In innovation, understanding how to find your way through the patent process can mean the difference between success and costly mistakes that take you back to square one. So, you have to learn some strategies that industry leaders and innovators regularly use.
A veteran innovator with more than 200 patented innovations, Sam Zellner is CEO of the idea and innovation management platform InspireIP. Additionally, he oversaw the AT&T patent development staff.
Sam just had the chance to contribute some quite priceless views on the Innovations and Breakthroughs podcast. He breaks forth the secrets of creating better patents and avoiding typical mistakes along the creative process. Let’s examine this more closely.
From AT &T Engineer to a Patent Expert
Sam’s trajectory has been very remarkable.
From telecom engineering and serving as AT&T’s Director of Innovation to honing patent process knowledge as a seasoned innovator, his first-hand knowledge creates a distinct viewpoint on invention.
Working with patent attorneys and examiners in the past helped him to realize that effective patent development calls for knowledge of what Sam refers to as the game of patents, not only technical expertise.
As he puts it,
“It’s just one of these things. You go through the experience so many times… sit down with examiners, have them question you about your idea, work with attorneys trying to draft claims…you quickly start understanding the game and how to play it.”
What Are the Key Elements of a Successful Patent?
According to Sam, securing a robust patent hinges on several critical factors, ensuring your invention is both protected and commercially viable. Here’s a look at the essential components:
Understanding Claims
This is one of the most fundamental, and unfortunately, often-overlooked factors, Sam notes. Many inventors mistakenly focus on what’s mentioned in the patent specification rather than the claims themselves. According to him,
“A lot of people don’t appreciate patents—it’s all about the claims. The claims are what you own. Nothing else. I don’t care what you say…but what did the claims say?”
Breaking Assumptions
Innovation often requires challenging established assumptions. Sam illustrates this through his experience with location services in cellular technology.
At AT&T, he challenged the idea that mobile networks were just for calls, pioneering patents that used tower triangulation and early GPS to enable precise location tracking.
So the takeaway is clear: what seems obvious today wasn’t always so clear once upon a time. An inventor must look beyond what’s obvious.
The Challenge of Prior Art Searches
One of the biggest hurdles inventors face is effectively searching for existing patents and prior art. Sam highlights several common challenges one may expect:
- The time-consuming nature of comprehensive searches
- Difficulty in finding relevant results among millions of patents
- Risk of pursuing non-patentable ideas
- Cost implications of inadequate searching
PQAI: the Future of Patent Innovation?
To address these challenges, Sam is leading the development of PQAI (Patent Quality through Artificial Intelligence), an open-source prior art search engine. Here are its key features:
- Open-Source AI: Free, AI-driven tool for patent searches, challenging costly proprietary systems.
- Massive Database: Analyzes over 11 million U.S. patents and 11.5 million research papers.
- Fast Prior Art: Uses NLP and machine learning to quickly identify relevant prior art.
- Simplifies Process: Makes novelty assessment accessible to inventors, attorneys, and examiners.
- Collaborative Effort: Backed by AT&T, Georgia IP Alliance, and others to boost innovation transparency.
With PQAI, investors can expect benefits such as:
- Faster Prior Art Search: Quickly scans millions of patents and papers to confirm an idea’s novelty, saving inventors time.
- Cost Reduction: Offers a free, open-source alternative to expensive patent search services, lowering financial barriers.
- Improved Accuracy: Uses AI to pinpoint relevant prior art, reducing the risk of overlooking existing inventions.
- Simplified Process: Streamlines complex searches with natural language queries, making it easier for inventors without legal expertise.
- Innovation Support: Helps inventors refine ideas by identifying gaps or overlaps, boosting patent quality and success odds.
Final Note
Sam’s journey from engineer to patent expert reveals a universal truth: building better patents demands strategy, not just invention.
By mastering claims, challenging assumptions, and leveraging tools like PQAI, inventors can avoid common pitfalls—wasted time, missed prior art, and weak protections—and turn ideas into lasting innovations.
With PQAI’s AI-driven, accessible approach, the future of patenting is simpler, faster, and more equitable. Also, as an AI-powered innovation management platform, InspireIP streamlines idea capture, implementation, and invention disclosure, making it easier for businesses to sustain innovation over the long term.
To get the full scoop on Sam’s detailed strategies and understanding, listen to the full episode now!
