The Privateer IP Business Model: If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them!

March 27, 2011

It has been three years since I co-authored the article “Meet the Middlemen” with Ron Laurie, which was published in the February/March 2008 issue of Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Magazine.  In that often-cited article, Ron and I presented a new taxonomy comprised of seventeen IP business models in the U.S. IP marketplace.  Although, admittedly, the [...]

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Within a University Community, Who Owns Newly-Created IP?

January 28, 2011

I was recently contacted by a world-renowned professor who was seeking advice about a piece of intellectually property (IP) he created, and that his university was profitably exploiting.  Who owned the IP?  Can he exploit it himself?  Was he entitled to share in the proceeds above and beyond his university (base) salary?  Not surprisingly, these [...]

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The US$173.4B Global Intellectual Property Marketplace?

December 16, 2010

In today’s world, technological innovation drives industrial growth and helps raise living standards.  Thus, the importance of intellectual property (especially patent) rights in a 21st century, global knowledge economy cannot be doubted.  This is especially true in the United States with a gross domestic product (GDP) over US$14 trillion – 2.67% of which are research [...]

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U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Another Patent Case: David v. Goliath?

December 15, 2010

Two weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court decided to hear another patent case[1] – marking only the ninth time during the Chief Justice Roberts era that Court has decided to do so.  The popular press has unfortunately characterized this case as one where a large multinational firm with a market capitalization of over $235 [...]

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Protecting your Designs in the European Union: A Few Words of Advice for U.S.-Based Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

November 4, 2010

Many of the United States-based small- and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) to which I provide intellectual property counsel are familiar with the Patent Cooperation Treaty.  Under this international regime, a U.S.-based patent applicant can file for international patent protection within one-year of filing their utility patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  Many [...]

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Saving Money on Initial Patent and Trademark Services: A Tip for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

September 23, 2010

I have previously discussed that it is clear to me that the economic downturn has lessened the appetite for companies to spend money on anything not perceived as a “necessary business expense.”  The importance of intellectual property (IP) rights in a 21st century, knowledge economy, however, dictates that individual inventors and small- and medium-sized enterprises [...]

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The Current State of the Patent Marketplace

August 12, 2010

The following are highlights from my recent presentation on “The Patent Marketplace: Past and Present,” at the National Bar Association’s 85th Annual Convention in New Orleans, LA on August 11, 2010. I have previously written that independent research, conducted by Ned Davis Research, Inc. in 2005, has demonstrated that as much as 80% of the [...]

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Business Method Patents Survive U.S. Supreme Court Review

June 29, 2010

In the last decade, software and so-called “business method” patents have been the subject of numerous lawsuits, academic debates, articles, economic impact studies, and Congressional hearings.  Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court finally weighed in on the issue with its decision that: “the Patent Act leaves open the possibility that there are at least some processes [...]

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SMEs and Cutting Through The Hoopla Over False Patent Marking

June 18, 2010

There has been a lot of recent talk, blog posts, articles, court activity and even proposed legislation in Congress around the issue of “False Patent Marking.”  What does it all mean and why should small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) care!?  Well, I present answers, in brief, to these questions below. The first thing to know [...]

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Five Ways of Delivering Value for Clean Technology Innovation Through Intellectual Property

May 24, 2010

Last month, I had the honor of being one of five speakers at a seminar in San Francisco sponsored by the Global Innovation Forum and ACT’s Innovators Network where invited guests included Bay Area senior executives from clean technology companies and principals from the investment community.  The seminar, titled “Delivering Value for Clean Technology Innovation [...]

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