What Your Competition's Patents Could Reveal About Their Next Move

I am fortunate to meet many interesting people routinely, many of them founders.

They're typically either entrenched and well-versed in their industry or newer and still learning the ropes.

Both groups often share the same characteristics:

• They're smart.
• They're sponges who won't hesitate to spend thousands of dollars a year on SXSW or other events.
• They will do whatever it takes to get the information and make the connections needed to support their business.

All are seeking a competitive advantage (that's you, right?) by finding critical, timely information to stay ahead of competitors.

But could many of these founders be missing a significant resource?

In my own view, yes.

The most comprehensive innovation resource available for many businesses is patents. Yeah, I get that this has legalistic overtones, but this resource has A LOT more to it.

Widely accepted estimates suggest 70 to 90% of the world's innovative content lives solely in patent databases. Not in conferences (sorry, SXSW), books, websites, blogs, or anywhere else.

And the volumes are enormous.

The United States sees almost 800,000 applications filed every year. That's over 2,100 patent applications filed every single day, holiday or not. Add in the 100+ other patenting authorities worldwide, and daily applications jump to over 10,200. That's seven patent applications filed every minute.

Very dynamic industries are certainly filing their share of applications, including AI and other software, electric vehicles, electronics, and robotics. Even the lowly pencil keeps improving, with roughly 2000 applications and patents published last year. If you sell or manufacture pencils, wouldn't you like to know what these describe and whether they might impact your business?

Whether you're interested in patents or not, this information helps you understand:

• future markets
• innovative technologies
• the people and companies behind them

Like conferences and meetings, knowing the people and companies behind patents gives founders the chance to connect with those who might support their vision.

So how do we benefit from this proverbial firehose of information?

Use patent alerts to stay continuously updated on your niche

When set up properly, alerts give you and your team a manageable number of results you won't find elsewhere. This information includes only the content that is a few days old.

These alerts are so powerful that large conglomerates use them as a core part of their competitive intelligence strategy to keep up with their competitors, technologies, and markets. Patent alerts ultimately help them identify new opportunities and risks that might change their business.

The earlier businesses have critical information, the more time they have to react and make better decisions.

What could patent alerts reveal about your competitors, emerging technologies, and opportunities in your industry?

I help founders and their attorneys maximize opportunities, reduce risks, and minimize costs through patent alerts.

My initial consultations are always free.