How to Become an Inventor - Transforming Ideas into Patents

Good morning. Slack recently launched a feature I invented years ago. I have the patent as proof and will show you what happened.

I once made it a goal to get a patent in my name. This was right after I learned that you can call yourself an inventor when you hold a patent.

I created a repeatable process. It worked in 2 companies that would reward patent filings. It’s a win-win. Today, I will share my step-by-step process with you.

5-minute-read

But first, a word…

…the global Windows outage and regulation

Last week, a CrowdStrike security update rendered around 8.5 million computers worldwide unusable. This showed how fragile our global systems are and raised some concerns. Far-reaching consequences were felt in airports, banks, and news organizations.

If you like to dive deep, here is an article on what exactly happened on the tech side.

My thoughts are that Microsoft has to consider its security challenges. Yes, Microsoft did not introduce the bug. A third-party developer, CrowdStrike, introduced it.

This brings Windows’s open design back into focus. Developers are free to design software that interacts with the deepest level of the operating system, the kernel. When things go wrong, they go really wrong, and we end up with the blue screen of death.

Apple, on the other hand, runs a closed ecosystem. In 2020, Apple announced that developers would no longer have access to its kernel level. This was a big change, and many developers had to rewrite their security software completely.

On the other hand, it would prevent these “blue screen type problems” in the Apple ecosystem.

The problem for Windows is that it can not legally prevent developers from kernel-level access the way Apple does. This is because, in 2009, the European Commission complained that Microsoft agreed to give makers of security software the same level of access to Windows that Microsoft gets.

Regulators have to understand that everything has trade-offs. Apple’s ecosystem might be too restrictive, but seeing the consequences of an open operating system is the other side of the coin.

I am in favor of letting technology improve, not through regulation that might make the wrong assumptions. I am concerned about similar developments in the field of artificial intelligence.

How Slack Took My Patent

Have you ever used the Slack feature “Catch up”? This feature lets you scroll through unread conversation previews that look like a card. You can swipe left or right in Tinder fashion to mark them “read” or “unread.”

This is exactly the feature I invented at Yahoo. True story - here is the patent we filed in 2017 (and got it granted in 2022):

It’s no big deal.

The patent's owner is Yahoo, so it is not up to me what to do in this case, and I certainly wouldn’t make any money from it.

But I can’t tell you how happy I was to see it. I always knew it was a great interaction, not just for Tinder—it was perfect for pre-reading emails and quickly deciding what to do without fully opening the email and the whole back-and-forth. Yahoo never acted on the feature, but Slack did because they knew it was a great idea.

I left Yahoo soon after we filed the patent, but they never brought it to market.

But now it’s a hell of a story.

If you want the chance to tell stories about your crazy life as an inventor, here is a guide to becoming one…

The spark of an idea

One just doesn’t come up with a patentable idea. I knew that much. But I had to have one. Once I learned that our legal team would take care of all the difficult legal stuff, I just had to come up with the idea; I was game to come up with one.

The challenge is that good, patentable ideas don’t just pop into your mind. They need to be worked out.

I knew that sitting there all alone would never spark the great, patentable idea I needed—or at least it would have taken too long. I needed a system, and more importantly, I needed sparring partners.

Good ideas can come in the shower, but there is a more structured way to ensure they happen.

The system had three critical pillars:

• Regular sessions - “Patent Fridays”

  • I introduced “Patent Fridays,” a time reserved for brainstorming patent-worthy ideas that our company would like to own.

  • Reserve one hour weekly or monthly to think only about new ideas. Fridays are a great day for creative work like that.

  • If you can, do it in person, in a different environment than you usually work in.

• Sparring partners

  • Great ideas can come from great conversations. I brought together people on the team with whom I knew I would have great, inspiring conversations.

  • Ideally, a mix of PM, Design, and Engineering - will ensure a quick feedback loop of some ideas.

  • And first, I had to make the team as patent-hungry as I was.

• Taking action on potential ideas

  • Just writing down ideas was not enough.

  • Ideas need to be followed up on, evaluated, and refined.

Evaluating and Refining Ideas

Let’s say you found the golden nugget. A novel idea that has the potential to be patentable. There are a few actionable steps that need to be taken to do a quick evaluation:

Is the idea novel? Can it be of use for your company? Can you explain it to non-technical folks in preparation for review with your legal team?

Actionable steps:

• Identify what type of IP you have

  • I used the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) material. It has excellent general guidelines and this guide to identify what kind of Intellectual Property (IP) you might have

    Basic IP Identifier Tool

• Then, I would use the USPTO database to find out if patents already exist.

  • USPTO offers a free 38 min tutorial to learn how best perform basic patent search. And yes, it is as “exciting” as it sounds. It is not exactly a Mr Beast video, but remember, it is for the big goal of becoming an inventor.

  • The benefit of filing in a company is that you have a legal team to tackle the deep research. Basic search is enough for your part.

• Once your basic research shows no existing patents, you should prepare a quick writeup and, ideally, some diagrams. Use this structure:

  • Problem it solves

  • How it solves the problem

  • Why it is a novel way of solving a problem

  • Why it is of use for your company

  • If you have a hard time explaining it in plain language, the ChatGPT prompt: “Explain like I am five…” might come in handy.

Filing the Patent Application

This guideline focuses on filing a patent with your company. In this case, now is the time to involve your legal team.

Most large companies have an “Invention Disclosure Form" (IDF). This will guide you through the content needed to inform your legal team about your idea.

This might differ between companies, but if you follow the steps above, you should have all the material you need to start a conversation with your companies’ patent layers.

Remember, your legal team is also working for your company. So they are as interested as you in getting patents filed. You are on the same team.

Conclusion and key steps to getting your patent

If you also want to become an inventor, the steps above will set you up for the right path. If you work for a company that supports patent filing, it’s fairly easy, and your legal teams do the hard work of drafting the legal texts, doing the deep research, and talking with the patent office. You only get to work on the fun part.

The Path to Patent:

1. Kick off with Patent Fridays: Set a regular date for collaborative brainstorming—reserve time to unleash your creative juice.

2. Gather a diverse team: Bring together brilliant minds from different disciplines to maximize the discoverability across functions.

3. Spot the nuggets: Follow up on worthwhile ideas and do a quick patent search to ensure they are truly unique.

4. Sketch and describe: Draft up a short description and supporting diagrams. Make your vision crystal clear.

5. Engage the legal pros: Contact your legal team (keyword IDF—Invention Disclosure Form) and let them guide you through the patent process.

Good luck on your journey to becoming an inventor, and please send me your success and patent infringement stories.

If you know someone who would love to become an inventor, feel free to share this article with them.

Have a great rest of the week,