Chapter 12
Patent ROI Subsystem
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Written & Read By
Doug Hall
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Chapter Excerpt
What Is a Patent?
Ideas that are patentable are Meaningfully Unique innovations. Conversely, when an idea isn’t patentable, then by the strictest definition it is not a Meaningfully Unique innovation. That’s because an invention can be patented if:
• It has never been done before.
• It is not an obvious leap to someone with ordinary skill in the industry. • It is novel and useful.
• It fits a category of patents.
Patents are legal property. On a balance sheet, they are capital assets. Factories and land are physical capital assets. Patents are intellectual capital assets. As a capital asset, patents can be bought, sold, borrowed against, or loaned. When they are loaned, it’s called licensing. Paying a royalty for the right to license a patent is no different from paying someone rent to stay in their house.