IP manager Katalin Sólyom, Ph.D. shares a practical playbook for aligning patents with fast-moving products, and getting the whole company to speak “IP” with you.
Katalin leads IP at Gehring Technologies after nearly a decade in chemical engineering and biotech research. That lab-to-IP transition gives her a rare dual view: how inventions are created and how they become defendable, valuable business assets.
In this episode, Katalin sits down with David Breitenbach (CCO, PatentRenewal.com) to unpack what IP management looks like on the ground - culture, process, and decisions - when you can’t afford waste and the roadmap keeps changing.
She explains:
◼️ Bridging the gap between R&D, sales/marketing, finance, and leadership so IP is understood as a tool, not just a cost.
◼️ Why IP is a “foreign language” for many teams, and how consistent terms and simple explanations change decisions.
◼️ The process shift that took her team from reviewing 3 patents/hour to 20, and a great feedback system.
◼️ Balancing data vs. intuition (hello, Kahneman’s “What You See Is All There Is”) and checking hidden assumptions.
◼️ How e-mobility and the realities in the OEM industry demand flexibility, modularity, and constant FTO awareness.
◼️ Quick lenses for value: in-product use, ability to block competitors, and licensing potential, plus where she’d start if forced to cut 20%.
00:00 Intro02:42 If leadership doesn’t recognize the value of IP05:46 Cultural challenge of decision making and communication07:10 Alignment meetings vs working with R&D08:11 Helping leadership understand IP11:00 Seeing the value of IP13:59 Quality of decision making19:06 Making decisions based on hard data vs intuition20:56 Process for evaluating past decisions?24:16 B2B2C - Flexibility in the OEM industry25:59 E-mobility and product consolidation26:36 Rapid fire questions
Follow Katalin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katalinsolyom/
Join the PatentRenewal.com’s circle on LinkedIn:
https://bit.ly/patentrenewalcom
Follow David:
https://bit.ly/david-breitenbach
GET IN TOUCH
Our website: https://patentrenewal.com/
About us
At PatentRenewal.com, we believe IP renewals should be simple, transparent, and stress-free. We care about innovation and about making IP easier to understand and easier to use.
That’s why we created Talk IP to me, the podcast that brings fresh conversations to the world of intellectual property.
In each episode, innovators, IP experts, founders, and legal minds share real stories, hard-won lessons, and practical insights you can actually apply in your work.
Our goal is simple: make IP feel human, practical, and accessible.
IP management expert, Bas Albers breaks down how to manage patents that support your business without draining your budget.
Bas Albers has more than 20 years of experience helping companies - from SMEs to global enterprises - turn their patent portfolios into real business assets. Bas has built IP systems for more than 15 companies, aligned portfolios to product roadmaps, reduced unnecessary patent renewal spending, and helped leadership teams understand where patents create value (and where they don’t).
In this episode, Bas sits down with David Breitenbach, CCO of PatentRenewal.com, to talk about building a patent strategy that stays aligned with products, business goals, and reality, even when things change fast.
He explains:
◼️ Why the biggest internal IP risk is misalignment between patents and products
◼️ The single most common mistake companies make before he arrives
◼️ Why patent value is hard to measure, and what to focus on instead
◼️ How to avoid paying renewals for patents that no longer matter
◼️ Why IP managers should find the common language
◼️ How Patent Cockpit helps SMEs stay in control
00:00 Intro
01:20 Who is Bas Albers?
02:33 First company assessments
04:44 The biggest mistake companies make with patents
05:56 His work on a strategic level
06:58 Convincing management of patents
09:09 When a great patent is useless
10:56 Choosing which ideas are worth protecting
12:21 Getting to know the product isn’t easy
14:40 SMEs vs enterprises - how processes differ
16:45 Patent pruning and rapid product cycles
18:10 Translating patent language into product language
19:52 Patent Cockpit explained
21:42 How IP systems support better renewal decisions
23:24 Why decisions shouldn’t be judged in hindsight
26:29 AI and the future of IP management
29:45 Rapid-fire IP questions
Follow Bas:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/basalbers/
Join the PatentRenewal.com’s circle on LinkedIn:
https://bit.ly/patentrenewalcom
Follow David:
https://bit.ly/david-breitenbach
Get in touch
Our website: https://patentrenewal.com/
About us
At PatentRenewal.com, we believe IP renewals should be simple, transparent, and stress-free. We care about innovation and about making IP easier to understand and easier to use.
That’s why we created Talk IP to me, the podcast that brings fresh conversations to the world of intellectual property.
In each episode, innovators, IP experts, founders, and legal minds share real stories, hard-won lessons, and practical insights you can actually apply in your work.
Our goal is simple: make IP feel human, practical, and accessible.
Patent expert Michael Schuette reveals the art of writing strong, defensible patents, and the biggest red flags to avoid.
Michael Schuette is a seasoned IP strategist, engineer, and inventor with over 15 years of experience in product development, patent portfolio management, and IP litigation support. He has written more than 100 patents, helped companies generate $10M+ in value, and now leads innovation as Chief Scientist and Director of Patents at BooleanLabs, where he applies AI and machine learning to deep-tech challenges across semiconductors, computer science, and biotech.
In this episode, Michael sits down with David Breitenbach, CCO of PatentRenewal.com, to unpack the real-world mechanics of patents, from drafting and claim construction to patent mining and litigation strategy.
He explains:
◼️ Why most “star patents” in a portfolio turn out to be worthless
◼️ The small words that can make or break a claim (“and” vs “or”)
◼️ How to future-proof patents with a “sci-fi” mindset
◼️ Why proving infringement matters more than originality
◼️ The biggest red flags when working with patent attorneys
◼️ How to build patents that actually hold up in court
00:00 Intro
01:16 Short bio of Michael
05:17 Evaluation #1: Can you prove infringement?
07:16 Story time of proving infringement
08:50 Evaluation #2: Does it worth the effort?
10:13 Red flag #1: Drafting patent applications
11:55 Red flag #2-3: Indefiniteness and claim drafts
13:02 Pro tip: Smart descriptions
15.08 Horror story: Copied text
17:53 Horror story: Typewriter
21:02 The word “means”
23:12 Pro tip: How to get granted quickly
24:52 Writing with a sci-fi mindet
27:35 Story time: One of the easiest patent to write and enforce
29:33 Rapid fire questions
Follow Michael:
https://bit.ly/michael-schuette
Follow David:
https://bit.ly/david-breitenbach
Join the PatentRenewal.com’s circle on LinkedIn:
https://bit.ly/patentrenewalcom
Get in touch
Our website: https://patentrenewal.com/
About us
Talk IP to me brings fresh conversations to the world of intellectual property.
Each episode features innovators, IP experts, founders, and legal minds sharing real stories, lessons learned, and practical insights you can actually use. Our goal is simple: make IP feel human, practical, and accessible.