Some interesting links we found across the web this week:
When a Tech Patent is Neither
Founders should always be thinking about how best to protect their
intellectual property, because a startup's ideas are often its
most valuable assets. Registered copyrights (protecting fixed
creative works) and trademarks (protecting brand names) offer
weaker rights than patents (protecting inventions), and therefore
patents are much harder to obtain. Patents on software are even
more unlikely to be granted, especially in light of a 2014 Supreme
Court decision on the subject. Bloomberg has a nice
summary of the fallout from that decision—if you're a
software company, keep an eye on this issue in years to come.
On the EU's Net Neutrality Law
We've mentioned the US debate over net neutrality many
times, but did you know there's a parallel law across the pond?
If you've been following the EU "Privacy Shield"
debate, you probably won't be shocked to hear that European net
neutrality is a little less favorable to telecom companies than our
own.
The Government Has Its Own Tech Startup, and
It's Fixing a Lot
Recently we've noticed an increasing push to employ top tech
talent in federal government initiatives, particularly in the
defense space. The latest such initiative to be publicized, the US
Digital Service, employs a small team of engineers and project
managers squeezing all kinds of efficiencies out of a sprawling
bureaucracy. And they even wear hoodies inside the Pentagon!
Use Big Data to Create Value for Customers, Not
Just Target Them
Big data analytics are all the rage in marketing just about any
kind of startup (and especially in FinTech), but when will they
shift focus from pushing an immediate purchase to building lifetime
customer loyalty? Here's a thinkpiece worth saving from the
Harvard Business Review.
An Ecosystem Where Startups Help Other
Startups
This New York Times profile of a pair of Chicago-based
startup founders who became angel fund managers caught our eye for
two reasons. First, if you're not generating interest with
traditional VCs, don't forget that successful fellow founders
can be a very strong substitute. And second, never forget to keep
an eye on markets outside of Silcon Valley and Silicon Alley.
(Bonus link: Chattanooga's just the latest smaller city
to court the startup crowd with incubators and coworking spaces
galore. And, by the way, the real estate developer building them is
also a venture investor!)
Links compiled by Jared Brenner.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.