Five tips for choosing an IP professional

Neil Henderson: Hi there, this is Neil Henderson coming to you from lockdown in Canada. Our video today is about five tips to help you choose the best patent professional or firm for your new technology. You may be looking for a patent professional, because this is your first time in the patent world or you may be looking to make a change. Hopefully these five tips will help you make this important decision. Tip number one, technology. It is important to make sure that the patent professional you're hiring, understands and can work with your technology. There are four main technology areas mechanical, electrical, chemical, and biotech. There is a lot of crossover these days between some of these technologies. You can look into a patent professionals background through their bio on their website and find out more information about their training, and about what kind of technologies they work with. You can also ask questions with regard to their experience in your particular technology. Tip number two cost. The second tip is the obvious one of cost. Most people will relate the level of cost to the level of quality. But this isn't always true. It's important to meet with at least a couple of patent professionals so that you can get an idea of the range of costs. In getting estimates, it is important to compare apples to apples. Sometimes, a patent professional will quote a low fee upfront, but will charge for additional extras later on. Make sure that the cost comparison is an equivalent one. Some people will equate larger firms with larger costs, and vice versa. Please note that this isn't always the case. And again, it's useful to check with two or three patent firms to make sure that you have an idea of the cost range involved. Tip number three experience. As you know, experience can be really important because of the complexity of the patenting process. Make sure to check with your patent professional as to how many years of experience they have. Are they new to the field, which may mean they're closer to the technology? Or have they been in the field a long time and have a better understanding of the patent process and how to get through the process as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. Sometimes the best combination is someone who has experience but is also very connected with the technology. And you can often find out this person by conducting an interview. In an interview, you can ask how the patent professional keeps up with technology. And if they have other team members that may be even more steeped in the technology. Tip number four capacity. Capacity relates to the capability that the patent professional or their firm have to take on your new work and to also do a good job. In this case, it also means whether or not you will work with the person you are first meeting with or whether you will be passed along to someone else on the team. In this sense, it's a good idea to talk with the patent professional about who will be backing them up. And what other professionals will be on the team that is handling your technology. It can be important to get to know all the members of the team as patent work continues for a long time trying to get an understanding of the technology, knowledge, experience and capabilities of all members of the team that will be handling your work. Tip number five personality. Personality can be very important in handling patent matters.

The time period just to get an initial patent is generally three to five years and the life of a patent is 20 years. So you will be working with this person or the team for a long time. Further, normally you will want to have a patent portfolio. So you will be adding new patents as your product or service grows and develops because the process is so long, and there will often be frequent interaction, it is very important that you are able to work well with your patent professional and get the most efficient and cost effective result for your product or new technology. It is also important to have a similar connection with the members on the patent team. As work will be handled at different levels throughout the course of the project. In conclusion, these have been five tips to help you choose a patent professional. Each of these tips could probably have been a separate video on its own. But hopefully this summary has given you some ideas to help you choose the best patent professional for you. Thanks very much for watching the video. Good luck and I hope that your new innovation or technology brings you great success in the future.