Patents and Tender Writing

What have patents and tender writing got to do with each other? Well, nothing immediately springs to mind. However, when you are writing a tender you have to look at competitive advantage and what makes you stand out from the others. A patent on an idea or a product could just do the trick. Think about it, if the only way a potential client can access the service or product they want is by coming to you because you have the patent, it has to be a no-brainer!

A tender writer is always looking for an edge, if that edge comes from a patent and means that no one else can include it in their tender submission then so much the better.

Some general information on patents;
The idea behind a patent is protection; the development pathways for many large companies follow similar courses that in evidently lead to patent infringement. Some of the large multi-national corporations are now buying patents in their relevant technology business needs in an attempt to protect themselves from expensive and time consuming law-suits.

The statement from a Google spokesman said, "Bad software patent litigation is a wasteful war that no one will win," the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

In July Google purchased more than 1,000 patents from IBM in an aim to bolster its patent portfolio and continue to fight legal battles on a number of fronts. However, Google were unable to match a bid from a business consortium consisting of Microsoft, Sony and Research in Motion for a cache of 6, 000 Nortel Wireless patents. The cache in question contained data networking, optical, voice, semiconductor and wireless concepts that include 4G long-term evolution (LTE) technologies. The auction price was $4.5 billion and won Canadian and U.S. approval through a joint hearing on July 11.

Another example of the impact that patents have on the ability of firms to enter new markets is the problem that Spotify found themselves in. Two weeks ago Spotify the popular music streaming programme entered into the US market, amongst concerns of patent infringement. PacketVideo is claiming that Spotify is breaking two patents that were taken out in 1955, with the main patent in question stating that “a device for the distribution of music information in digital form”. Spotify has publicly stated that it is confident that it has not infringed any patents as their program is based on its own innovation and hybrid technology.

A federal jury in San Diego ruled on Friday that Microsoft must pay damages to Alcatel-Lucent to settle a $70 million patent infringement claim that dates back to 2003. The engineers at Alcatel-Lucent applied for a patent a number of years ago that covers a specific method of inputting data without using a keyboard. In 2003 Microsoft were found guilty of infringing on this patent on their company's Outlook email software, Windows Mobile and Microsoft Money.

These three high profile example provide evidence as to why the purchasing and constant updating of patents is critical to the success of any business. They provide the protection and peace of mind to ensure that ideas and developments cannot be copied.
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