How Many Provisional Patents Will Be Filed In The Next Decade


Being a part of the corporate world is becoming less and less sexy, and it's certainly no guarantee of security. The cool factor now lies in ability to run your own show. Mass media suggests that a real road to wealth and security is not climbing a corporate ladder, but rather becoming an entrepreneur, building your own businesses, and collecting real profits. Another way to prosper is to invent products, license the technology, and collect royalties -- a great source of passive income, while focusing on coming up with your "next big thing."

Whether you are creating new products for licensing, or marketing your own products, protecting your intellectual property is a very important step in the process of IP (Intellectual Property) commercialization.

"Many inventors "hit the wall" as they spend all their savings on inventing and testing a prototype, and they become short of cash when it comes time to do patenting" shares Olga Kostrova, founder of IdeaMamaClub.com, a unique on-line platform for collaborative innovation, that provides the tools and processes that accelerate innovative ideas into business reality.

"The problem is that many inventors focus on the technical details, trying to perfect their designs, and they wait too long to file the patents, The window of opportunity can quickly close because competition is usually just around the corner. There are many stories of simultaneous inventions by people who are unaware of the other's work -- and the first one to the patent office wins. Often it all gets down to "time-to-market". You snooze-you loose. You have to react very fast or all the years spent in the lab might not justify the investment."

Solving this problem became a core principle in IdeaMamaClub.com's approach to innovation; filing provisional patents is one of the quick and easy solutions.

Many of the ideas that inventors believe will revolutionize their industry are not new or unique. A patent search can be very useful to identify what's been done before. Yet, IdeaMama's members often spot companies that never bothered to file any patents � they simply created the product, threw it on the market, and gained market share.

Nevertheless IdeaMama advocates basic IP protection prior to disclosing potential valid ideas to its community of innovators, service providers, and investors. Bur, rather then spending thousands dollars for inventions that might never get commercialized, inventors have an option to file provisional patents and use them to protect inventions prior to filing a full patent. While this form of intellectual property protection is only an intermediary step, the benefit of a provisional patent is that it grants inventors the right to use the phrase "patent pending" in their marketing materials and sales pitches. A provisional patent is not read for its content on filing; it is awarded a filing number and a date of receipt that later can be used as prove of a date of IP conception.

"Since IdeaMama Club was founded, it has generated a lot of buzz.," says Olga. "The software still has some bugs, and the site is still in its infancy, but it works well enough for now. What draws attention is the fact that the site is a lot of fun to use, and it provides real benefits for the subscribers."

IdeaMamaClub.com is more than just an on-line business network; it's a unique collaborative virtual incubator for inventions and business ideas, and it is enhanced by many innovative tools and features.

The club is dedicated to connecting visionaries -- people who brainstorm on innovative ideas, plan new projects, structure and market the products of their collaboration as unique investment opportunities, and finally bring collective inventions (babies) to market.

In a next few years IdeaMama's management expects to see over a million international members worldwide.

Posting detailed text, photo, audio, and video profiles and getting connected with other members is free on IdeaMamaClub.com. Paid subscribers can enjoy many additional services.

The trend in the business world today is obvious � employees leave the corporate world to seek more independence as freelance professionals. As a result they face a few challenges: making a considerable income without a decent marketing budget, lack of sales and marketing skills, stiff competition, and the necessity for wearing many different hats.

The reason IdeaMamaClub.com became the new "big thing" in the business community, after only few months of operation, is its philosophy. The vision promoted by the club is "collaborate versus compete." Find where you can add value to your competitor's service, pull your resources together, find new clients, bring them together, and enjoy a win-win situation.

Members not only enjoy each other and the process, while learning and co-creating, but they also receive tremendous financial opportunities. Participating members may have equity in their newly designed businesses or they may work on a profit sharing basis -- time and expertise can be very valuable and compensation is determined by the team members. IdeaMama encourages members to have a few revenue streams and to efficiently diversify their risk and resources.