1. Avoiding premature solution lock-in
A common scenario is for early-stage ideas to obtain a patent, only to find that the best, marketable product ends up falling outside of it. The outcome of a robust development process is to achieve the ‘best’ (for application, consumer, manufacturing, cost etc.) design, which may necessitate a different embodiment than initially imagined. The timing of obtaining a patent and managing it through the filing process can therefore have a major bearing on downstream ROI from it.
Understanding the product development pathway and the opportunities for the creation of new, protectable ideas can be useful in setting out an IP strategy.