“I don’t need a patent.” (often a sign it's worth protecting)
In a series of blog posts, Marco Coolen offers a glimpse into his work as a Dutch and European patent attorney at AOMB.
Published on June 14, 2026
Marco, a patent attorney at AOMB since 2013, shares his expertise on IO+ about patents—how they work, why they matter, and when they lose their value.
“I don’t need a patent.”
It is a sentence I hear surprisingly often from entrepreneurs. And strikingly, it often comes from companies where something genuinely interesting is happening. Not because they are deliberately hiding it, but because they do not recognise it as innovation themselves. Many entrepreneurs still associate patents with spectacular technology: satellites, semiconductors, medical equipment. But that is not what the patent system is really about.
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At its core, it is about something much simpler: is it new, does it work technically, and does it solve a problem?
Marco Coolen, photo © Bart van Overbeeke
Innovation is often found in small improvements
In practice, I rarely come across inventions that look like science fiction. Far more often, they are improvements that may seem small on paper but make a big difference on the shop floor. For example, packaging that can be filled more quickly, a mechanism that requires fewer parts, a product that is easier to assemble, a production process that consumes less energy, or a construction that is stronger while using less material.
These are not spectacular breakthroughs. But when such a solution is applied thousands or millions of times, real value is created. Production becomes faster, costs go down, or errors are reduced. These are exactly the kinds of improvements from which companies derive their competitive advantage.
What you cannot patent
Of course, there are limits. Not everything that is smart can be protected with a patent. Mathematical formulas, artistic creations, or pure software code fall outside the system. But as soon as there is a technical solution behind it, the story changes. An algorithm that controls a machine, a software solution that improves a technical process, or a construction that works more efficiently: in those cases, protection may suddenly become possible.
Most patents are not breakthroughs
So do not be misled: patents are definitely not only about radical innovations. In reality, a large share of patents concerns improvements. Things that make products cheaper, speed up production, make systems more reliable, or simplify assembly. Precisely these kinds of solutions are often the most commercially interesting.
The simple test
That is why there is a simple question entrepreneurs can ask themselves: Are we doing something technically different from our competitors? If the answer is yes, it may be worth having it looked at. No, the point is not to patent as much as possible. It is to determine whether your company may have more in-house innovation than you think.
Sometimes, a valuable invention has been on the shop floor for years without anyone realising it can be protected.
The World of Patents
Every Sunday, Marco Coolen takes us with him into the world of patents and IP.