IPWatchdog Launches Weekly Comic Strip, ‘Informal Drawings’, by Peter Sleman

IPWatchdog is pleased to announce the launch of our weekly comic series, brought to you by Wei & Sleman founding partner, Peter Sleman. Peter’s Comic Strip, appropriately named “Informal Drawings”, is a weekly comic strip devoted to patent attorneys, examiners, and inventors.

For many years, we have contemplated adding a comic component to IPWatchdog, but although we can be very creative, we are not the most artistically inclined.  Years ago, IPWatchdog founder Gene Quinn sought to find a reliable comic that we could publish on IPWatchdog.  However, he found most comics were “rather expensive to use and not particularly relevant to our areas of focus.” So, in time, he gave up on the idea.

Fast Forward to May of 2020…

Peter reached out to me to see if we may have interest in publishing an ongoing comic strip he had been working on that focused only on patents, and he included a sample comic. Over dinner that evening, I told Gene about my correspondence with Peter.  I described the comic to Gene in detail, but given I am not a patent practitioner, I didn’t get the joke! So, I said, “Sadly, I don’t get it and I don’t think it is very funny.” To which Gene responded, “Not only do I get it, but it’s hilarious”.

He proceeded to explain the comic to me from a patent practitioner point of view and BAM–from that moment on we were hooked. Peter’s comics are witty and well-illustrated and–as long as you are a patent professional–you won’t even need someone to explain them to you. LOL

I asked Peter how he came to start a comic strip. He said:

The comics started as an artistic outlet and a way to keep sane during COVID19 lockdowns.  I have always enjoyed the absurdity of The Far Side and the subtlety of Dilbert.

I think humor is a valuable persuasion tool and a universal language.  It can change the dynamics when speaking with a client or when conducting an Examiner’s interview.  It disarms people and puts them at ease, which leads to more productive conversations.  It also makes the day-to-day much more pleasant.

Beginning next week, we will be publishing one comic every week on Tuesday mornings.  Like all of our posts on IPWatchdog, readers will have the ability to comment on the comics, and we encourage you do to so.  You will be able to see each new comic on the Sidebar of IPWatchdog, as well as on our Main Comic Page.

So, without further ado, please check out our comic strip kick-off, Further Processing Needed…

About the Author:

Peter Sleman is a patent practitioner with Wei & Sleman, where his practice focuses on patent prosecution, due diligence and opinions in a wide range of technologies including mechanical devices and electronic hardware and software.  He has a background in biomedical engineering and during law school, he gained valuable patent law experience at a major healthcare and pharmaceutical company.  Since then, he has represented several Fortune 500 companies in the medical device industry in connection with an array of innovations becoming an expert on medical devices, and now works with device manufacturers and physician-led startups.  He is the head of the firm’s medical device practice, and the author of The Physician Inventor: The Doctor’s Handbook to Patenting Medical Devices and Methods and numerous journal articles.