Patent Application Preparation
and Filing;
Patent Searching;
Invalidation Searches;
Expert in locating invalidating prior art.
FREEDOM to operate searches;
Geistschreiben;
Foreign patent filings, PCT, EPO, etc.;
Re-Examination of Competitor's Patent(s)
to stop litigation;
Strategy Formulation;
Invention Viability Evaluation; &
General Invention Counseling.
Christopher J. Whewell, M.S.
& US Patent Agent
agent@inventorweb.com
Please DO NOT email confidential info., first phone (512)
763-1142
SIMPLE INVENTION ? What could be simpler
than a funnel and a tube connected ? Click
here to download a spec I wrote, then contact me to discuss it
briefly. There is a good lesson here.
This entire
website is copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 by WESTERN PATENT GROUP
Click the blue boxes above and left
for info on that topic. There may be broken links from time to
time. Our effort is directed at work product and RESULTS, not
web page appearances.
My success rate in obtaining
patents is over 98%. The
national average is about 65%. I
don't publish my know-how, anywhere.
Some things
I do include:
Evaluate proposed technologies, determine whether sustainable competitive
advantage can be created;
Writing
and filing patent applications;
Filing US Patents based on PCT cases;
Searching prior art to help determine whether a proposed invention
is patentable, or whether an existing patent is invalid;
Risk Analysis;
Value Assessment;
International issues;
Strategy Development;
Marketing Plans;
Technology Transfer; and
Technical drawings.
Turning Your Invention(s) into
Money is my Business
If you want
straight talk and expert advice on the strengths and weaknesses of your
ideas, strategy, technology, or that of another party, and you want to be
treated right, consider calling me, Chris Whewell.
I'll deliver more value for the money than you're likely to find anywhere
else concerning the creation of value from your intellectual assets, or
the destruction of the competitive advantage of your competitor(s).
If your invention is patentable, I can represent you before the US Patent
Office in filing and arguing your case for you. For patents, I quote a flat
fee, once I know the total complexity / nature of the case. That
way, you won't get a $ 10,000 invoice at the end of the
matter, as can often occur with a law firm - you know up front what you're getting into.
Although patent
procurement is an important part of what we do, turning an invention into
cash flows requires more than merely obtaining a patent, and we can go to
the next stage with you if you like. Some
inventions seem like a really good idea at first, but in reality, when all
pertinent factors are considered, a person may be better off abandoning the
idea and putting their resources elsewhere. Our goal is to assist you
to make correct business
decisions. Most developments have unique
circumstances associated with them and need to be evaluated on a
case-by-case basis.
Our patentability searches are a high value, because of their thoroughness,
contents, and cost. If the search shows that your invention appears
patentable, we
provide a detailed cost and timeline breakdown of what we believe you
should expect to experience in attempting to patent the invention.
Procuring patents is a large part of this business, and you can typically save
thousands of dollars and months of time, compared to other patent
practitioners.
We can also prepare business plans and slide presentations, so you can present
your invention to industry, or others such as potential investors.
INNOVATE OR DIE
Unless you are THE lowest-cost
producer of material in a commodity market, you will
either establish and maintain a competitive advantage based on features, per
chapter 13 of Michael Porter's seminal work "Competitive Advantage", or else you
will not be in business long.
Competing on price alone is a race to the bottom, and
eventually, the weakest must exit. We continue to see this even in the
seemingly best-managed companies. Most don't know or
admit it, but we're presently in a revolution.
Tom Friedman's "The World is Flat" attempts to describe it.
Fact is, that companies which exit commodity markets
in this revolution are ripe for
having their other revenue streams attacked, and they usually don't even
realize the underpinnings of why.
To be profitable today, you MUST establish and maintain a competitive advantage if
you are to be in business, or else you need to create an asset (a patent) that
has value in business towards providing them with a sustainable
competitive advantage.
One means for establishing a sustainable competitive advantage is via the use
of patents; however, few realize that patents are but one tool. Often, companies
and individuals place
too much emphasis on this one tool.
Do not
expect service providers, such as patent attorneys, to provide
the necessary commercial advice -- they're trained only in law.
Similarly, commercial businessmen aren't trained in the intricacies of patent law.
Successful commercialization requires, inter alia, a special
relationship between the two, and THERE IS AN INHERENT
CHASM BETWEEN THESE GROUPS THAT FEW ORGANIZATIONS HAVE OVERCOME OR BRIDGED.
Bridging this gap is essential to your success, whether you are an
individual or a large corporation. I am the bridge.
This lack of
attention has contributed to the dwindling competitive position of
the US in the global marketplace today, compared to just two generations ago.
Even Dr. Vijay Jolly takes one close to the threshold in his "Commercializing New Technologies", but doesn't
quite reach the door. Clayton Christensen's Open Innovation describes
empirical behaviors, but doesn't give the secret either.
Many companies
have taken the bait of seeking cheap foreign labor, either pioneeringly, or
in response to similar moves taken by the their competitors previously. The
cheap labor turned out to not be so cheap after all, except the followers
don't learn it until long after the leaders have, and the cumulative
effect represents the largest technology transfer in human history, over the
past 17 years. Offshoring is NOT the answer to creating a sustainable
competitive advantage.
Part of the answer is temporarily putting someone on your team who has substantial
knowledge and experience with the tricks of patent law AND in means of technology commercialization. After
surveying your company and industry landscape, a system
can be devised for your invention(s) or company which is unique, based on
your organization or invention, and is not readily duplicable by others.
This will lead you to the essence of a sustainable competitive advantage
that is unique to your business, its capabilities and plans. It gets to
the heart of why none of the competition can copy Southwest Airlines'
business model.
If you're
an individual inventor, there is a good chance that one or more of your competitors
will be a large company at some point. Understanding your competition is necessary
before an appropriate and effective long-term strategy can be developed. The Teledesic case from the
Harvard Business School is one good example of one analysis technique.
Without these considerations, you're exposing yourself to damage.
Large companies often have the weakness that their vice presidents and
other members of management only need to "tow the line" to keep their jobs,
i.e., their own personal well-being is not individually affected by the
"innovate or die" mantra that the organization as a whole faces.
Under this scenario, all
seems well, day to day, to the managers, but often only because they have no knowledge or
experience of the better alternatives which are practicable. In order
to be the best, you have to beat the best. If you're the best, then
you have to beat yourself, constantly, or someone else will. How do you set up your
company so that you are always beating yourself?
There can be said to be two types of companies: 1)
those founded by individual(s) without regard for creating long-term
sustainable competitive advantage owing to initial phenomenal profitability; and
2) those founded by individual(s) with savviness in creating a long-term sustainable
competitive advantage machine at the onset. Companies in category 1), unless
they are THE low cost producer in a commodity market, will eventually reach
a point where they realize a wholesale cultural change is the only effective
means for remedying their defects, or else their revenues will continue to
shrink in real dollar terms. Often, as in all sickness, they are
unaware of the illness until after it manifests itself visually, in repeated quarters of
diminishing, stagnant (or even in the extreme, negative) Owners Equity (OE)
or Retained Earnings
numbers. Other times, managers with foresight will take action in
time, but in organizations where people have learnt too well to habitually
only "tow the line", successful appropriate change is not possible without A
Good Hard Kick in the Ass, to quote the title of a book by Austin venture
capitalist Rob Adams. Companies in category 2) don't have to
worry about it.
People are creatures of habit, and most corporate management, after the
company's founder leaves, typically does not know how to innovate, having
not been bred into it. As a result, most management teams, by habit,
are staffed by those having years of tenure in a company,
but who have little to no experience whatsoever in successful product development
within the revolution we're experiencing, or
in habitually creating new sustainable competitive advantages. Rather,
their greatest
successes are not in what they do, but rather in what they don't do, viz, not making
waves (or any big splashes). Eventually,
this leads an organization to suddenly find itself shrinking in market
share, with seemingly no way out of it. You can identify these
companies (they're plentiful) by the low revenues they generate which are based on new products
they introduce successfully, versus the company's total revenue. I
call this the Adaptability Index ("AI"), which is an indication of the
company's ability to adapt its revenue stream to an ever-changing
marketplace. Increasing the AI is something the president of the
company will demand, but which few know how to pull off, because it's
impossible to unlearn the bad
habits they've developed over the past decade(s), and it is more
difficult to suddenly and spontaneously begin to engage in
commercially-valuable behavior. especially by people who have been
conditioned, and who have conditioned themslves, to "tow the line"
and lay low. As Bruce Lee said,
they need to "empty their cup".
W.L. Gore is an example of a company with a high AI. Other companies
may look at Gore and say: "We need to be more like them." Obviously.
But, trying to be something that you cannot ever become is a weak mindset,
that of a follower. Only "following" companies think this way, and
they will never realize their destiny. To be the leader, by
definition, one cannot be a follower. Providing suggestions for changing a corporate culture
from that of follower to that of leader is part of what we do, using our
proprietary process. I am a Change Agent.
Understanding this and its implications is of enormous value to you in
eroding the market share of "following" companies, and propelling your
businesses' success by sustaining your competitive advantages. A
"following" company can take advantage of another "following" company and
become a leader.
While the above may
make some sensitive types feel bad, it is by no means bad news. Quite the contrary,
its' realization leads to the beginning of foundations for new
opportunities. He who defines wins, and every negative situation can
be turned around into a positive one. Remember Gladwell's Tipping
Point, in which he reminded us that big changes are made by small numbers of
people in very short time spans. The sickest companies can be cured,
and new companies can begin on and maintain the right track through our
methods.
If you are starting a company or launching a product, you must initially
make the venture one which is cognizant of, and practices, in one form or
another, the
essentials of monetization ("EOM's") regularly, even if you are
just an army of one:
1) Early invention
feasibility examinations;
2) IP Protection;
3) Business Plan / Presentation writing;
4) Market Validation;
5) Projected Financials, NPV, IRR, ROI, Payback;
6) Risk Analysis;
7) Logistics and Process timing;
8) Technology Vision and Strategy;
9) Internal and external advocacy Promotion; and
10) Internationalization considerations.
The way to do these best, must
be according to an established framework. We can take your existing
business, observe it for a little while, and provide suggestions for a framework for the above which is appropriate
for your assets, capabilities, history, vision, and life cycle status.
We also can assist pioneers at the launch stage of their business to assure that
as they grow, they will encounter the least pain in adapting to their
environment, to have a company which can constantly change to meet the new
demands of customers, and create new market segments - one with a high AI.
An established business should perform the same tests for new products to be
launched, as if the company were just starting out its original venture,
based on that one product, absent other over-riding considerations.
If you've gotten this
far, you now realize that large companies do not necessarily have more
advantages over smaller ones. Large companies' weaknesses can make
them more vulnerable than small companies' strengths make them strong, but only to the extent
that smaller companies understand what makes the big boys weak, and what makes
them strong.
Early on you will often need a business plan and a Powerpoint
(TM) presentation to deliver to potential investors, either internal or
external to your organization. We can help you
put together a business plan and presentation that is geared towards the
audience you anticipate delivering it to. You can try this on you own,
but I can almost guarantee you it will be a large mis-appropriation of your
time if you don't have experience.
Making money on an invention (monetization) is usually a complex endeavor,
and you should definitely get some experience on your side. There is a
high risk of failure for most innovations. I can quickly identify the toughest challenges you are
likely to face, early on in the process, to increase your probability of
financial success. This is of enormous advantage in
terms of the money, and more importantly perhaps, time it can save you.
REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
CALL US TOLL-FREE
@
(888) 301-6774
Patenting
We prepare
and file patent applications, on a Flat Rate Basis.
You will save time, headaches, and expense in protecting, patenting, and
commercializing your invention when you use our services.
You can receive a written cost commitment
from us, so you know up-front
with very high certainty what it will cost to patent the invention.
In addition to 13 years aiding private
inventors patenting their inventions, and 7 years experience as top
patent agent in a $12B international corporation, Chris Whewell also possesses a Master's Degree in
Science and Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas
(2006), with honors.
When you hire WESTERN PATENT GROUP, you
gain access to a unique skill set that is not generally available from
either law firms, or from "Invention Marketing" outfits, or other
patent practitioners.
THIS UNIQUE SKILLSET MAKES US INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURS IN HELPING INVENTORS
COMMERCIALIZE THEIR INVENTIONS. The vast majority of my clients are making money on
their inventions.
I have only failed twice in
14 years to obtain a patent on a client's
invention, and have authored over one hundred US patents. Most of my clients are making money.
* PATENTING STRATEGY COUNSELING - Put our experience to work to arrive at a proper
and effective strategy for protecting your intellectual property ("IP").
* INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY VALUE
ASSESSMENT - Put our experience to work to arrive at an accurate value for your
inventions and IP.
* PATENT VALUE BUILDING - Put our
experience and abilities in motion towards increasing the marketable value of your
inventions and IP. Visit out other site at : http://www.inventorweb.com
US Patent Search is
often just
$ 645. This is a high quality search, based on
15
years searching experience !!! You receive:
* a formal written search report;
* copies of all relevant patents found;
* if the invention appears patentable, then we also provide a detailed cost and
timeline breakdown of what we expect you should pay to obtain a patent on the invention;
* completed within two weeks, often quicker.
Yes, you can find cheaper searches. You will get what you pay for. (We reserve the right to revoke this offer at any time. )
Affordable Services
We charge a flat rate for preparing and filing US patent
applications, and give our clients a price commitment up-front. You can know
your total cost before we even begin; there are no "surprises". (except
in very rare cases)
I can get your patent through the patent office in the quickest
time possible, by writing the application so that the point of novelty is readily apparent
to the Examiner.
To learn how much it would cost to
patent your invention, contact us for a price commitment by clicking on "email
us" below, or by calling the toll-free number at the bottom of this page:

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If you have a good enough invention that you will
make money selling it, others will definitely copy it. The patent laws were
designed to protect inventors by providing a limited monopoly on your invention so that only
you can profit from your labors, if you take proper full advantage of the Law.

transmission overdrive
Click on the links above and at the left for good information.
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Provisional, Utility, or Design Patent Applications - We can help you with any part or all of your patenting
needs, and at every step of the way, from conception of your idea to the day we receive
the patent from the government. All at your discretion - you're the boss.
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"Value-minded
inventors will recognize our affordable rates and quick service as a smart business use of
resources. Preparation of a utility patent application for as low as $ 1750 ?
Yes we do, and sometimes for even less !
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One low-cost method of marketing an invention is to have a color website
created for it. Check out inventorweb.com/indes.html below:inventorweb.com |
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Invention Home Page is an extremely low-cost way to reach millions of potential buyers and
contacts. For about $ 500 your invention can get world-wide exposure, in full color
and easy to understand. |
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Personalized Service
We don't treat our clients like "just another number". Most
inventors are creative, and we want your repeat business. You can use us as a
"sounding board" for your manufacturing/marketing ideas, and save a lot of
time/hassle. We're diligent and very responsive. Just ask any client, or look
at the short time it takes us to get patents through ! |
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Consultation
Get a second opinion from us, or discusss strategic
options. Our experience provides a good sounding board and is a strong asset for
you. We can answer any of your patent-related questions.PROTECT YOURSELF !!!
We believe that you should consult with a professional patent
practitioner before making any disclosures of your invention to anyone, to avoid
forfeiting or waiving your rights. I have seen many inventors make mistakes by acts
and omissions they made prior to seeking advice. Don't be in that crowd. It
really is worth the little money you would spend in seeking advice. |
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Email link below:
chrisw@patentsearcher.com
Thank you for visiting,
Yours very truly,
Christopher J. Whewell, M.S.,
& US Patent Office Bar # 37,469
WESTERN PATENT GROUP
6020 Tonkowa Trail
Georgetown, Texas 78628
(888) 301-6774 TOLL FREE
or (512) 763-1142
Important Notice: Use of this
website will not establish an attorney-client, agent-client, or other commercial
relationship, and such a relationship will only exist if and after an engagement letter
has been signed. No representations or
warranties are made with respect to any of the information contained within this website,
and particularly in reference to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. The material contained within this website and its
links is for general information purposes only, and shall not be construed as legal
advice; nor should it be relied upon in place of seeking legal advice relative to your
individual situation from a qualified Patent Practitioner or Counsel.
Since the law is always
evolving, the
information contained within this website may not always be current with the most recent
changes. Feel free to send comments or
questions by phone or e-mail but please do not send confidential information in any
initial contact.
Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 by WESTERN PATENT GROUP
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