Inventing Profit – August Meeting
Inventing Profit invites you to our monthly entrepreneur / inventor meeting this Wednesday, August 8th, 2012.
The Inventing Profit theme this month is “Panel Discussion: Protect your Assets and Save on Taxes”, the time is from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.
Our featured Speakers for the evening will be:
Eric Eng Partner at CEA, LLP: Eric is Director of Business Services with special emphasis on U.S. and international tax planning for high net worth individuals, emerging growth and small-to-midsize businesses. Eric has extensive experience in serving clients in industries that include real estate, manufacturing, high tech,biotech, wholesale and distribution. Eric’s computer system knowledge enables him and our staff to employ the latest technology in completing projects in the most efficient manner.
Kelly Bagla, Esq.:
Ms. Bagla, founder of Bagla Law, practices corporate and securities law in San Diego North County and is general counsel to clients ranging from start-ups to mid-size industries, including, technology, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and life science. Ms. Bagla represents private companies with emphasis on transactional work, such as, drafting various contracts, asset and stock purchases, related securities, employment matters, mergers and acquisitions, business entity formations and corporate governance counseling. Ms. Bagla also assists her clients with venture capital financings involving financing through private placements, seed financing, angel financing and venture funding.
Ms. Bagla first began her career with a Fortune-500 global biotechnology company located in Thousand Oaks, California, where she was responsible for maintaining 35 international subsidiaries. She then joined Baker & McKenzie, LLP, an international-based reputable law firm in San Diego, California, where she advised clients, both domestic and international, in relation to corporate and securities matters. These included IPOs on the London Stock Exchange, regulations on exporting goods into China, closing operations in Europe, and running manufacturing operations in Dubai.
Ms. Bagla later joined Catalyst Law Group, APC, in San Diego, California, where she headed the corporate department. Ms. Bagla’s practice ranged from general corporate counseling to off-shore transactions.
Ms. Bagla earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and International Relations at California State University, Hayward. She also earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B. with honors) from the University of Wales, Swansea, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Whittier Law School.
The Carlsbad Chamber is located at 5935 Priestly Drive in Carlsbad. (760)931-8400. We are hoping for a great turn out this month.
Meetings will continue to be held on the second Wednesday of each month. The Carlsbad Chamber is located at 5935 Priestly Drive in Carlsbad. You can sign up for this event or future meetings at http://bit.ly/MA13Tu .
Contingency Fee Patent Applications
We recently had an inquiry in regards to whether or not we would consider going “in on” an invention idea with a client. Simple answer is we don’t take a percentage for doing the work on a client’s patent idea. This is why:
The two biggest problems with ” contingency fee ” patents or patent applications are
• The need for a number of warning documents to the inventor regarding attorneys going into business with their clients
• You are “betting” on the inventor being successful. With respect to the second point, betting on an inventor can be very risky, as so many times the inventor is some combination of the following:
- • not business savvy
• underfunded
• will lose interest and enthusiasm,
• did not do a prior art search and/or USPTO finds additional prior art which requires additional,unexpected time to be spent on the invention
• tries to “DIY” on things he/she should hire others to do
• hires others to do things he/she should “DIY”
The odds of succeeding as an inventor are small, and the problem for most is not a patent. If patents were a license to print money, I’d be a full time inventor and not a patent attorney. Most of our clients who have succeeded have done so with help from IP, but not because of it. On the other hand, I have many clients who got a patent but did not make a reasonable amount of money (if any) off their invention.
A final problem is that many inventors have an overly inflated idea about the “worth” of their idea. A good article on one entrepreneur Derek Siver’s opinion here. So, the inventor thinks his idea is worth $10,000,000,000, so by offering the patent attorney 1% of the invention, he thinks he is offering the attorney many times the attorney’s normal rate for a patent application and prosecution. The patent attorney, on the other hand, probably sees things more along with lines of Derek, and thinks the idea is worth maybe $20 at most. So, the attorney is not enthusiastic about putting in $5,000 to $15,000 of time into a $20 idea, knowing full well that unless the inventor has what it takes to succeed, the attorneys may get their name on a patent but nothing more.
So, what kind of inventor will succeed? Briefly, here are my top characteristics in order of importance:
1. Has an invention that works
2. Adequate funding
3. Good Luck
4. Inventor tenacity
5. Quality invention.
Have other questions about patent applications or the patent application process, feel free to contact us at ICIP.
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Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Trademark Issue
InterContinental IP successfully defends Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. For some reason, people keep picking on the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce on trademark issues. InterContinental IP has had to recently step in and rectify a couple of situations and sucessfully defend the Chamber’s trademarks. Most recently, the Chamber has had some problems with rouge members setting up LinkedIn groups using the Carlsbad Chamber’s name.
In the latest case, we had the Linkedin group dissolved and a new group, “Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce” has been formed and is presently administered by Chamber Executive VP, Toni Padron, as it should be.
We do however, have no problem with rouge members forming LinkedIn groups without using the chamber’s trademarks. May we suggest “RougeMembers@LinkedIN”? We understand that is available.
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