Invention Mining Sessions that Capture Every Invention – Steve Sponseller

This is another solo episode of the Tech Leader Talk podcast. I'm continuing my discussion of the 7-Step system I created that's helped many tech companies build robust patent strategies. I will be discussing the sixth step in that system, which helps you discover every invention so you can build a valuable patent portfolio.

As I've discussed on previous episodes, you can't take steps to protect your most valuable inventions if you don't identify them in the first place. A worst case scenario is when your team members create fantastic inventions, but they don't get discovered or protected.

You can avoid that situation by scheduling regular Invention Mining Sessions.

An invention mining session brings together team members who are working on a project or recently completed a project. During this meeting, team members identify innovative ideas that were developed during the project. For example, team members identify key obstacles that came up during product development. Then, they discuss how the obstacle was solved or overcome. In many cases, these solutions to key obstacles are inventions.

For example, when the obstacle was encountered, there may not have been a known solution. In this case, the team had to create a solution that did not previously exist. This solution may be an invention. If an experienced team spends significant time solving a problem with no previous solution, that's likely to be an invention.

During invention mining sessions, it's also important to discuss the most difficult or time-consuming part of the project. These areas may identify inventions because there was no straight forward solution to the issues faced.

It's important to perform invention mining as a project is being completed and before public disclosure of the project. This gives you time to protect any inventions before disclosing them to the public.

Also, for longer projects, I recommend scheduling invention mining sessions at several points during the project to identify the inventions as soon as possible. Identifying and evaluating inventions early allows the company to take steps to protect critical inventions with a patent application before any type of public disclosure that might eliminate patent rights.

Be sure to add invention mining sessions to your project schedules so the team doesn't forget to perform this important task.

Questions?

If you have any questions about building a robust patent strategy for your company, contact me to schedule a complimentary call.

Contact me via email: Steve@SteveSponseller.com

Message me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesponseller

Thanks for listening!

Be sure to get your free copy of my latest book, Cracking the Patent Code, and discover my proven system for identifying and protecting your most valuable inventions. Get the book at https://stevesponseller.com/book.