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When a small technology company tries to defend an invention against much larger competitors, a patent can be a starting point—not a guarantee of an easy or affordable outcome. ChannelPro’s IT Nightmares #008: The Patent Trap presents Nathaniel Smith’s account of a yearslong effort to defend a mobile-payment invention. For MSPs building software or services, the practical lesson is to plan carefully before disclosing or commercializing an invention, and to understand what a filing does—and does not—protect.
What the episode describes—and what it does not establish
ChannelPro’s episode description frames Smith’s experience as a prolonged struggle to defend a mobile-payment invention against much larger technology companies. It presents the story as a caution for MSPs that create their own software and services. The description does not identify the companies, patents, lawsuits, rulings, or costs, so it cannot establish from its summary alone whether particular patents were valid, whether infringement occurred, or whether any company acted unlawfully.
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That distinction matters: an account of the difficulty of defending an invention is not a legal finding about the parties. The episode’s takeaway for technology businesses is the need to think ahead about protection and disclosure, rather than assume that having intellectual-property rights on paper makes enforcement straightforward.
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What a patent can—and cannot—do
A U.S. patent grant provides specified exclusion rights over the invention covered by that patent. It does not promise that a product will succeed commercially, that competitors will comply, or that enforcing the rights will be simple. The USPTO describes three patent types: utility, design, and plant patents. Utility patents cover qualifying useful processes, machines, articles of manufacture, compositions of matter, and improvements. Utility and plant patents may last up to 20 years from the relevant nonprovisional filing date, subject to applicable rules and maintenance fees; that term should not be generalized to design patents or to patents in other jurisdictions. See the USPTO’s patent essentials.
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What a provisional application actually secures
A U.S. provisional patent application is not examined and does not become a patent on its own. It automatically expires after 12 months. To claim its benefit, an applicant generally must file a corresponding nonprovisional application within that period. A provisional can establish an early filing date for later-filed claims only to the extent its disclosure supports those claims.
That makes completeness important. A provisional filing is not a placeholder that automatically protects every later version or feature of an idea. The disclosure and the later claims must align, and the applicant must meet the follow-up deadline. The USPTO’s patent application guidance explains the process and directs inventors to registered patent practitioners.
How MSPs can think through protection before sharing an invention
There is no universal “patent or don’t patent” answer. Before demonstrating, publishing, selling, or otherwise disclosing software or a service built in-house, consider the factors that shape both the value of protection and the ability to pursue it:
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →- Commercial value: How central is the invention to the business, and what practical advantage would protection preserve?
- Disclosure plans: What will be shared, with whom, and when? Consider the consequences of public or commercial disclosure before deciding on timing.
- Disclosure quality: Could the invention be described sufficiently to support the claims the business may later seek?
- Costs and capacity: Can the business fund preparation, prosecution, and potential enforcement, not just an initial filing?
- Geography: Which jurisdictions matter to the business? Patent rights and processes are territorial, so a U.S. filing does not itself resolve protection needs elsewhere.
- Deadlines and follow-through: If using a provisional application, can the business prepare a supported nonprovisional filing within 12 months?
- Enforcement resources: If another company appears to use the invention, does the business have the resources and evidence needed to assess and enforce its rights?
These are planning questions, not individualized legal advice or a prescribed filing strategy. Because patent applications are complex legal documents, the USPTO recommends working with a registered practitioner.
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Where qualifying small businesses can look for help
The USPTO’s Patent Pro Bono Program is a nationwide network of regional programs that can match qualifying financially underresourced inventors and small businesses with volunteer patent professionals. Eligibility and local coverage vary, so check current requirements with the relevant program through the USPTO’s application guidance.
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- Author: Bungay Stanier, Michael.
- Publisher: Page Two
- Pages: 244
- Publication Date: 2016-02-29
- Edition: 1
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