Inspiring Innovation

 2015 was a big year of change for our family. We moved from the northeast to central Florida with 3 children and one of them was a baby at the time.  Tod is a patent attorney as many of my friends and family already know. He has been in the "patent business" for 19 years. His experience includes 6 years as an examiner at the U.S. PTO while attending law school at George Washington Law, 12 years in private practice, to his current patent attorney day job for a major corporation. Over time we have been asked many questions about the patent industry in general. Women have come to us with fabulous ideas and questions more than anyone else.

  One thing we have been thinking long and hard about is a new business venture. I have worn many hats since we have been married...wife, mom, teacher, event planner, Stella&Dot stylist and self-proclaimed fundraising guru for non-profits. We have always had the desire to help others; whether it be helping a friend raise money to get their new non profit off the ground or using Tod's skills to research a new idea for a friend that wants to pursue a potential patent or trademark. It wasn't until I met a new friend at the YMCA here in Orlando that said she had tried to obtain a patent. I had an AHA moment. She had sent hundreds of dollars into the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office along with her invention/idea only to be denied without any explanation. She was so discouraged and out of money to spend on this project that she gave up.  I said to her, "If only you had been able to talk to Tod about this, your outcome might have been different." I told Tod about this that same evening and he said, "This happens all the time -people don't know what to expect, whether they even need a patent, what is involved and what information they might need." This idea had our wheels turning. 

 The new movie Joy illustrates that women make some of the best inventors. Obviously men make amazing inventors too but considering the fact that women tend to be amazing problem solvers at home and beyond they come up with some pretty fabulous ideas. Check out these amazing 18 women that helped change the world for the better. They all have patents that have made our world an easier place to live. 

                                            

                                                                                                 

 

Sara Blakely

Founder of Spanx

Forbes Magazine: Blakely wrote the first Spanx patent herself 13 years ago, unable to shell out $3,000 for a lawyer. Now that Spanx is a $1 billion business, Blakely- the youngest self-made woman on Forbes' rich lists - invests in the best legal counsel available to protect her shape wear brand from infringements.

Full Article 

As for our little company, our goal is to help people find out what they need to know to innovate and how to start without worrying about the high cost of law firms or whether they need one to begin with. We will be offering a menu of services starting at $99. This is not a patent firm so there will not be large retainers and thousands of dollars in cost. There will not be intimidating patent firms filled with legal jargon you need a dictionary to understand what you just paid for. You do not need to be local to use our services (you also do not need to be female ;-) We will gladly work with you via Skype or FaceTime. Stay tuned for more information coming soon! Please feel free to email us with any questions. 

katiemkupstas@gmail.com OR takupstas@yahoo.com

                                  We look forward to INSPIRING INNOVATION in 2016!