I am a big fan of ABC's Shark Tank, a show where entrepreneurs present their ideas to a group of "sharks" in an attempt to obtain financing. In essence, this is a TV version of angel investment clubs like the New York Angels that meet around the country to consider investments in growing businesses. As would be expected, patents are often an important part of many presentations. In a recently-aired episode, patent policy took front and center stage during Scott Jordan's presentation for an investment in his clothing company.
At about the 30-minute mark, it became clear that Scott Jordan was interested only in licensing his patent for technology-enabled clothing but not the clothing business itself. This led to heated debate among three of the sharks (Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John and Mark Cuban) about patent policy, with Kevin O'Leary defending the patent system and Daymond John and Mark Cuban decrying patents that take money and time away from businesses. Whatever one's position, it is interesting to see that debates about patent policy that have been occurring for years among those professionally involved with patents are now attracting interest from a wider audience. And since we are in a social media age, the episode is not the last word: Scott Jordan has more to say about his appearance on his website and Mark Cuban told TechCrunch why he is endowing the "Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents" at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
At about the 30-minute mark, it became clear that Scott Jordan was interested only in licensing his patent for technology-enabled clothing but not the clothing business itself. This led to heated debate among three of the sharks (Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John and Mark Cuban) about patent policy, with Kevin O'Leary defending the patent system and Daymond John and Mark Cuban decrying patents that take money and time away from businesses. Whatever one's position, it is interesting to see that debates about patent policy that have been occurring for years among those professionally involved with patents are now attracting interest from a wider audience. And since we are in a social media age, the episode is not the last word: Scott Jordan has more to say about his appearance on his website and Mark Cuban told TechCrunch why he is endowing the "Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents" at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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