Business Model - Patents - Mobile App - Lawyer Client Conversations

Business Model - Patents - Mobile App - Lawyer Client Conversations

Last fortnight, when old friends Harvey and Mike were in Gurgaon around same time, they decided to meet at DLF CyberHub. They grabbed their coffee from Starbucks and while enjoying their walk in pleasant evening weather, Mike noticed Hyundai’s latest compact SUV Creta on display. With spark in his eyes, he told Harvey about recently launched vehicle and his strong inclination to buy that in coming weeks. Both of them spent next twenty minutes exploring the car after which they resumed normal conversations while walking and sipping their drinks. Mike thanked Harvey for suggesting to meet at this place that gave him an opportunity to experience and feel his potential next purchase car, to which Harvey modestly smiled saying it was just a coincidence and he felt equally happy for Mike.

Professionally, Harvey was a lawyer and Mike was an investment banker. Both of them shared equal passion for technology, innovations and startups. One common conversation they always had was how latest business models based upon web and mobile can solve real life problems. While discussing some random topics, Mike stumbled upon a potential business idea and told Harvey, what if we knew about car display in advance and hence decided to meet here than at any other place. Harvey tried to understand with curiosity while Mike explained him about a novel and unique concept wherein users could see all cars on display at any instant near a particular location. Harvey knew Mike was intending to either invest in a startup or launch one of his own since long, so he suggested that they should sit and discuss in detail.

Now what was originally planned as a regular catch up meet over coffee, turned into a serious business discussion between a client and his attorney. Harvey asked Mike to explain him all possible solutions his product would offer, to which Mike explained him a location (GPS) based interface similar to Uber, which would display all latest cars on display in the vicinity of the user. User could decide where he wants to go based on factors like car variant (color) on display, waiting time to examine car in detail, contact details of car dealer, etc.

Harvey was impressed with the idea and was thinking about business, financial and legal aspects, when Mike suddenly asked, “What if I could ensure no one copies my idea, at least for sometime?” Harvey was an expert in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), specifically, patents, so he suggested him that there are ways and means to achieve that, and best way to begin would be to file a provisional patent application immediately and then plan future patent strategy.

Mike didn’t have much idea about the concept of patents, so he asked some basic questions, like, what exactly was a provisional patent, relevant laws, patent procedure, advantages of provisional patent, and other similar questions.

While explaining the patent process in detail, Harvey also explained as to how Mike could use Patent Pending Status to his advantage, and how can a patent search before filing the patent can really save his time and resources.

A few minutes discussion acted as a refresher course in patents for Mike, and before going back to work on his idea further, he thought of asking some more questions that would help him execute his business model in a better way. Mike realized that formulating a patent strategy would take some time and if he wanted to test his business model to validate the idea, he needed to take care of some crucial legal considerations. So Harvey explained him that he was absolutely correct and while testing, the mobile app (and website) should have relevant terms and conditions mentioned explicitly so that users are aware of their rights, obligations and responsibilities.

Harvey further explained him about importance of stating appropriate terms and conditions along with legal disclaimers, and in case the app (or website) is collecting personal data of users, a privacy policy is equally mandatory. He also suggested best ways to draft and publish website terms, conditions and privacy policy in addition to importance of minimising liability while offering a mobile (or web) based product to users.

After a healthy and fruitful evening discussion, both Harvey and Mike decided to meet again soon and work on specifics for execution of newly conceptualised and exciting business idea.

Disclaimer: This is not a legal advice. Business idea, names and characters are used in a fictitious manner. Businesses, brands and places mentioned above are just used for reference purposes and all ownership (IP) rights lie with actual owners.

Best way to reach author is through LinkedIn or Twitter (@rdpatentlawyer).

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