Does your patent attorney have your best interest in mind?

While written largely from a small inventor perspective, this Forbes article, by Mr. Keys, asks an interesting and relevant question: Does your patent attorney have your best interest in mind? This is a relevant ask for inventors, startups, universities, and large companies. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that attorneys often have their own financial interests in mind. This can be especially true at a firm where billable hours and collections determine an attorney’s status (and salary) at the firm. Patent attorneys are incentivized to encourage more filings, more written responses, and more foreign filings. Often their incentives are aligned with the client’s. As a young associate, I recall a partner telling me to turn a single invention disclosure into seven provisional patent applications (the client later fired him). But this is not always the case. The Entrepreneur and Inc.com have some good advice on how to know if your patent attorney is “killer” or not.

Interestingly, Mr. Keys article contradicts some of his comments in his other writings. For instance, in this article he talks about not taking business advice from your patent attorney. Nevertheless, even this article has some good advice. Although, you should always take business advice from this patent attorney - he is honestly brilliant!