Your Strategic
IP Partner

Your Strategy First®

Our Purpose

The world judges us based on what they can see and touch. However, at Metayage, we believe in the true value and power of Intangible assets. The entrepreneurial journey of an innovative startup founder can be extremely challenging, especially when very few believe in your inventive ideas, and most people tell you that your ideas are worthless. At Metayage, we act as a friend, well-wisher, mentor, and a strategic IP partner to nurture your idea and protect it by getting you patents that certify that your invention is unique and inventive, and give you exclusivity. We partner with you at each stage of your journey, right from idea, prototyping and launch, fundraising, scaling up to exit.

Our Services


Metayage acts as an extended in-house IP department and also doubles up as an external IP firm

Our services encompass the entire IP life cycle right from IP Identification to Monetization

International Patent Protection

We get speedy patent grants in all major markets around the world seamlessly.

IP Due Diligence

We provide clarity on patent portfolio quality, and identify red flags and provide recommendations on reducing risks due to infringement of third-party IP rights.

Patent Intelligence

We provide actionable intelligence based on patent data for Competitive Intelligence, Freedom to Operate, and Invalidating patents of competitors.

International Trademark Protection

We enhance your brand value by registering your valuable brand names, logos, and product names as trademarks in key markets.

International Design Protection

We give you an edge over your competitors by protecting your product's unique aesthetic features in major markets worldwide.

Strategic IP Partner

We act as your extended IP department and conduct IP Audits, prepare patent intelligence reports and update your IP Strategy periodically.

Why Metayage

IntellectualProperty.

Case Studies

PI Ventures

Conducted patent due diligence on Freedom to Operate and Patentability prior to Venture Capital Investment in deep tech startup.

Saankhya Labs

Prosecuted and conducted patent valuation that includes 25 granted US patents, and patents in India, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Niramai

International patent portfolio in the US, EPO, India, Japan, Canada, China etc. 9 US patents granted.

Numerify

17 US patents granted, related to AI driven data warehousing and analytics for Business Intelligence.

Kernel LABS

Acted as an in-house patent counsel for their portfolio companies such as Omnivor and Trusted Key (acquired by Workday, Inc).

What Our Clients Say About Metayage

Frequently Asked
Questions

Patents have an impact on the R & D, Finance, Marketing, HR and Legal departments of a company. For R&D, it protects their investment and maximizes ROI. For Finance, it increases the valuation, generates royalties and increases profits. For Marketing, it strengthens the branding, differentiation, and competitive advantage. For HR, it enables a culture of innovation, and helps to retain top technical talent. For Legal, it mitigates IP infringement risks and secures the company's valuable assets.

Since patents are territorial/country-specific, the selection of countries/jurisdictions to apply for a patent should be based on which countries are major markets, and which countries the product is likely to be made or used in. Other considerations include, the country of incorporation, likelihood of success in securing patents, ability to enforce successfully, timelines, and costs.

An IP Strategy is a systematic roadmap to align a company's business goals with Intellectual Property related initiatives. The IP strategy depends on what stage the company is in, its short and long term goals, its competitive position within the industry, etc. IP initiatives such as IP Audits. Patent intelligence, Freedom to Operate, IP protection, IPR enforcement, IP licensing and IP valuation are conducted at different stages depending on the company's IP Strategy.

The extent and scope of disclosure in a patent application should be sufficient to successfully obtain patent protection while also preserving key trade secrets to the extent possible. To obtain a patent grant, a patent application must satisfy novelty, non-obviousness, subject matter eligibility requirements, and enablement. For enablement, every element of every patent claim should be described in sufficient detail to enable a person of average skill in the technical field that the invention relates to, to make and use the invention without undue experimentation.

Especially before launching a product in new markets, but preferably even during the R&D stage, conduct a Freedom To Operate (FTO) search in those countries where you intend to launch your product. This helps to identify patents owned by third parties that your product might potentially infringe. Once these patents are identified, analyze the claims of these patents based on the specification to determine their scope of coverage. Then you can reverse engineer your product to avoid infringement, or even look at opposing or invalidating third party patents that pose a significant threat to your business.

Typically the relationship with an IP firm starts fairly early in the journey, during R&D and product development. At this stage, your company will typically not have an in-house IP department or even an in-house IP counsel. Hence, the right guidance on an IP strategy that aligns your company's requirements with IP initiatives is crucial. Transparency and clarity in communication will help you make informed decisions. Expertise and track record in successfully obtaining IP protection is another key metric to consider. Last but not least, expertise in multiple jurisdictions is critical if you want to build an international patent portfolio

Latest Blog & Articles

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04/Aug/2022

5 lies you’ve been telling yourself to delay patent protection

I am too busy – The truth is that if it is important and valuable enough everyone finds time for it.

24/Jan/2021

What are the patent trends in China as compared with India?

Over the past decade, the volume of patent filing in China has seen a dramatic rise.

01/Apr/2023

What are the challenges in obtaining patent protection for software-related inventions?

Software inventions are increasingly important today because they enable automation, speed, connectivity, innovation, and effective data management. Businesses who innovate using software gain competitive advantage

Metayage
Can you patent an Algorithm? | Metayage

Can you patent an Algorithm?

 

An algorithm is a procedure where a finite set of instructions is used for solving a problem or performing a computation. 

Algorithms are widely used in most technologies today in industries ranging from healthcare, telecommunications, retail, and even in the world of finance. Some popular examples of algorithms include tracking a location using GPS, facial recognition to unlock your phone, recommendations on music, video, and online shopping platforms, and page ranking on a search engine. Even physical products like refrigerators, microwave ovens, or washing machines are programmed using algorithms. In today’s digital world, technologies such as artificial intelligence are pervasive and making a big impact on society, even when they are not tied to physical products like autonomous cars, drones, or robots. 

The patent system promotes innovation through the grant of territorial exclusive rights for a limited term with a limited scope, as a reward to inventors for the time, effort, and ingenuity invested in creating new products and processes.
There are many criteria to evaluate patentability such as – subject matter eligibility, novelty, utility, enablement, and non-obviousness and/or inventive step. Of course, algorithms are subject to all the other criteria just like any other subject matter, but let’s focus on the first criteria, which is- subject matter eligibility.

Since patents are territorial, patent laws vary from country to country, so the answer to the question “can you patent an algorithm” doesn’t have an answer that is country-agnostic. 

In this post, since we cannot cover each and every criteria as well as each and every country, let’s look at it from the lens of subject matter eligibility in patent law as practiced in the US as well as in India.

 

If a patent claim includes a few steps from an algorithm, but when the claim is considered as a whole, produces an Improvement in the Functioning of a Computer or an Improvement to Other Technology or Technical Field, the claim as a whole is patentable. It is important to keep in mind that an improvement in mathematics as such, an economic practice, etc on its own (e.g., a recited fundamental economic concept) is not an improvement in technology. For example, simply providing a trader with more information to facilitate market trades, which improves the business process of market trading but does not improve computers or technology, is not patentable on its own. In addition, applying steps from an algorithm to affect a Particular Treatment or Prophylaxis for a Disease or Medical Condition also makes the claim as a whole patentable. Thus, even if a patent claim recites an algorithm such as a mathematical concept, economic practice, or mental process, if it leads to an Improvement in the Functioning of a Computer or an Improvement to Other Technology or Technical Field, or affects a Particular Treatment or Prophylaxis for a Disease or Medical Condition, It is patentable in the US.

 

In India, a patent claim that includes an algorithm is patentable if it produces a technical effect. “Technical Effect is defined as a solution to a technical problem, which the invention is taken as a whole, tends to overcome. A few general examples of technical effects are as follows: 


a) Higher speed 
b) Reduced hard-disk access time
c) More economical use of memory 
d) More efficient database search strategy 
e) More effective data compression techniques 
f) Improved user interface
g) Better control of a robotic arm
h) Improved reception/transmission of a radio signal.
 

 A contribution to the state of art, in any field of technology, is technical advancement.  Hence, in order to patent an algorithm in India, the claim has to include all steps that as a whole produce a technical effect. Further, the specification has to provide examples and experimental data to provide evidence for technical effects for the claim as a whole, such as Higher speed, Reduced hard-disk access time, More economical use of memory, More efficient database search strategy, More effective data compression techniques, etc.

 

If you have invented an algorithm that you would like to patent, please write to us at ip@myipstrategy.com

Metayage