After 10 years as a Patent Attorney, I already felt quite versed in my day-to-day. Wrote tens of patent applications in pharma and agriculture, responded to hundreds of Office Actions to explain Examiners that my clients do deserve a patent, and obtained many, many patents. You can say I had it easy – working in well-defined fields, with tons of information and experience, with Examiners with extensive background in these fields – we all knew how a patent application should look like, what it should comprise, which rejections are the Examiners likely to raise, and which replies would overcome these rejections. The easy life. More of the same. The rules had been set before me, I just need to follow the line set by my predecessors.
Then came Remilk. An innovative startup company, producing natural milk proteins (which we all know) by precision fermentation (which some of us know), and using these proteins for producing alternative dairy products by…what exactly?
No one has done these things before. You had your animal-based milk and cheeses (no, thanks), you had your plant-based alternative products (having an alternative taste), and then came Remilk. We had to invent new recipes (the old ones don’t work), and develop new formulations, made entirely of non-animal ingredients and meeting the standards of animal-based dairy.
All of a sudden – a new playing field. Forget the “easy life”, we are playing with live ammo here.
When there are no rules, you should always prepare for the worst: the Examiner may not understand the technology, may not understand the problem, and may not understand how your invention solves the problem. Heck, chances are that s/he is not even a food scientist.
So, I used my semi-realistic-semi-paranoid side, and prepared. Remilk has been the best school for me to develop new standards in drafting alternative protein patent applications. One day I will write a book, a manual, titled “Drafting Alternative Protein Patent Applications”.
But until then, I am attaching my white paper, a brief summary of my personal thoughts and ideas regarding how IP, specifically patents, should be perceived and managed by innovative AP companies. Click here to see it.
If you are a founder and want your company to learn from experience – let’s talk.
If you are an investor and want your VC to support your portfolio companies – let’s talk too.
Why Alt-Protein Patents Aren’t Like Pharma or Agri – And How to Get Them Right
- Traditional IP work is predictable: known tech, experienced Examiners, clear rules.
- Alternative proteins are uncharted territory: new tech, unclear standards, and often misunderstood by patent offices.
- Success requires new IP standards: strategic thinking, deep preparation, and tailored patent drafting—especially when the rules don’t yet exist.
