IAM Issue 19

The European R&D and patenting world treat intellectual property as a legal
right and nothing else. Most companies and investors want that attitude to
change. If it does, a number of exciting possibilities can begin to emerge.
What Europe needs most is intermediaries from outside the law

The convergence of the capital and insurance markets may have created
new opportunities for intellectual asset finance

Pendency times are on the rise in the world’s major patent offices and
industry is being damaged as a result. Although everyone agrees there is
a problem, finding a solution remains a difficult task

Mixing open source and closed software can prove to be an effective –
and profitable – corporate strategy. Philips is one company that has come
to understand this

As most of the world’s patent applications are filed through the
Trilateral offices, it falls to them to work out how the current pendency
time crisis can be solved

Although the famous adage about the value of brands still stands, it is
also worth remembering how that value is created so as not to lose sight
of another old adage which reminds us that the customer is king

There is no disputing that the Supreme Court’s ruling in eBay v MercExchange
delivered a blow to patent trolls. Less clear, however, is the effect it will
have on others who seek to monetise their rights

It remains to be seen whether
patent owners will need to be
dragged kicking and screaming into
the 21st century

A thorough freedom to operate
analysis is a vital part of any venture
capital deal in the technology sector

The speed of computer processing
has doubled every 18 months for
the last four decades, just as
Moore’s Law predicts. Whether it
will continue to hold true, though, is
another issue

The growing popularity of software
as a service could have a profound
impact on the IP industry

When the patent relating to Viagra
was invalidated in China, it created
headlines across the world. But as
the latest decision in the case
shows, the dispute is actually an
example of the country’s IP system
functioning properly

Although the Community patent now looks to be
dead in the water, the signs are that progress could
soon be made on both the EPLA and the London
Protocol. For this to happen, however, patent owners
must seize the moment

A growing number of companies are
looking at the possibility of offshoring
aspects of their patent procurement
work in India.