Depending on Pending as a reason for getting funded
| May 27, 2008 |  View for printing |
If someone was to put together the "Founder's Manual" for pitching a VC, the section on barriers to entry would say something like: "When asked about your barrier to entry, tell the VC that you have several patents pending for proprietary technology." Heck, I'm sure I used the same line when I was raising money for Half.com -- after all, we filed for our first patent in October 1999.
Well, I'm excited to announce that the original Half.com patent (#7,373,317) was finally approved by the USPTO last week - eight and a half years after we filed it (and seven years after eBay acquired Half.com).
I believe there is little-to-no value in depending on pending patents for a "barrier" to entry.
Full Story: http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/27280
No reader comments so far. Be the first to comment by clicking the button below.
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law. Full copyright retained by the original publication. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
