Episode 335 : Patent pending

I remember being seated in a large hall in a hotel room while the speaker talked about the company's culture of innovation.

I liked what I heard. I was in awe of people who filed patents. I found office cubicles containing one of more patent plaques, proudly perched at hard-to-miss locations on tables. And I was in a team whose leads were recently awarded. I longed to be one of them. I assumed an idea would eventually come my way and I would become a patent holder soon.

'Edward Hyde, Inventor'

'Patent-pending for discovering... Filed by Edward Hyde'

'Awarded to Edward Hyde for devising a new method to ...'

These lines sounded nice in my head. And I was swayed enough by them, enough to lose track and not submit any.

Even when the manager said that the only way up for me now is to file something patent-able.

I protested that I could be more useful in removing bottlenecks. Let the smarter ones innovate. I can make things better, I claimed.

But he didn't listen to me, and upped my goal from one patent submission to two.

The two years that went by, were exercises in futility- the ideas weren't patent material.

A few months ago, an idea struck me. I worked on it. I documented it. I submitted it. The technical committee demanded that I file immediately. After filing, the attorneys tell me that the final decision can take anywhere between 18-24 months.

Whether the US Patent & Trademark Office grants the patent to me or not, I know it is possible.

'So, is it as difficult as you made it out to be?' the manager asked. I nodded my head and replied cheekily that the documentation part is.

That, and the legal processes made me think whether it is all worth it. After all, how many times can one review and re-review a technical document that is blurred enough to cover all possibilities, much more than one imagined?

But as I mull over another idea, with tantalising thoughts of awards and rewards that follow a submission, it appears worthwhile. The dreams that I weave with the awards and rewards, make it more worthwhile.

Besides, I must prove to myself that the first one was no fluke.

Until then, inventions, dreams, and castles in the air.