Creo, Ergo Sum

USPTO Patent Agent Services
— specialized in IC Design
and Software Patents

 

GROUWSTRA IC & Software Patent (ICSW Patent) is a Silicon Valley patent agency with direct design experience, focused on obtaining patents in the US and abroad for your integrated circuit and software innovations. Our customers are semiconductor companies, design IP companies, software companies, universities and research institutes. We also work for several medical device companies.

Most practitioners are challenged by the complexity of IC design, let alone an analog, mixed-signal, or RF circuit. ICSW Patent loves it!

Getting Started On A First Patent Application

If you have not applied for a patent before, you probably have a lot of questions what to expect. You should, especially if you hold the wallet! Call us and talk, or set up an appointment. Leave a message if you have to.

To provide initial documentation of an invention, visit our resources page and download the Invention Disclosure and Patent Proposal Form. Recommendation: don't spend more than 30 minutes on describing the invention. If you need to provide some drawings, feel free to draw them on paper and snap them with your phone.

Client Training

Frankly, patenting can be complicated and confusing. You'd be excused if you would have difficulty determining your best strategy to protect your IP. Or if you wouldn't know exactly what is patentable, and what not, and why not. How can you give yourself legal protection agains aggressive competitors? To help you on your way, we have developed an Inventor Training Course and a Management Training Course directed at startup semiconductor companies that have not yet established a firm IP Protection workflow. The courses are 3 sessions and 2 sessions of 45 minutes, respectively. The courses are complimentary for our clients, and can also be provided to other interested parties. The course descriptions are on the Resources page.

Intellectual Property Partners In the US and Abroad

We partner and work with other agents and law firms. In the US we work with Flagship Patents and Trellis IP Law Group, both full-service patent law firms equipped to satisfy the largest clients. When needed, we'll be happy to introduce them to you.

For patent applications abroad we partner with local law firms. We have active associates in Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan, Europe, Canada, and Australia. If you want to protect your IP in any jurisdictions beyond those, we will identify partners fast.

ARCHIVE: This Patent Stuff and My Semiconductor Business

A few years ago, we published a series of articles about patents and IC business. Each article appeared both on LinkedIn on this website. Most of the articles are still very valid and relevant today.

We realized that not a lot has been written about patents for semiconductor companies, even though chip companies have a great need for business information that allows them to protect their intellectual property and to make the process to apply for patents smooth and meaningful, without wasting valuable resources. Posts publish every three weeks.

 

Andy Grouwstra, USPTO Patent Agent