The Best IP Attorneys Don’t Just File Patents—They Challenge How You Think
This post is a part of the Iowa Startup Collective. If you haven't already, check out the other writers at IowaStartupCollective.Substack.com.
My first technology company, KinoSol, built solar food dehydrators for farmers in developing regions. Among the mountain of advice we received, IP kept coming up. So we met with IP attorneys to learn about patents.
This was 2015. Nearly every attorney we spoke with focused on protection—protecting our invention, protecting ourselves. A mindset driven by scarcity.
We started down the path of filing a provisional patent. Then, we ran the numbers on what it would take to protect the invention globally. In every scenario, we couldn’t measure ROI or expected value (EV). So we stopped pursuing patents.
Fast forward to Clayton Farms. A much more complex technology—hardware, software, and living organisms—partly inspired by NASA research. This time, we started filing patents, believing the fast-moving indoor farming space would justify the investment.
But then we realized: The average turnaround time from filing to receiving a patent was 37 months. Even today, it’s 24+ months.
Most venture-backed startups don’t have two years of runway, let alone the money to spend on IP. And it’s inevitable that your product needs to evolve—hopefully through user and customer feedback.
We let our patent applications expire and went open source.
That was one of the best moves we’ve made. I wrote about it 3 years ago, here.
Open source is about abundance—the opposite of scarcity. It accelerates technology adoption and distribution. That’s important, if you’re trying to build something to make the world a better place.
So, what’s the best thing an IP attorney can do for you when you’re starting a company?
The best ones don’t just file patents. They ask the right questions—the ones that force you to think deeper and more critically:
Why this material?
Why this process?
Why did you make these assumptions?
What other companies did you take inspiration from and why?
IP attorneys work with inventors every day.
Their real value isn’t in the filings. It’s in the questions.