Before & Beyond Patents

About The Author Aftab Alam, Ph. D. Aftab Alam is an inventor, scientist, and entrepreneur. He has over 25 years of experience as a research scientist in the life sciences and has published numerous papers in peer reviewed international journals. He also has over 15 years of experience in prosecuting patent applications in the US and Europe. Dr. Alam has invented and patented a wide variety of scientific inventions as well as common household items. His inventions are in production and are distributed worldwide. Dr. Alam has also served over five years as Director of Technology Transfer at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. He has lectured on intellectual property law, academic research, patent licensing, license negotiation, business, and related issues. Based on his own inventions, Dr. Alam has founded successful businesses in the US and Europe. He manages and serves on the board of directors of start-up businesses and is a consultant to businesses in the US and Europe. About The Book A must read book for young scientists This book is intended to remove the mystique that surrounds the subject of intellectual property rights, protecting patent rights, and how to start a business based on inventions. It provides scientists some basic tools for managing the patent rights of their research and provides a working knowledge of patent procedures useful for the fast-paced research environment. After reading this book scientists will be familiar with the basic steps necessary to obtain patent rights to their inventions. Understanding how patent rights and inventions are defined will enable many to see their research output in a different light and to steer their research toward commercially valuable technologies. For technology transfer managers, this book explains how the involvement of research scientists and the use of the provisional patent application procedure can protect the patent rights of an even greater volume of research findings and reduce the cost of managing technology. The book will enable young scientists starting out in research to understand the rights of an inventor or co-inventor in collaborative research and know how to secure and protect the rights in joint inventions and discoveries. This book answers many frequently asked questions, including: What steps are required to protect the patent rights of an invention? Who is an inventor? What rights do co-inventors have? What are the effects of disclosing research findings before protecting patent rights? How does the transfer of biological or research materials affect patent rights for the donors as well as the recipients? What is the scope and strength of U.S. patents in a global market? How to Start a Business? This book discusses the challenges faced in the commercialization of intellectual property.  It covers how to go about setting up a successful new business based on an invention, writing business plan, recruiting a management team, and seeking venture capital partners. It outlines the first few steps needed for starting a business from an invention.