December 18, 2024 • 17 mins
Episode 2: The Negotiators
In this episode of Patent Insider Secrets, we dive into Pillar 2: IP Asset Development & Fortification. It’s a lesson every innovator needs to hear: it’s not enough to simply create—you must protect and fortify your intellectual property from day one.
We share two powerful stories:
First, meet Sarah:
Sarah, a brilliant PhD student, hustled to secure funding for her groundbreaking research. Her work led to two patents, and she was offered a dream job by an industry leader. But just when everything seemed to fall into place, her university stepped in. The patents, they argued, belonged to them, not Sarah.
Suddenly, her six-figure job offer vanished, replaced with an offer to stay on as a post-doc under the university’s control. Devastated, Sarah learned the hard way that failing to securely negotiate her intellectual property early on cost her control over her future.
Then, learn from Larry and Sergei’s story:
Larry Page and Sergei Brin, the founders of Google, were also graduate students when they created a search engine that would change the world. But unlike Sarah, they proactively secured their IP rights early.
By negotiating with Stanford, they turned the university into a partner instead of an adversary. Stanford kept an equity stake, earning hundreds of millions when Google went public. Meanwhile, Larry and Sergey retained control of their vision and turned their idea into one of the most valuable companies in history.
The Takeaway
The difference between Sarah’s story and that of Google’s founders comes down to IP fortification. Larry and Sergei didn’t just develop intellectual property—they fortified it, ensuring it remained an asset they could leverage and control.
🎧 Listen to Episode 2: The Negotiator to learn:
- Why fortifying your IP from the start is critical.
- The common pitfalls that cost innovators their ideas.
- How to secure your rights and negotiate effectively.
This episode could mean the difference between watching your idea slip away and turning it into a legacy.
🎥WATCH HERE: https://youtu.be/VCcJ8HJMg7o
What do you think? Should Sarah have been able to claim her patents, or was the university justified? Let’s discuss. 👇
#PatentInsiderSecrets #IPFortification #TheNegotiator
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tariq Najee-ullah, Patent Insider (00:00):
Um,
Audio Only - All Participants (00:14):
Greetings and welcome to Patent Insider Secrets,
where we save you from IP disaster.
This is the podcast where we divedeep into the hidden world of
intellectual property with captivatingstories and expert insights.
I'm your host, Tariq Najeela,federally registered patent agent,
veteran USPTO patent examiner,startup IP mentor, and IP strategist.
(00:37):
In this episode, we explorePillar 2, IP asset development
and IP asset fortification.
Today's lesson is crucial for anyoneworking on groundbreaking ideas.
It's not enough to simply create.
You have to protect andfortify your IP from day one.
So let's take a look at this story.
This happened again early in, my practice.
(00:59):
Year two or three.
I'm going to take you back to thisconversation I had not too long
ago with a bright young woman.
Let's call her Sarah.
Sarah had just graduatedfrom prestigious PhD program.
She was excited and ready to takeher research to the next level.
She chose her university specificallyto work with a certain professor,
whose work aligned perfectly with herambitions, but just as her journey
(01:21):
began, life threw her a curveball.
That professor left.
The university, it wentto a new opportunity.
She recounted the story like this.
I mean, professor, I came to thisuniversity specifically to work with you.
Now you're leaving?
What am I supposed to do?
My research can't just stop.
I understand your frustration, Sarah.
This wasn't something I planned,but opportunities come up.
(01:44):
Once in a lifetime opportunities.
I wish I could continue supporting you,but the best I could offer is to put in a
good word for you with another professor.
You'll be fine.
Trust me.
You've got the talent andthe drive to make it work.
So now suddenly Sarahfound herself adrift.
No funding, no key advisor,and no clear path forward.
But she wasn't one to sit back and wait.
(02:07):
For things to happen.
She got to work.
She hustled.
She found another professor willingto back her, but this time she'd
have to secure her own funding.
Determined, Sarah reached outto a large company in her field.
And after some back and forth, theyagreed to collaborate on a small project.
She absolutely crushed it.
(02:27):
And the company was so impressed thatthey funded her entire research project
for the remainder of her program.
And here's where things get interesting.
Her research led to not one, but twopatents being filed by the university.
So now let's jump to Sarah'sconversation with the company.
Thank you so much for funding my research.
I really believe thisis just the beginning.
I've got a lot of ideas we could explore.
(02:50):
We're impressed, Sarah.
In fact, the work you've done isexactly what we're looking for.
We'd like to offer you a fulltime position after you graduate.
Six figures.
Full benefits.
The works.
You can continue leading thisresearch commercially with us.
We see really big thingsfor you in your future.
Wow, this is amazing.
(03:10):
I can't believe it.
This is exactly what I was hoping for.
But this is where thingstake an unexpected turn.
The university steppedin with a different plan.
I imagine the conversation with theuniversity admin went like this.
Sarah, we've been reviewing thepatents filed on your research, and
as per university policy, you know weactually own this intellectual property.
Any commercial venture stemmingfrom this work has to go through us.
(03:33):
What do you mean?
I mean, this was my idea, my research.
The company wants to hireme to continue to work.
In fact, they just gave me an offer.
We understand that.
However, patents dobelong to the university.
I mean, you just graduated.
So the best way we can offer tosupport you at this stage, now
(03:53):
that you're no longer with theuniversity, , is for the company to
continue funding the research here.
You could remain with theuniversity as a postdoc under the
supervision of your professors.
Of course.
A postdoc?
I mean, that's nowhere nearthe offer they gave me.
They're talking aboutat least six figures.
(04:15):
What's a postdoc?
30, 40, 000?
And they want me to lead theresearch, not a professor.
Unfortunately, that's not the option.
I mean, you knew when you joined theuniversity, anything that you came up
with was property owned by the university.
We didn't have any otheragreements in place.
We talked to the legal department, andunfortunately, that's not an option.
The IPs allow us to university.
(04:35):
And if you want to continue to work withit, you have to do it under our terms.
As you can imagine, Sarah was devastated.
And again, she didn't call me yet, butthis is the story before she calls me.
So Sarah's devastated.
I mean, after all, so all her,her idea, all her hustle, her
creativity, her hard work, howcould they take that away from her?
And it, trust me, it got worse.
(04:56):
The company called, uh, Sarah, we justspoke with the university administrators.
I know that we, we gave you thatoffer, but they're insisting.
That any work moving forward needsto be done under their control.
They're threatening litigation if we don'tcomply, as you know, we really want you to
leave this project, but it looks like thebest way we can do that is to continue
(05:21):
funding it at the university level,
and you'd have to be a postdoc.
I can't believe this.
This is supposed to be my big break.
What about the offer?
We're sorry, Sarah, our hands are tired.
As I said, they didthreaten us with litigation.
And the reality is the universityowns the patents, and we have
to follow their guidelines.
(05:42):
So this is when Sarah calledme, she gave me the whole
story, she recounted everything.
She says, Tariq, do they really own it?
Is there anything I can do?
and really that's, that'swhere the lesson came in.
You see, Sarah's situation couldhave been totally avoided if she had
fortified her IP assets at the start.
(06:02):
And I know you're asking,is that even possible?
I mean, she's a student.
If you are a student, if you workfor a company, I mean, by being an
employee, by being a student, don'twe sign on to the rules that say, hey,
everything that I do with universityor company property on their devices,
anything I create, anything I come upwith, it's all owned by them, right?
(06:27):
Well, technically, yes.
But even still, you still haveto have the mindset on how to
protect it in the beginning.
Tariq, that makes no sense.
I mean, if you're telling me this,you just said she's a student.
I mean, by being a student,you don't have a choice.
Just like if I worked for mycompany, I come up with a new idea.
The company owns it.
I can't my name and all the patentsI want, but I mean, it's not mine.
(06:50):
Maybe I'll get a bonus or promotion,but I mean, how the heck do I do that?
And you are correct.
But like I said today,it's all about contrast.
I'm going to give you another storyabout two students in the very same
situation as Sarah, but who tooka different approach in order to
negotiate something way better.
(07:12):
And trust me, all of us arebenefiting from it today.
So let's look at this famousstory, and this is probably
one you've probably heard.
The students we're talkingabout is Larry and Sergey.
Now these were graduatestudents at Stanford University.
And yes, they did create thesearch engine that would become
(07:36):
so like Sarah, they were workingon groundbreaking research while
still in school, but unlike Sarah.
Larry and Sergey took the crucialstep of securing their IP early on.
They actually worked withStanford to negotiate ownership
in terms before things took off.
And as a result, they maintainedsignificant control over their invention
(07:59):
while leveraging the university'sresources in the beginning, and were
able to bring us Google and Android,all that we love and know today.
So let's look at how this went down.
Not good.
(08:20):
Like Sarah, Larry andSergey were grad students.
Unlike Sarah, they were prepared.
They actually knew pillar one.
They had an IP asset mindset.
They knew the value of their idea.
In fact, you know, the story goesthat Larry was working on something
that was going to break the internet.
(08:43):
You know, back in the day, there wasno Google, so you'd have different
web browsers, you know, AltaVista,you know, Ask Jeeves, Metacrawler,
Yahoo, and every search engine game.
50 different results.
And so what Larry came up with, hecame up with a way to rank pages
(09:04):
in importance, based on linksback to those pages or backlinks.
So you can see, basically, mapping.
The internet and prioritizing pages basedon how many pages link back to that page.
So he just developed this thing calledpage rank, and his name is Larry
Page, not just web page but also hisname page ranking as an algorithm.
(09:29):
Now, Sergey was a grad student andSergey was a data scientist, he was
a data scientist and he was intoanalytics and a mutual of a buddy.
That new Larry, but didn't know, youknow, and also Sergei said, Hey, Sergei,
you should meet this guy named Larry.
He's working on something.
I think, you know, your researchis, would go hand in hand with his.
(09:50):
So they came together and it didn'toptimize on a level that really worked.
And they tested out these, theiralgorithms on Stanford servers
and page rank was born.
And Google was founded in 1998.
Now I can imagine.
(10:11):
I mean, I don't know, but I imaginea conversation between Larry and
Sergey with something like this.
Okay.
Search.
So, okay.
Imagine you call them surge, whatever.
I don't know what I say, but I say,Hey, Serge, we need to make sure that
what we're building here is ours.
I mean, we can't ignore Stanford'srole in it, but we need to, we need to
(10:33):
come at this upfront because we couldreally could have something big here.
I mean, she could be the next Yahoo.
Who knows?
Sorry.
He's like, Hey, exactly.
I mean, we're using the resourcesthat I know, you know, we sign.
You know, we're using their labsand resources, their computing
infrastructure, but let's talk to theuniversity and see how we can destruct
structure a deal that benefits everyone.
I mean, they have entrepreneurshipdepartment here, a venture firm.
(10:54):
I'm sure we can work out somethingthat will give us an opportunity
to see if this is going to be big.
So they can enter that meetingroom with Stanford's representative
at the, the venture said, Hey,we've been working on this thing.
I mean, we, we reallyget a lot of traffic.
I mean, we're, we're reallyshutting down Stanford servers.
We're getting so much traffic.
(11:14):
We think this has commercial appeal.
I know you guys have been workingon this, this search engine project.
So what do you envision for the future?
I mean, we really believe we couldrevolutionize how people use the internet.
We really believe this could revolutionizehow people use the internet, but to make
it a reality, we need to make sure thatwe secure the IP and control how it's
(11:35):
developed, and I know that we're lockedin the, you know, we filed a patent.
It's just through Stanford, but wewant to kind of negotiate ownership.
Of the past for into the project.
Interesting.
You know, typically the university,you know, retains IP rights, but
for certain ventures, you know, wecan we can negotiate some things.
(11:58):
Yeah, I mean, we're notasking for everything.
We want to make sureStanford benefits as well.
But what if we negotiate a deal withStanford gets presented the profits and
we generate, you know, from the patentsor even stock in the company we build.
Okay, let's look at that model.
Really, you're proposing a partnershipwith Stanford has a stake in the
success of the business you're creating.
And it's a compelling offer.
(12:19):
And we have a kind of set wherewe look at royalties and stock,
but we, we also require a buyout.
So to buy out of the, the standardagreement, uh, we probably need
something at least like 50, 000, 50, 000.
Yeah, I'm sure we can.
Well, yeah, I know that sounds likea lot of money, but I'm sure, you
know, we have some, uh, some venturepartners, some funders that may be
(12:43):
willing to, even some angel investorsmay be able to, uh, some, some other
graduates or alumni that have successfulcompanies that would look to invest.
So, you know, here's a list ofnumbers, but trust me, I mean, it
shouldn't be hard for you guys, ifit's doing what you're saying is.
I think you should, youshould have a problem.
Okay.
All right.
, we'll look at the 50 grand.
(13:04):
I think we can, we can work on that.
Um, and then we can, we can, uh,yeah, you also need to work with
your own attorney, uh, and make surethat you, you know, these things are
fair, but again, this is standardterms, , and you can take a look at it.
All right, gentlemen.
, I think we have a deal.
Let's get the lawyersand draw the paperwork.
(13:26):
Yeah.
I mean, who knows that, you know,handshake, who knows how that really went.
The reality is, you know, the documents.
There was a 50, 000, , initialpayout that Larry and Sergei, Sergei
made, they founded Alphabet Inc.
, Alphabet Inc.
was the, the agreed share, you know,one of their, their partnership
(13:46):
with Stanford University.
And then the company they created wasGoogle, one of Alphabet's companies.
And that has a search engine.
So years later, When Google wentpublic and became one of the largest
companies in the world, Stanford'sequity stake paid off in a big way.
(14:07):
The university made huge profit talkingabout hundreds of millions of dollars
from the stock they held in the company.
And everybody benefitedfrom that early negotiation.
, this is a report.
this is like around COVIDnumbers, but they say Larry Page
net worths over 111 billion.
(14:28):
Sergey's net worth is over 107 billion.
And, uh, her numbers.
You know, could have gone up even more.
So let's take a look.
What's one thing we noticed?
By securing their IP rights up front, Andinvolving Stanford as a partner, Larry
(14:49):
and Sergei were able to maintain controlof their vision while Stanford profited
significantly from the relationship.
The difference between Sarah'ssituation and that of the Googlers
comes down to one key element.
The Googlers understoodthat IP is an asset.
(15:10):
In fact, I'd say both of themunderstood that IP was an asset,
but only one of them fortified itearly enough to control their future.
By securing their IP rights in thefront end, they were able to turn
their idea into one of the mostvaluable companies in history.
They didn't just developtheir IP, they fortified it.
And they made sure it was an assetthey could leverage and control.
(15:30):
So what's the key takeaway here?
In both stories, we see talentedindividuals with incredible ideas,
but only one fortified their IP.
So it's not just enough tohave the IP asset mindset.
You have to fortify it.
In fact, Larry and Sergey understoodthat IP is more than just an idea.
It's an asset that has to be protected.
(15:52):
When you develop intellectualproperty, it's critical to think about
ownership, contracts, your rights.
You gotta do this from day one.
Because the moment you stepinto the world of innovation
without a fortified IP asset,
Or even a fortified IP strategy, yourisk losing control over everything
you've worked so hard to create.
(16:15):
Had Sarah been proactive about securingher IP and negotiating with the
university before starting the project,she could have retained control over her
patents, her research and her career.
She could have walked into that six figurejob backed by a fortified IP portfolio.
That's why Pillar two,IP asset development and
(16:36):
fortification is so critical.
It's not just about creatingsomething brilliant.
It's about ensuring that whatyou create remains yours.
In our next episode, we'regoing to dive into pillar three,
IP enforcement and defense.
I'll share a story of a small businessowner who had her design stolen
and how she fought back in court.
(16:56):
It's a story you don't want tomiss, and the lessons could be
the difference between protectingtheir livelihood or losing it all.
That's it.
Thank you for tuning into Patent Insider Secrets.
If you enjoyed today's episode, make sureto like subscribe and leave a review.
Remember your ideas, your mostvaluable asset, develop them,
(17:19):
fortify them and protect them.
I'm your host, Tariq Najee-ullah.
We'll see you next timeon Patent Insider Secrets.
Tariq Najee-ullah, Patent Insider (17:27):
Um,
Um,
Audio Only - All Participants (00:14):
Greetings and welcome to Patent Insider Secrets,
where we save you from IP disaster.
This is the podcast where we divedeep into the hidden world of
intellectual property with captivatingstories and expert insights.
I'm your host, Tariq Najeela,federally registered patent agent,
veteran USPTO patent examiner,startup IP mentor, and IP strategist.
(00:37):
In this episode, we explorePillar 2, IP asset development
and IP asset fortification.
Today's lesson is crucial for anyoneworking on groundbreaking ideas.
It's not enough to simply create.
You have to protect andfortify your IP from day one.
So let's take a look at this story.
This happened again early in, my practice.
(00:59):
Year two or three.
I'm going to take you back to thisconversation I had not too long
ago with a bright young woman.
Let's call her Sarah.
Sarah had just graduatedfrom prestigious PhD program.
She was excited and ready to takeher research to the next level.
She chose her university specificallyto work with a certain professor,
whose work aligned perfectly with herambitions, but just as her journey
(01:21):
began, life threw her a curveball.
That professor left.
The university, it wentto a new opportunity.
She recounted the story like this.
I mean, professor, I came to thisuniversity specifically to work with you.
Now you're leaving?
What am I supposed to do?
My research can't just stop.
I understand your frustration, Sarah.
This wasn't something I planned,but opportunities come up.
(01:44):
Once in a lifetime opportunities.
I wish I could continue supporting you,but the best I could offer is to put in a
good word for you with another professor.
You'll be fine.
Trust me.
You've got the talent andthe drive to make it work.
So now suddenly Sarahfound herself adrift.
No funding, no key advisor,and no clear path forward.
But she wasn't one to sit back and wait.
(02:07):
For things to happen.
She got to work.
She hustled.
She found another professor willingto back her, but this time she'd
have to secure her own funding.
Determined, Sarah reached outto a large company in her field.
And after some back and forth, theyagreed to collaborate on a small project.
She absolutely crushed it.
(02:27):
And the company was so impressed thatthey funded her entire research project
for the remainder of her program.
And here's where things get interesting.
Her research led to not one, but twopatents being filed by the university.
So now let's jump to Sarah'sconversation with the company.
Thank you so much for funding my research.
I really believe thisis just the beginning.
I've got a lot of ideas we could explore.
(02:50):
We're impressed, Sarah.
In fact, the work you've done isexactly what we're looking for.
We'd like to offer you a fulltime position after you graduate.
Six figures.
Full benefits.
The works.
You can continue leading thisresearch commercially with us.
We see really big thingsfor you in your future.
Wow, this is amazing.
(03:10):
I can't believe it.
This is exactly what I was hoping for.
But this is where thingstake an unexpected turn.
The university steppedin with a different plan.
I imagine the conversation with theuniversity admin went like this.
Sarah, we've been reviewing thepatents filed on your research, and
as per university policy, you know weactually own this intellectual property.
Any commercial venture stemmingfrom this work has to go through us.
(03:33):
What do you mean?
I mean, this was my idea, my research.
The company wants to hireme to continue to work.
In fact, they just gave me an offer.
We understand that.
However, patents dobelong to the university.
I mean, you just graduated.
So the best way we can offer tosupport you at this stage, now
(03:53):
that you're no longer with theuniversity, , is for the company to
continue funding the research here.
You could remain with theuniversity as a postdoc under the
supervision of your professors.
Of course.
A postdoc?
I mean, that's nowhere nearthe offer they gave me.
They're talking aboutat least six figures.
(04:15):
What's a postdoc?
30, 40, 000?
And they want me to lead theresearch, not a professor.
Unfortunately, that's not the option.
I mean, you knew when you joined theuniversity, anything that you came up
with was property owned by the university.
We didn't have any otheragreements in place.
We talked to the legal department, andunfortunately, that's not an option.
The IPs allow us to university.
(04:35):
And if you want to continue to work withit, you have to do it under our terms.
As you can imagine, Sarah was devastated.
And again, she didn't call me yet, butthis is the story before she calls me.
So Sarah's devastated.
I mean, after all, so all her,her idea, all her hustle, her
creativity, her hard work, howcould they take that away from her?
And it, trust me, it got worse.
(04:56):
The company called, uh, Sarah, we justspoke with the university administrators.
I know that we, we gave you thatoffer, but they're insisting.
That any work moving forward needsto be done under their control.
They're threatening litigation if we don'tcomply, as you know, we really want you to
leave this project, but it looks like thebest way we can do that is to continue
(05:21):
funding it at the university level,
and you'd have to be a postdoc.
I can't believe this.
This is supposed to be my big break.
What about the offer?
We're sorry, Sarah, our hands are tired.
As I said, they didthreaten us with litigation.
And the reality is the universityowns the patents, and we have
to follow their guidelines.
(05:42):
So this is when Sarah calledme, she gave me the whole
story, she recounted everything.
She says, Tariq, do they really own it?
Is there anything I can do?
and really that's, that'swhere the lesson came in.
You see, Sarah's situation couldhave been totally avoided if she had
fortified her IP assets at the start.
(06:02):
And I know you're asking,is that even possible?
I mean, she's a student.
If you are a student, if you workfor a company, I mean, by being an
employee, by being a student, don'twe sign on to the rules that say, hey,
everything that I do with universityor company property on their devices,
anything I create, anything I come upwith, it's all owned by them, right?
(06:27):
Well, technically, yes.
But even still, you still haveto have the mindset on how to
protect it in the beginning.
Tariq, that makes no sense.
I mean, if you're telling me this,you just said she's a student.
I mean, by being a student,you don't have a choice.
Just like if I worked for mycompany, I come up with a new idea.
The company owns it.
I can't my name and all the patentsI want, but I mean, it's not mine.
(06:50):
Maybe I'll get a bonus or promotion,but I mean, how the heck do I do that?
And you are correct.
But like I said today,it's all about contrast.
I'm going to give you another storyabout two students in the very same
situation as Sarah, but who tooka different approach in order to
negotiate something way better.
(07:12):
And trust me, all of us arebenefiting from it today.
So let's look at this famousstory, and this is probably
one you've probably heard.
The students we're talkingabout is Larry and Sergey.
Now these were graduatestudents at Stanford University.
And yes, they did create thesearch engine that would become
(07:36):
so like Sarah, they were workingon groundbreaking research while
still in school, but unlike Sarah.
Larry and Sergey took the crucialstep of securing their IP early on.
They actually worked withStanford to negotiate ownership
in terms before things took off.
And as a result, they maintainedsignificant control over their invention
(07:59):
while leveraging the university'sresources in the beginning, and were
able to bring us Google and Android,all that we love and know today.
So let's look at how this went down.
Not good.
(08:20):
Like Sarah, Larry andSergey were grad students.
Unlike Sarah, they were prepared.
They actually knew pillar one.
They had an IP asset mindset.
They knew the value of their idea.
In fact, you know, the story goesthat Larry was working on something
that was going to break the internet.
(08:43):
You know, back in the day, there wasno Google, so you'd have different
web browsers, you know, AltaVista,you know, Ask Jeeves, Metacrawler,
Yahoo, and every search engine game.
50 different results.
And so what Larry came up with, hecame up with a way to rank pages
(09:04):
in importance, based on linksback to those pages or backlinks.
So you can see, basically, mapping.
The internet and prioritizing pages basedon how many pages link back to that page.
So he just developed this thing calledpage rank, and his name is Larry
Page, not just web page but also hisname page ranking as an algorithm.
(09:29):
Now, Sergey was a grad student andSergey was a data scientist, he was
a data scientist and he was intoanalytics and a mutual of a buddy.
That new Larry, but didn't know, youknow, and also Sergei said, Hey, Sergei,
you should meet this guy named Larry.
He's working on something.
I think, you know, your researchis, would go hand in hand with his.
(09:50):
So they came together and it didn'toptimize on a level that really worked.
And they tested out these, theiralgorithms on Stanford servers
and page rank was born.
And Google was founded in 1998.
Now I can imagine.
(10:11):
I mean, I don't know, but I imaginea conversation between Larry and
Sergey with something like this.
Okay.
Search.
So, okay.
Imagine you call them surge, whatever.
I don't know what I say, but I say,Hey, Serge, we need to make sure that
what we're building here is ours.
I mean, we can't ignore Stanford'srole in it, but we need to, we need to
(10:33):
come at this upfront because we couldreally could have something big here.
I mean, she could be the next Yahoo.
Who knows?
Sorry.
He's like, Hey, exactly.
I mean, we're using the resourcesthat I know, you know, we sign.
You know, we're using their labsand resources, their computing
infrastructure, but let's talk to theuniversity and see how we can destruct
structure a deal that benefits everyone.
I mean, they have entrepreneurshipdepartment here, a venture firm.
(10:54):
I'm sure we can work out somethingthat will give us an opportunity
to see if this is going to be big.
So they can enter that meetingroom with Stanford's representative
at the, the venture said, Hey,we've been working on this thing.
I mean, we, we reallyget a lot of traffic.
I mean, we're, we're reallyshutting down Stanford servers.
We're getting so much traffic.
(11:14):
We think this has commercial appeal.
I know you guys have been workingon this, this search engine project.
So what do you envision for the future?
I mean, we really believe we couldrevolutionize how people use the internet.
We really believe this could revolutionizehow people use the internet, but to make
it a reality, we need to make sure thatwe secure the IP and control how it's
(11:35):
developed, and I know that we're lockedin the, you know, we filed a patent.
It's just through Stanford, but wewant to kind of negotiate ownership.
Of the past for into the project.
Interesting.
You know, typically the university,you know, retains IP rights, but
for certain ventures, you know, wecan we can negotiate some things.
(11:58):
Yeah, I mean, we're notasking for everything.
We want to make sureStanford benefits as well.
But what if we negotiate a deal withStanford gets presented the profits and
we generate, you know, from the patentsor even stock in the company we build.
Okay, let's look at that model.
Really, you're proposing a partnershipwith Stanford has a stake in the
success of the business you're creating.
And it's a compelling offer.
(12:19):
And we have a kind of set wherewe look at royalties and stock,
but we, we also require a buyout.
So to buy out of the, the standardagreement, uh, we probably need
something at least like 50, 000, 50, 000.
Yeah, I'm sure we can.
Well, yeah, I know that sounds likea lot of money, but I'm sure, you
know, we have some, uh, some venturepartners, some funders that may be
(12:43):
willing to, even some angel investorsmay be able to, uh, some, some other
graduates or alumni that have successfulcompanies that would look to invest.
So, you know, here's a list ofnumbers, but trust me, I mean, it
shouldn't be hard for you guys, ifit's doing what you're saying is.
I think you should, youshould have a problem.
Okay.
All right.
, we'll look at the 50 grand.
(13:04):
I think we can, we can work on that.
Um, and then we can, we can, uh,yeah, you also need to work with
your own attorney, uh, and make surethat you, you know, these things are
fair, but again, this is standardterms, , and you can take a look at it.
All right, gentlemen.
, I think we have a deal.
Let's get the lawyersand draw the paperwork.
(13:26):
Yeah.
I mean, who knows that, you know,handshake, who knows how that really went.
The reality is, you know, the documents.
There was a 50, 000, , initialpayout that Larry and Sergei, Sergei
made, they founded Alphabet Inc.
, Alphabet Inc.
was the, the agreed share, you know,one of their, their partnership
(13:46):
with Stanford University.
And then the company they created wasGoogle, one of Alphabet's companies.
And that has a search engine.
So years later, When Google wentpublic and became one of the largest
companies in the world, Stanford'sequity stake paid off in a big way.
(14:07):
The university made huge profit talkingabout hundreds of millions of dollars
from the stock they held in the company.
And everybody benefitedfrom that early negotiation.
, this is a report.
this is like around COVIDnumbers, but they say Larry Page
net worths over 111 billion.
(14:28):
Sergey's net worth is over 107 billion.
And, uh, her numbers.
You know, could have gone up even more.
So let's take a look.
What's one thing we noticed?
By securing their IP rights up front, Andinvolving Stanford as a partner, Larry
(14:49):
and Sergei were able to maintain controlof their vision while Stanford profited
significantly from the relationship.
The difference between Sarah'ssituation and that of the Googlers
comes down to one key element.
The Googlers understoodthat IP is an asset.
(15:10):
In fact, I'd say both of themunderstood that IP was an asset,
but only one of them fortified itearly enough to control their future.
By securing their IP rights in thefront end, they were able to turn
their idea into one of the mostvaluable companies in history.
They didn't just developtheir IP, they fortified it.
And they made sure it was an assetthey could leverage and control.
(15:30):
So what's the key takeaway here?
In both stories, we see talentedindividuals with incredible ideas,
but only one fortified their IP.
So it's not just enough tohave the IP asset mindset.
You have to fortify it.
In fact, Larry and Sergey understoodthat IP is more than just an idea.
It's an asset that has to be protected.
(15:52):
When you develop intellectualproperty, it's critical to think about
ownership, contracts, your rights.
You gotta do this from day one.
Because the moment you stepinto the world of innovation
without a fortified IP asset,
Or even a fortified IP strategy, yourisk losing control over everything
you've worked so hard to create.
(16:15):
Had Sarah been proactive about securingher IP and negotiating with the
university before starting the project,she could have retained control over her
patents, her research and her career.
She could have walked into that six figurejob backed by a fortified IP portfolio.
That's why Pillar two,IP asset development and
(16:36):
fortification is so critical.
It's not just about creatingsomething brilliant.
It's about ensuring that whatyou create remains yours.
In our next episode, we'regoing to dive into pillar three,
IP enforcement and defense.
I'll share a story of a small businessowner who had her design stolen
and how she fought back in court.
(16:56):
It's a story you don't want tomiss, and the lessons could be
the difference between protectingtheir livelihood or losing it all.
That's it.
Thank you for tuning into Patent Insider Secrets.
If you enjoyed today's episode, make sureto like subscribe and leave a review.
Remember your ideas, your mostvaluable asset, develop them,
(17:19):
fortify them and protect them.
I'm your host, Tariq Najee-ullah.
We'll see you next timeon Patent Insider Secrets.
Tariq Najee-ullah, Patent Insider (17:27):
Um,
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