Intellectual Property (IP) Overview

A US Patent is a contract between the Federal government and the inventor(s) in which the government conveys exclusive ownership of the invention to the patent holder in exchange for full disclosure of the invention. Patents are issued for apparatus, devices, methods, software programs, genetic engineering, genetic engineering methods, compounds, designs and business methods. A patent's Life Cycle is twenty years. Applying for patent protection in other countries (in concert with the international treaties) will provide virtually worldwide protection.

SBP focuses on commercializing patents using the analytical tools and marketing strategies in our Commercialization of Patent Assets (COMPASS) system. We are not patent attorneys, but we do work closely with them to add value for inventors. COMPASS can be aligned to the needs of individual, inventors, small businesses, and large/high-tech companies.