A telescope is a valuable tool. Used properly, it makes distant objects appear closer. However, used improperly it, in fact, makes the problem of seeing distant objects worse.
The first word I often hear from tech start-ups involves how to protect their idea with a patent. While I have never been a big fan of patents, the message against them was underscored with the launch of Apple’s new wristwatch. Within 24 hours of its new product announcement, and before the first Apple watch units were ever shipped, a Chinese knockoff was selling for an order of magnitude less than Apple’s online list price.
So when a start-up begins looking at patent issues as their first effort, for me it is like looking down the wrong end of the telescope. Bigger companies are not at a loss for ideas. They are limited by their bandwidth of execution. A start-up with a new technology is often better off looking at ways to get more people to see the product, rather than focusing on protecting people from seeing it.
When you have a new idea, is your first reaction to think defensively rather than offensively?
