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There was this badly written article on patents up on a mailing list, awaiting comments before being published.  Admitted, I can be very critical at times, but on this occasion, I actually went over the edge and ripped it apart line by line. Literally. Now, all it is is pure entertainment value.

Being a tech based entrepreneur patent management is a crucial issue for the success of one’s start-up.
>>> Always hyphenate words when you can. It improves readability. “tech-based”
>>> Avoid usage such as “one’s xxx”. Who is being a tech-based entrepreneur? Who is the ONE?
>>> “Eats shoots and leaves” or “Eats, shoots and leaves”? There’s a comma missing in this sentence.

You have to make sure that if a company like IBM files a patent on your new software start-up, it’s not lost among the million patents floating in the sea.
>>> Who? Me? Am I the ONE?
>>> Ambiguous “it”. What? IBM or my new software startup or IBM’s patent?
>>> “the million patents floating in the sea” should be “among the millions of patents floating in the sea”

Patent attorneys cannot help you much if you have already committed mistakes initially due to lack of awareness.
>>> What? What mistakes? Lack of awareness? What should I have been aware of?

Before getting into depth of this issue, let us understand what patent means.
>>> Marvelous. You’ve started a paragraph with a sentence referring to “this issue”. What i this issue?
>>> “Let us understand”? Are you trying to have a conversation with me all of a sudden? First, you refer to me as the “one”, and then go on to say “you”. Finally “we”?

The appropriate government gives a set of exclusive and jurisdictional rights to the inventor like distribution, sale, use, export and these rights are collectively known as patent.
>>> In trying to explain to me what a patent is in the middle of your article, you have suddenly brought in some “appropriate government”.

For obtaining a patent, an invention must cover three basic criteria: Novelty, Non-obviousness and utility.
>>> “cover criteria”? More like “satisfy criteria” or “meet criteria”.

Many inventors publically disclose their invention before filing a patent and loose on the grounds of novelty.
>>> “loose”? Come on. This is a glaring mistake.

As a entrepreneur, one must know the level of disclosure to make in public before filing a patent, which parts of the invention are patentable and if it is been covered by any other prior art.
>>> Totally incoherent. I don’t understand a thing. Break it up. “As a entrepreneur, one must know
1. The level of disclosure to make in public before filing a patent
2. which parts of the invention are patentable
3. if it is been covered by any other prior art”
Putting all three into a coherent sentence requires considerable skill.

Knowledge and Intellectual property is the prime asset a start-up can have.
>>> A and B “is”? Are you confused between singular and plural?

Awareness and confidence of its protection are the skills which makes one a successful entrepreneur.
>>> “Confidence of its protection”? I’m left speechless.
>>> ONE.

One of the major challenges is to realize the value of this intellectual property, which is well depicted in Gordan V. Smith’s famous book ‘Intellectual Property: Licensing and Joint Venture Profit Strategies’.
>>> Major challenges of what? Of being an entrepreneur?

Intellectual property is actually a legal definition of ideas, inventions, artistic works and other commercially viable products created out of one’s own mental processes.
>>> Okay, I’m tired. After telling me about how IP is important to a startup, you’re finally getting around to giving me an atrocious definition of IP. “created out of one’s own mental processes” — WHAT!?

In the same sense that real estate titles and bills of sale establish ownership of tangible items, intellectual property is protected by such legal means as patents, copyrights, and trademark registrations.
>>> “protected by such legal means as” should be “protected by legal means such as”

The United States Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) receives over 5,000 patent applications each week and has granted over 100,000 patents annually since 1994.
>>> *sigh* … off we are again on the roller-coaster ride- yet another irrelevant tangent. Why doesn’t the article flow at all? Are the cut-outs of articles from different Wikipedia pages or something?
>>> “5,000 patent applications each week” should be “5,000 patent applications a week”. You’re not emphasizing on what it does every week, but on the number of patent applications it receives. My college fees isn’t 35,000 INR each semester. It’s 35,000 INR a semester.
>>> “and has granted over 100,000 patents annually since 1994″ TENSE! The sentence should be corrected as “The United States Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) receives over 5,000 patent applications a week. The organization has granted over 100,000 patents annually since 1994.”

Since then patent application and issuance rates continue to increase exponentially.
>>> Since when?

This makes patent management a crucial criteria.
>>> Criteria for what?

The main goal of patent management is obtaining and maintaining patents. This process involves various technical, legal and business skills. Identifying, developing and assessing the technology involved in a given patent naturally requires some amount of technical knowledge. Legal expertise is often beneficial, but not necessary, to complete a patent application and maintain it. Finally, maximizing the profits of the patent is the responsibility of businesses. While numerous professionals are often involved in obtaining and maintaining
patents, it is also possible for the individual inventor to do the work himself. Although, this is less likely a wise approach if the invention is complex and the potential profitability is high.
>>> Okay, I’m convinced that this paragraph has been cut out from a different article and interposed into this one, in some vague attempt to cite some examples.

Managing a portfolio of patents in your asset is very crucial and sturdy task to perform.
>>> “is very crucial and sturdy task to perform” should be “is a very crucial and sturdy task to perform”. “Crucial” and “sturdy” task? Can adjectives be more misplaced?

Best examples in patent management will be IBM generating revenue of US $ 1 billion from more than 30,000 live patents and University of California generating more than US $ 100 million from more than 3,000
patents in the year 2007.
>>> “… will be IBM generating … in the year 2007″!? IBM will be generating revenue in the year 2007? The sentence is long and incoherent, much like most of the other long sentences in the article.

As rightly said by Jackie Hutter, IP & Patent Business Strategist, “goal of building a solid patent portfolio is to make your business an attractive target for investment or acquisition by a larger company”.
>>> The first acceptable sentence in the article has to be a quote :P

Patent portfolio management includes an extensive study of patents, valuing the patents and strategies to generate revenue from patent selling and licensing.
>>> Always use Oxford commas to improve readability, especially when the sentence contains more than one “and” connector. “Apples, oranges, and bananas” as opposed to “Apples, oranges and bananas”

A recent study in the US shows that 60% of the individuals file patents in US, while corporate earn 99% of the revenue from it leaving individuals with only 1% of the pie.
>>> “the individuals”?
>>> You like the US so much as to mention in twice in the same sentence? Where else would the study be conducted on people in the US?
>>> The sentence can mean two things: 60% of individuals in the US file patents, which seems to be completely skewed to me. The other interpretation can be rephrased as “A recent study shows that of the 60% of individuals who file patents in US, corporates earn 99% of the revenue, leaving individuals with only 1% of the pie”. It’s unclear which corporates you’re talking about as well.

The situation is much worse in Asia because of lack of awareness in means to generate revenue from patents.
>>> Unnecessarily convoluted. “The situation is much worse in Asia, because people don’t know how to generate revenue from patents”

To end the note, one must always be aware about the extent of disclosure of his invention in public, constantly manage his patent portfolio and analyze the value hidden in this intangible asset and
realize the wealth that can be generated from the same.
>>> What note?
>>> Are you trying to stuff the whole article into a single sentence? Because you should have realized that it’s not possible.

Knowing all about protecting one’s intellectual property makes him awake, aware and confident to run the business.
>>> “makes him awake”. No comments.

-> Overall, an atrocious article. I’ve wasted my time even _trying_ to edit it.

Tags: article, entrepreneurship, patent

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at 11:25 pm and is filed under Humor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.