- My startup was acquired a few years ago
- Part of acquisition was to raise a patent for the core of the solution, the patent was issued in USA and UK
- They then proceeded to mismanage and fail the startup
- The startup is in zombie mode, with 2 years of cash left
- I have left them
Now I'm in a situation where I want to do it again, but fix some key issues, but due to the patent, it keeps me locked out of the core approach to the solution.
Yes, I have a way to re-invent the core and develop a new solution, but I'd be dancing very close to a fire of litigation that I cannot afford.
My observations after this process are:
- Patents protect the patent holder, not the patent creator
- Company Secrets are a cleaner way of doing business
- You don't have to tell anyone how a Company Secret works, keep it a secret and you're fine
- Secret approaches to software development are hard to enforce if you have an on premise solution
- Cloud based SaaS solutions aren't always the best way for every application type (mine was in the Cyber Security space)
Edited for formatting I would strongly discourage a Patent and go down the company secrets path.
It protects who owns your company from having core staff relaunch their own solution.
You could argue that it stops some competitors, but in reality they just have to develop a solution that doesn't align with 'every one' of your patent claims and they can bypass you, if they have legal funds to fight you.