Determine Intellectual Property Is Not An Issue
Why Is This Important? With the company formed and in control of the IP, you want to formally protect it and your ability to build on it in the future.
| Key Actions | Things to Consider | Tool Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Get Letters of Clearance if needed | Be clear on who owns the technology and, more importantly, who doesn’t | |
| Obtain additional technology licenses if needed | Does another entity require a licensing agreement for commercial use of a component of your product?
You will probably need legal advice to negotiate the best terms A bad agreement can prevent you from getting funding |
|
| Conduct a preliminary freedom to operate analysis | See if MVP potentially infringes on existing patents | |
| File patent(s) based on provisional patents | Multiple provisional applications can be combined into a single full application at the first provisional 1-year date | |
| Conduct a brainstorming session on how to get around your patents and file provisional patents to block those workarounds | If you wanted to re-invent your product, how would you get around your patent? |