Meet the Instructor
Russ Krajec is the Executive Director of IP.Education. He is a patent attorney, co-founder and COO of an angel and venture backed startup company, successful solo patent attorney, as well as CEO of BlueIron IP, a company that finances patents for startup companies.
Russ talks about intellectual property from the perspective of an entrepreneur, not a law school professor or as a patent attorney why is just trying to sell you services. Russ’s book, Investing In Patents, discusses the entire patent system, as well as how to find the good inventions that BlueIron will finance.
IP.Education is a non-profit that focuses on education for startup companies, angel and venture capital inventors, and the rest of the startup ecosystem.
You can see Russ’s private patent practice here.
You can visit BlueIronIP here.
Transcript of the video:
I am an engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur, just like you.
As an engineer, I had been through the patent process a few times. But then I had a bad run in with a patent attorney.
You see, I had a product that I wanted to bring to market and I needed help.
However, the attorney would not give me the real, solid business advice that I needed.
I was so frustrated with that interaction, that I took the patent bar, became a patent agent, and later went to law school and became a patent attorney.
Since 2004, I have had a successful solo practice and have written over 800 patent applications.
I was also a co-founder and COO of an angel and venture backed startup company in Seattle.
My current position is as CEO of BlueIron, which finances patents for startup companies.
I tell you this not to sell you services, but to give you context.
When I started out as an inventor, the entire patent process was steeped in mystery.
As I went from being an inventor to being a patent agent, I was astonished to see what actually happens behind the curtain.
There is an equally big jump from being a conventional hired gun patent attorney to actually owning patents, like when I was a co-founder of a startup.
As a hired gun, I do what I am told. You want a patent on a perpetual motion machine, I write it.
However, when I am part owner of a startup company, I care about how valuable the patent assets will be.
The question is no longer how do I get a patent, but how do I get a GOOD patent.
At the startup company, I had the opportunity to experiment with many different ways to create value for the company.
In the end, the patents were the only major asset the company had.
BlueIron’s patent financing program is a way to blend all that experience.
Before we finance a patent, we do extensive due diligence into the invention.
What is the competitive landscape? What other patents are out there? And the real question:
How do I create a patent asset that is going to have real commercial value, instead of just being a plaque on the wall.
Much of what I have learned in finding good inventions is in my book, Investing In Patents.
The book is available on Amazon, and all the profits from the book roll back into IP.Education.
Which gets us to our sponsor, IP.Education.
IP.Education is a 501 C 3 non-profit. Its goal is educating entrepreneurs and the startup community about intellectual property.
We have seen the bad advice commonly given to entrepreneurs. And there are huge misaligned interests between the pay-by-the-hour attorneys and their clients.
By having a non-profit, we can talk about these topics in a fair, balanced, and non-biased manner. This helps you become a better entrepreneur and run better businesses.
You are part of the IP.Education community by just taking this course, but I invite you to check our website and use our other resources.