Global connection 

Even when you’ve been in the business for nearly 25 years, you can still encounter some surprises. David Caracappa, an attorney from Virginia, USA, explains how he was pleasantly surprised with inovia and how it enabled him to fulfill the needs of a new client.

David Caracappa has worked in IP for over 20 years. As a former electrical engineer, he was inspired to study law and become a patent attorney. After working for large corporations such as RCA and Siemens, he decided to, as he puts it, "go it alone".

"I had worked in-house for a number of years, but I had the opportunity to set up my own practice - so I decided to take the plunge."

David set up Caracappa Associates 15 years ago. With his vast experience in technology, much of his work is dedicated to writing, preparing and filing patent applications for a number of top-tier technology companies who value his seasoned skills.

A new challenge

The majority of companies David works with have their own in-house legal departments and, therefore, use a combination of his expertise and their own skill throughout the prosecution process. However, when a new client was passed on to David, it was clear that their circumstances were different.

"This particular client didn’t have its own in-house IP function," explains David. "And they had 7 PCT cases that needed to be dealt with almost immediately," he continues. "The PCTs alone could have amounted to a year’s worth of work, so I needed a solution quickly — a piece of software or a service that could help."

David did an online search and found inovia, which promised to provide a quick, reliable and affordable alternative to the traditional method of entering the national stage; he decided to investigate further.

Too good to be true?

David admits that he was skeptical at first about entrusting his client’s IP to someone he hadn't used before.

"When you find a company online that promises to solve your dilemma, but know nothing about them, it’s natural to be suspicious. But when I worked through the online quotation tool, I noticed that the right questions were being asked in the right places, which was a very good sign," says David.

Once he had submitted his requirements, an accurate cost was immediately generated for him, which was then followed by a phone call from one of inovia’s account managers.

David recalls: "Speaking to the inovia team dispelled any worries I may have had. Everyone I spoke to clearly had experience in dealing with large volumes of PCT national stage entries and everything they said added up."

Reaping the benefits

David also found that inovia’s prices were very reasonable, which was an added benefit for both him and his client.

"Money wasn’t really the issue though," he says. "Without inovia, I would have had to find reputable and trustworthy associates in many countries and deal with translations into several different languages. My own network of associates is good, but finding foreign associates in places like the Ukraine could have taken some time. I would have also had to go through the ‘can I trust these people?’ more than once," adds David.

inovia was able to support David and his client through the entire process by ensuring that deadlines were met and expectations were exceeded.

"We came up against some challenges,” concludes David, “but inovia dealt with everything in a professional manner and helped me through the process. It’s not worth my time to do it myself, so I’ll definitely be coming back!"