Hi,

Our operating company has 20 years of experience in creating and monetizing intellectual property in the US and abroad. I'd be glad to help.

This is a difficult question to answer, because consumer products as complex as the Kindle contain technologies / components that are in turn covered by many patents. Even when focusing on a specific element of its operation, there may be several patents that cover that element.

In general, think carefully about the process in question. In other words, how would you describe how Paperwhite technology works in terms that a layperson could understand? Then, break down that functionality into separate, elemental processes.

With that information, start searching (Google Patents is a good place to start) to see if there's any related intellectual property (IP). Make sure to look at directly related and even tangentially-related filings for hints, since large companies are good at creating IP that can obscure the true nature of processes / products that they cover.

Remember that in order to perform a thorough search, you will still probably need to enlist the services of an experienced patent attorney.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail, let me know - I've helped start-ups create IP strategies tailored to their specific products / services.

Hi,

Our operating company has twenty years of experience creating and monetizing intellectual property in the US and abroad. I'd be glad to help!

In general, the choice of country for a patent filing has less to do with your citizenship, and more to do with the country in which you are selling your product or service that the patent covers.

For instance, if you have a physical good covered by a patent, and it's primarily sold in the United States and Ireland, but is made elsewhere, you should really only be pursuing patent coverage in the countries in which the good is sold.

By doing this, you can use a patent to prevent someone from selling a product made with the process that you patented in your desired market. You should be less concerned with pursuing patent protection in the country where the product is made, unless you plan to sell your product in the same country.

If you'd like to chat more about this, let me know! I'd be glad to help you create a patent strategy that makes sense for your product.