For most first-time entrepreneurs, intellectual property is a giant black hole. Most of us are familiar with the concepts of intellectual property – copyrights, patents, etc. – but few of us have been involved in really assessing and understanding intellectual property, its value and whether it’s important or not.
Jason Mendelson does a great job of looking at the value of patents for startups, with input from Brad Feld and Rob Shurtleff.
My thinking is much the same as theirs — the value of patents for startups is unclear. The one caveat is that I’m speaking specifically of Web 2.0-type / Web-based startups and not companies in biotech, life sciences, high-tech or clean-tech (where patents are almost a must.)
Most Web 2.0 startups are about execution. It’s not about a catalog of patents you use to defend your technology, or add value upon an acquisition. Rob Shurtleff (a VC), points out, “Software patents have in our experience not added significant value to early stage companies when they are acquired…”
I recently joined 
