I genuinely enjoy all the folks I’ve come to meet in this industry. In the dozens of years I’ve been at the SHOT Show, I’ve met the whole spectrum: The superstars who have the respect of the entire industry, including their competitors; the quiet geniuses who work behind the scenes to provide some of the greatest innovations; the tough guys who love a fight (even in [...]
How a Patent Shut Down a Competitor In Only 24 Hours Nothing more forcefully drives home a lesson you’ve been teaching for years than when what you’ve been telling others for years happens to you. I’ve been reminding everyone for years that having a patent can provide real competitive benefits, even if you never have to spend a fortune litigating it. I liken it [...]
Sometimes you need to observe very carefully to notice a pattern. Other times, it smacks you in the face. We love it when our clients get awards (turns out having successful clients is a pretty good business model, imagine that!) But sometimes, we’re not surprised. “Best Carbine Award” from Recoil Magazine went to our client Stenzel Industries. We’ve known [...]
And the Key Signs That Indicate When You Do I love to give advice, especially when I know my prediction will never be wrong. My favorite advice is to predict “a 50-50 chance of success,” because no matter the outcome I’m never wrong. My other favorite advice is recommending a patentability search. Because no matter the results, my client is happy. If we get [...]
(Short Answer: “Rarely.” Except…) As an inventor myself, I know the enthusiastic feeling that your invention is going to be an incredible success, and wouldn’t it be a tragedy if you had only the US market protected and the rest of the world was knocking off your invention willy-nilly without paying you a penny. Unthinkable, right? But good business decisions are [...]
Reality Check: The Bubble I’ve Busted a Thousand Times The classic newbie inventor has a good idea, falls in love with it, and wants to sell it to a big company. That NEVER happens, almost. Here’s what I counsel clients a dozen times a year: your odds of success increase vastly the farther along you are with your invention, your patent, your product, and your [...]
