Essentials of Patents

Andy Gibbs is President and CEO of PatentCafe.com, Inc. He is an inventor with 7 US and foreign patents (awarded and pending) for innovation in sports equipment, medical devices, automotive accessories, electronics & electrical connectors and merchandising aids. Gibbs is also an entrepreneur with more than 20 years experience in product--market development, strategic planning, and general business operations. He is a hands-on inventor/entrepreneur and an executive level strategist. Mr. Gibbs has provided intellectual property assessment, pre-investment analysis, operations and staffing analysis, litigation support and technical evaluations for venture capital firms, operating managers and independent inventors. The breadth of Mr. Gibbs' business experience includes front-line arbitration & litigation in Superior & Federal Courts; expert witness, and business Strategic Alliances or joint marketing development programs (Chrysler, Hertz, Isuzu, Samsonite, US Olympic Ski Team, others); Product Development Clients: ADAC Labs, DAEWOO Corp. (Korea), System Industries, National Semiconductor, Memorex, many others). Mr. Gibbs speaks internationally on intellectual property issues, has appeared on CNN/fn "Entrepreneurs Only" with Donald Van de Mark, has been interviewed on various business, invention and patent-related topics by Wired Magazine, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the New York Times, San Jose Business Journal, Sacramento's Comstock's, and numerous other regional publications, and has appeared as guest speaker on San Francisco's KGO talk radio. Sixteen years ago Bob DeMatteis had an idea he wanted to pursue. He pursued that idea, patented it, and today has 20 U.S. Patents and 7 pending. Bob owns 16 of those patents--all of which have been licensed and have made money. You can compare his track record to what is reported by the U.S. Patent Office—that only 3% of patents ever earn money for the inventor! Sales of Bob's inventions exceed $25 million a year and are used by national giants such as Sears, McDonald's, Walgreens, Kroger and Subway. You have most likely used some of Bob's innovations at one time or another, when you carry out merchandise in one of the stores’ printed plastic bags. Bob is one of the original developers of the plastic grocery sack, and is recognized as an innovative leader in the packaging industry. Bob's inventions and patents do not focus on engineering or scientific advances, but on making products "people friendly". His friendly, enthusiastic manner of training gets only rave reviews from participants. Bob is also the author of the bestseller book,From Patent to Profit, published by Penguin Putnam Press. Today, Bob is an internationally known inventor, author, in-demand speaker and a Certified Seminar Leader of the American Seminar Leaders Association. He is also a contributor and speaker on inventing and innovating at numerous colleges and universities plus the SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and their many Depository Libraries.

• Preface. Introduction. 1 Patents: High Stakes, High Value, High Liability. 2 Patent Licensing. 3 Patent Strategy. 4 Patent Tactics. 5 Managing Patents in the Marketing Department. 6 Managing Patents in the Engineering Department. 7 Managing Patents in Manufacturing and Operations. 8 Managing Patents in the Finance Department. 9 Managing Patents in the Human Resources Department. 10 Managing Patents in the Information Technology Department. 11 Patent Management and the Corporate/IP Counsel. 12 Patent Management Paradigm for the CEO/ICO. Index of Organizations. Index.