I spend a lot of time figuring out how to not file patents. R&D teams have so many good ideas but a good idea is not why you file. You should file to protect a commercial outcome.
IP typically gets lumped in with R&D. IP generation, creation, the good work that R&D teams do is only the first step. For a good IP strategy this is only the starting point. Once the IP is generated then the business planning needs to happen. IP is a asset, an intangible asset, and like every asset a business owns it should do something. It’s not an asset otherwise!
This is how I figure out how not to file patents, by applying the commercial lens, leaning on commercial teams, product managers, the sales guys and gals. The savvy ones know what way the market is moving. They are the ones who hear what the customers want. If there is no commercial value, then I don’t file the patent.
Next time R&D have something shiny, pull your commercial team in. They can help decide if this is going to be a commercial asset or just a piece of paper with the word patent on it.
