Non-patent intellectual property strategies can hold off copycats effectively.

Trade secrets (parts of the product or production technology that are hard for competitors to replicate), knowledge of customers, and superior rate of innovation work best.

Build your business on real competitive advantages: product value-in-use, customer relationships, rapid innovation. Don’t count on patents to defend you from your competitors""