Kopelman founded Half.com in 1999 and sold it to eBay in 2000. The patent that Half.com applied for in 1999 was issued just recently, 8.5 years later. He goes on to discuss the long waiting time, currently averaging 4+ years, in the patent approval process. Given that even a month is a very long time in the tech industry, you need to make sure that you have other ways to protect your IP and other forms of competitive advantage. Indeed, it is crucial to apply for patents early (if you don't someone else will and then take you to court 8 years later for using 'their' technology) but it is important that you evaluate how important that patent will be in determining your success.
I really liked the analogy that Kopelman uses from Fred Wilson's Blog:
"Patents are like nuclear bombs, you just got to have some". But if you're fighting a war today, it's better to count on weapons you have at hand today -- don't rely on a nuclear program that could take five years to come to fruition.
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