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PatentRenewal.com has launched its podcast: Talk IP to me. The episodes will be full of honest conversations about real experiences, new perspectives, useful stories, and tips & tricks you can actually apply in the IP industry.
In this blog we share some of the highlights from the podcast but for the full insights check the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast or Youtube.
In this first episode, our host David Breitenbach talks with Michael Schuette, an experienced IP strategist, engineer, and inventor with over 15 years of experience in product development, patent portfolio management, and IP litigation support. He helped companies generate $10M+ in value, and now leads innovation as Chief Scientist and Director of Patents at BooleanLab, where he applies AI and machine learning to deep-tech challenges across semiconductors, computer science, and biotech.
Together, they explore what makes a strong patent, the red flags of poor patent drafting, and what are the small details that often decide whether a patent is enforceable or not.
His career journey to intellectual property was anything but linear. He moved from mechanical engineering to biology, earned a PhD at the University of Munich, then transitioned into computer science.
Eventually, Michael joined a company in the memory and storage industry. He was managing patent portfolios and performing litigation support and prior art searches, when the CEO asked him to create a comprehensive IP portfolio.
Michael took the challenge seriously. In just three years, he wrote nearly a hundred patents, seventy of which were granted. But even that wasn’t enough to save the company from a hostile takeover and eventual bankruptcy. His experience evaluating thousands of patents taught him an essential truth, not all patents are created equal. It’s more important which ones actually held value. Going through thousands of filings made that clear very quickly:
“You have to go in and explain to them why their star patents are essentially worthless and why some of the other stuff they completely overlooked is actually some really good stuff.”
When it comes to patent drafting, Michael mentioned one golden rule in the podcast: a patent must be provable. He explained that even the most carefully written patents lose their value when it’s written with specifications that cannot be proved or detected.
“If you can’t prove that somebody infringes on your patent, then it’s worthless. Most of the semiconductor patents from the early 2000s are worthless now. Even with an electron microscope, you can’t prove those structures exist.”
Once you understand the importance of proof, Michael said, the next thing that matters is language. Every word counts, sometimes quite literally. A single conjunction can decide whether your patent stands or falls.
“If it says ‘and,’ your product must have both elements. If it says ‘or,’ that’s a different story. These little words can really make or break a patent.”
This is why he puts a lot of focus on shaping the technical description first, before he even begins to draft the claims. It gives him a strong foundation and ensures every element in the claims has clear support behind it.
“I write the specifications, and I take a lot of time writing the specifications, and I put in much more than what I would actually eventually claim.”
Working with a good patent attorney can make all the difference, but Michael pointed out that not every partnership goes as planned.
He’s seen firsthand how small mistakes can have big consequences and shared some of the most memorable (and painful) lessons he’s learned over the years, along with practical advice on how to avoid falling into the same traps.
Here are his key tips:
“If you write a patent draft and there’s something in there you don’t understand, try to find where it comes from. […] I took a whole paragraph, put it into Google, and it spit out somebody else’s patent. If it’s already in the public domain, fire the patent attorney.””
"If a patent attorney tells you it’s going to be really easy, that’s another red flag. As they might write it, as it becomes nonsensical. Easy to patent, because it does not work.”
"I had a bad feeling once. I was working with a patent attorney, and I got everything back with the courier typeface which looked like the typewriter. Later he got some of my patents through, but some of the really good patents were thrown out because he forgot the renewal."
Michael shared that he believes that inventors should always write patents for the future.
"What could happen in the next ten or fifteen years? You can’t write patents on the basis of Asimov, but you should target a technology at least five to ten years out."
He called it a “sci-fi mindset”, one that keeps patents relevant as industries evolve. This approach once led to one of his simplest and most successful patents: a solid-state drive (SSD) design that streamlined data connections.
"It was one of the easiest patents to get and to enforce. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones right in front of you."
His advice was to not overcomplicate innovation. Think ahead, but stay grounded in practical, provable designs that solve real problems.
Even with years of experience, Michael admits the patent system can still leave him confused. Some of his most frustrating moments came not from the work itself, but from how examiners interpret what’s “obvious” or “inventive.”
For example one of his patents, a battery-operated mouse with a backup light system, was rejected on the grounds that a truck’s dual-battery setup counted as prior art. He pointed out that interpretations can be illogical, and examiners aren’t always fluent in technical language.
"Be very careful reading comments from the patent examiner. Sometimes they operate in a parallel universe where in their mind it all makes sense, but in the real world, it does not"
Beyond examiner logic, Michael also touched on another frustration, how expensive it’s become for inventors to defend their rights.
"Even filing a patent lawsuit, you need to raise about $5 million just to go through the motions."
Michael believes the patent system should work with inventors, not against them. The current cost of litigation, he explained, shuts out smaller players who can’t afford to defend their rights.
His idea was a simpler, step-by-step patent review process where inventors could test the strength of their patent claims before entering full litigation without spending millions. While still keeping the system efficient and free from unnecessary lawsuits.
"The current system is very biased against inventors. There should be a fast-track review that costs $10,000 or $50,000 instead of millions."
Throughout the interview, Michael’s passion for precision came through in every story. His experiences from managing thousands of patents to writing his own all point back to a single philosophy: clarity, logic, and foresight are what make a patent valuable.
He encouraged inventors to:
For more insights from the world of intellectual property subscribe for future episodes of Talk IP to me on Spotify, Apple Podcast or Youtube and follow us on LinkedIn for updates and news.
Interested in a free IP renewal consultation? Benchmark your current IP renewal setup and costs against market standards.
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