Richards Patent Law » entrepreneurship

Open Innovation: P&G’s Connect + Develop

Patrick Richards — Wed, 12 May 2010 05:34:46 +0000

Small businesses and individual inventors are often looking for partners to assist in bringing their inventions to market. Although many larger companies are open to invention submissions from outside parties, they typically accept submission under limited conditions and take a very passive approach. Procter & Gamble is an example of a company that stands out from the others in their approach. Connect + Develop is a program through which P&G actively solicits invention submissions from the public. Although their history of open innovation extends further back, in 2002 P&G formally started their Connect + Develop program.

P&G’s philosophy is that by opening their innovation process to third parties, they can leverage the best of innovation, essentially fostering a partnership with the public. In an interview in November of 2008, Jeff Weedman, Vice President, External Business Development, said of the Connect + Develop program, “Ultimately, we want people with great ideas to come to us and let P&G show them how to best use those ideas. But we also want to be able to share with them the (financial) rewards and protect their intellectual property.”

If you are an inventor looking for a company to help bring your invention to life, take the time to look at P&G. They have a description of their program, a portal for submission, a well organized description of specific needs and an FAQ related to their program. I appreciate P&G’s approach to innovation and it might be a valuable opportunity for you and your invention.

Another Helpful Resource for Inventors: Inc.com’s Patent Related Articles

Patrick Richards — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:00:57 +0000

One of my Chicago based patent clients recently referred me to Inc.com as a good online resource for patent and intellectual property information for inventors. For example, they provide an article explaining a step-by-step process for turning a good idea for a new invention into a financial success. Similarly, they provide an article detailing a step-by-step guide describes the legal process of filing for a patent. In addition to patent specific articles, there are more generally based intellectual property articles, such as this article regarding advice for the small-business owner on protecting trademarks, writing nondisclosure agreements, and other tools for protecting intellectual property.

I hope that you find these patent and intellectual property resources useful. If you run across patent related resources or other resources worth sharing with inventors, entrepreneurs and business owners, please bring them to my attention by contacting me.

Northwestern University’s Master of Product Development Program Offers Free Intellectual Property Related Seminar

Patrick Richards — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 02:52:15 +0000

Northwestern University’s Master of Product Development program provides free educational seminars through its Seminar Series. The next seminar offered, “Design at the Nexus of Semiotics and Intellectual Property” with presenter James G. Conley, will take place on Friday, January 22, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm on Northwestern University’s Evanston Campus. The seminar will also be available via webcast.

As provided in the graphic below, the seminar will focus on the marketing and design opportunities that exist at the nexus of intellectual property and semiotics (the science of signs). This is a complimentary series, open to the public and RSVPs are not necessary. A reception will be held at 3:30 pm and refreshments are provided.

I will be attending the seminar to supplement my patent law expertise with additional marketing and product development perspectives and concepts. I encourage all of my interested Chicago area patent law clients to join me in person and my national and international clients to attend via webcast. If you plan to join me, contact me so I can look for you at the event.

For driving directions to Northwestern University follow the link provided: http://www.mpd.northwestern.edu/contact/directions.php. To access the webcast, visit www.mpd.northwestern.edu and click on the MPD Seminar icon. Further information concerning the seminar is provided below:

Great Resource for Inventors and Entrepreneurs: Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner

Patrick Richards — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:10:23 +0000

I recently learned that the Stanford Technology Ventures Program Entrepreneurship Corner provides a free online archive of entrepreneurship resources. In addition to the numerous videos directed to entrepreneurship in general, there is also an impressive amount of patent related content. For example, I’ve embedded a video titled “How and When are Patents Important?” by Gordon Ringold, discussing the value of patents for a biotech company:

This short clip above is a portion of a much longer lecture directed to entrepreneurship in the biotech field. It’s just one example of the great reference material to be found on their archives.

I hope that you get an opportunity to explore the content provided and find something educational and/or inspirational!

When and How are Patents Important?