Invent Anything™

ipCapital Group

In this series, John Cronin and Seth Cronin share insights relating to invention, creativity, and intellectual property. These insights were collected over 17 years at IBM (John became its top inventor with over 100 patents and 150 patent publications) and 35 combined years as intellectual property and innovation consultants at ipCapital Group (working with over 800 companies and approximately 15% of the Fortune 500, hundreds of mid-size companies and hundreds of startups and governmental laboratories).

  1. 5d ago

    Is Your AI a Fighter or a Wizard? | This Week in IP

    Same AI, different character. How much of an AI product is its personality? Seth Cronin starts with a new VR study in which people paid a female-presenting AI assistant 10.25% less than an otherwise identical male-presenting one, even though many said gender didn't matter. Then the model's own disposition: an agent so cautious it wouldn't retry a banal video request, which Seth calls anti-alignment. Borrowing from Dungeons & Dragons and Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats, he makes the case for agent "classes" (fighter, wizard, rogue, cleric) and shows how to use deliberately different roles as an invention tool. Plus the IP angle: a Tokyo court recognized a publicity right in a person's voice. Also: blue light against Campylobacter on raw chicken; NC State's laser-made plasma antenna (and the earlier work behind "first"); Reka's Rho-1 research preview; and Patent of the Week, Samsung's robot cleaner that looks for where the mess comes from. Chapters 0:00 The scene my agent wouldn't retry 0:51 Blue light against food-poisoning bacteria 1:53 An antenna made with a laser 2:58 Reka's Rho-1: video and robot actions in one model 4:06 Main story: how much of an AI product is its personality? 5:24 Who is the model when it answers you? 5:55 When safety turns into anti-alignment 7:02 Classes for agents: fighter, wizard, rogue, cleric 8:05 Six Thinking Hats 8:55 An invention tool you can use today 9:38 Personality as an IP question 10:39 Patent of the Week: Samsung's pollution-source robot cleaner 11:50 Which class would you pick? Seth's article, "What D&D Can Teach Personal Agent Labs": https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-dd-can-teach-personal-agent-labs-seth-cronin-d8sje/ Sources, transcript and captions: https://youtu.be/OJx3MW0HImY The blue-light results are from lab cultures, not tests on meat. The plasma antenna has transmitted over a short range; reception has not been shown. Rho-1 is a research preview, and its robot demo ran in simulation. The VR study is one experiment in which participants split a payment; it is not a salary survey. A patent does not establish that a product is shipping. Illustrative live-action scenes were generated with AI. Music: "The Crate Desk," original for Invent Anything. Piano recordings by Versilian Studios (tonejs-instruments), CC BY 3.0. Additional sounds: Karoryfer Black and Blue Basses and VCSL (CC0); GeneralUser GS by S. Christian Collins.

  2. Oct 6

    When Everyone Has the Same AI, How Do You Stand Out? | This Week in IP

    If you and your competitors can buy roughly the same AI, where does the difference come from? Seth Cronin looks at three personal agents launched in about seven weeks (OpenAI's Dots, Meta's Muse and Grok Bot) and how to keep a divergent outlook when everyone has the same model: bring AI a problem you've actually observed, widen the approaches before choosing one, run small tests, and ask what you have specifically figured out. Plus the IP side: a patent covers its claims, not a product category. Also: Thomson Reuters v. ROSS, the first U.S. appeals ruling on fair use in AI training; Microsoft's Quine and Anthropic's Model Hardware Standard; Northwestern's protective-clothing particles; and Patent of the Week, Toyota's smart vehicle-to-home patent. Chapters 0:00 Same AI. How do you stand out? 0:45 Thomson Reuters v. ROSS: the first appeals ruling on AI training 1:37 Microsoft’s Quine and Anthropic’s Model Hardware Standard 2:50 Clothing that could break down toxic compounds 3:23 Dots, Muse and Grok Bot: the personal agents converge 4:12 Main story: same tools, different questions 5:03 When everyone uses the same algorithm 5:47 A worked example: the irrigation controller 7:41 The IP side: claims, backlog and know-how 8:52 Patent of the Week: Toyota’s smart V2H 10:12 Your examples Sources, transcript and captions: https://youtu.be/i6UgQwGRzak The MIT paper is a philosophical analysis of hiring and similar decisions; applying it to invention is Seth's interpretation. The irrigation controller is a hypothetical example. Illustrative live-action scenes were generated with AI. Music: "The Crate Desk," original for Invent Anything. Piano recordings by Versilian Studios (tonejs-instruments), CC BY 3.0. Additional sounds: Karoryfer Black and Blue Basses and VCSL (CC0); GeneralUser GS by S. Christian Collins.

  3. Sep 29

    AI Gave You 100 Invention Ideas. Now What? | This Week in IP

    AI can give you a hundred invention ideas. Which one solves a problem somebody actually cares about—and what would you build to find out? Seth Cronin looks at where AI belongs in invention: new Atlassian research on brainstorming, a Procore patent for smart safety glasses, and a simple travel-mug problem that turns a list of features into something you can test. Also: MIT’s dissolving batteries, Microchip’s completed Hailo acquisition, a robotic wine server, eleven Purdue patents, and Subaru’s exterior-airbag design for protecting people outside the vehicle. Where has AI helped you get from a plausible idea to a useful test? Share the specific example. This Week in IP, from Invent Anything. Hosted by Seth Cronin | ipCapital Group. Recorded September 23, 2026; sources dated September 21–22. CHAPTERS0:00 100 ideas. Now what?0:36 MIT’s dissolving batteries1:19 Microchip buys Hailo2:04 A robotic wine server2:54 Purdue’s eleven patents3:42 AI and the first spark of invention5:42 Procore’s smart safety glasses patent6:24 A better travel mug: problem, constraints, test8:22 What is different? The prior-art question9:37 Subaru’s exterior-airbag patent Sources, links and the full video: https://youtu.be/vw_ruDzFTD0 The Atlassian result concerns brainstorming tasks, not patentability. The MIT work includes animal testing. Patent disclosures do not establish a product launch, performance or safety. Generated illustrative scenes are not footage of the companies’ products. MUSIC: “The Crate Desk” — original composition for Invent Anything. Piano recordings by Versilian Studios, packaged by Nicholaus P. Brosowsky (tonejs-instruments), CC BY 3.0; pitch-shifted, arranged and processed. No endorsement implied. Additional sounds: Karoryfer Black and Blue Basses and VCSL (CC0); GeneralUser GS by S. Christian Collins. Jev LevelDrive saturation used under its MIT license.

  4. Sep 22

    Can 3 Patents Block Apple, Samsung & Google Devices?

    BoomCloud 360 is asking to block imports of certain Apple, Samsung and Google devices. What happens when a patent dispute becomes a product-launch problem? In the first Unofficial Patent Gazette from Invent Anything, Seth Cronin looks at three audio patents, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and what the requested import restrictions could mean for product teams. At the time covered by this episode, the ITC had opened an investigation, with no infringement finding or import ban in this case. Also this week: the reported $27.6 million Stratasys/Bambu Lab jury verdict, Oxford Nanopore's announcement of a preliminary injunction against MGI Tech, a focused spatial-audio patent search, and a published swimming-pool rescue application that raises a net from the pool floor. If infringement is proven, should one patented feature be enough to keep an entire product out of the country? Or should compensation be enough? Let me know in the comments. Subscribe to Invent Anything for more on patents, inventions, and the business of innovation. CHAPTERS 0:00 Three patents and the U.S. border 0:47 Stratasys vs. Bambu Lab: the jury verdict 1:34 Oxford Nanopore and MGI Tech 2:16 BoomCloud vs. Apple, Samsung and Google 2:50 Why an ITC case becomes a product problem 3:37 The domestic-industry requirement 4:01 Apple's separate Supreme Court petition 5:02 What the spatial-audio patent data tells us 6:20 Beyond counting patents 6:51 Patent of the Week: a pool-rescue system 7:57 What changes for the product? EPISODE The Unofficial Patent Gazette, Episode 001: Patents at the Border Host: Seth Cronin Recorded September 21, 2026. News window: September 14-18, 2026. Apple's September 3 petition is included as background. SOURCES BoomCloud investigation, USITC 337-TA-1521: https://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2026/er0916_69235.htm Official notice identifying the three asserted patents, US 10,524,078; US 11,533,560; US 11,051,121: https://www.usitc.gov/secretary/fed_reg_notices/337/337_1521_notice09162026sgl.pdf Stratasys/Bambu Lab verdict reporting, Bloomberg Law: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/stratasys-wins-27-million-from-bambu-in-3d-printing-patent-suit Oxford Nanopore company announcement, RNS 9084U: https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2026-09-16:newsml_RSP9084Ua:0-reg-oxford-nanopore-tech-preliminary-injunction-against-mgi-tech-gmbh/ Apple v. ITC, Supreme Court docket 26-316: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26-316.html Patent of the Week: Automatic Rescue System for Swimming Pools, US 2026/0274385 A1, Amir Rahimpour: https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20260274385 PATENT DATA Minesoft Origin searches, September 18, 2026. BoomCloud: 45 U.S. applications, grouped by application; continuations remain separate. Spatial audio: 642 results in the defined U.S. keyword search, published since 2016. These searches have different scopes. Counts are not separate inventions, market shares, or predictions of the case's outcome. The pool-rescue document is a published application, not evidence of a validated commercial product.

  5. May 31

    Your Provisional Patent Is Filed: Now What? - IA #72

    You filed a provisional patent application. The clock is ticking on your year of protection. So what should you actually do with it? In this episode of Invent Anything, John Cronin, who has spent three decades in intellectual property at IP Capital Group, walks through a practical, six-topic game plan for getting the most out of your provisional: - Taking stock: what kind of provisional did you really file? - Immediate actions to take in the first weeks - What to do at the three-month and six-month marks - How different players (inventors, CEOs, investors, CTOs) view your provisional - Closing it out: abandon, or convert to a full patent? - The future of intellectual asset management, and how agentic AI may soon handle much of this for you Whether you're a first-time inventor, a startup, or part of a larger organization, this is a clear, business-minded plan for turning a provisional into real value.

  6. May 2

    So You Have Your First Patent! Part 2 - IA #71

    What comes after you start building value from your first patent? In Part 2 of this series, John Cronin dives into advanced strategies for leveraging your IP in real-world business scenarios. Learn how to use patents to close deals with customers and vendors, raise investment, and combine multiple strategies to maximize value. This episode also explores the future of patents in an AI-driven world and how your patent could evolve into a powerful, self-driving asset.

  7. May 1

    So You Have Your First Patent! Part 1 - IA #71

    What do you do after your first patent is granted? In Part 1 of this two-part series, John Cronin breaks down how to turn your patent into real business value. From licensing and litigation to M&A strategy and defending against copycats, this episode delivers a practical roadmap for inventors, founders, and executives looking to monetize and scale their IP. Learn the key decisions, trade-offs, and strategies that move a patent off the wall and into the market.

  8. Apr 27

    Inventor Led Disclosures - IA #70

    Turn your invention disclosures into powerhouse assets. 💡🚀 In this episode of Invent Anything, John Cronin breaks down why the traditional invention disclosure process often falls short and how to transform it into an inventor-led, business-grade strategy that drives real ROI. From understanding claims, enablement, and prior art to expanding ideas through inventive thinking tools and business strategy alignment, this episode connects the dots between a simple disclosure and a high-value patent portfolio You’ll learn: Why most invention disclosures are too weak, too vague, or too disconnected from final patent claims The true role of patent counsel and where inventors can add more value Inventor-led thinking tools like inventing around, species/genus expansion, and master disclosure strategy How business-grade thinking boosts licensing value, platform growth, and competitive advantage How combining inventor-led and business-grade approaches can multiply patent strength and company valuation If you’re an inventor, CEO, engineer, or anyone navigating the patent process, this episode offers a 360° view of how to build stronger patents, smarter portfolios, and more valuable intellectual property. Subscribe for more insights on turning innovation into real-world impact.

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About

In this series, John Cronin and Seth Cronin share insights relating to invention, creativity, and intellectual property. These insights were collected over 17 years at IBM (John became its top inventor with over 100 patents and 150 patent publications) and 35 combined years as intellectual property and innovation consultants at ipCapital Group (working with over 800 companies and approximately 15% of the Fortune 500, hundreds of mid-size companies and hundreds of startups and governmental laboratories).

Information

  • Creator
    ipCapital Group
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    74
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © ipCapital Group
  • Show Website
    Invent Anything™