IAM Issue 49

The way that companies report their
IP activities both internally and
externally is dependent on the
outcomes they are seeking to achieve

The electronics industry has been at
the heart of the explosion in US
patent suits over the past 20 years. It is important not to forget that –
before coming to conclusions about
overall filing, litigation and licensing
activity

The results of an IP risk survey
undertaken earlier this year among
European and US corporations
show that while IP is increasingly
understood to be an important
corporate asset, IP-related
insurance is yet to be viewed as a
priority

Is becoming a profit centre and
measuring success something that
all IP departments should aim for?
The answer is not as straightforward as it might perhaps appear at first glance

As the way in which patents are
viewed and exploited by their
owners and third parties has
changed over recent years, so new
ways of defining IP performance
have emerged. The challenge for
corporate IP managers is to keep
up with developments in order to
maximise transaction value

Corporate IP managers share their
perspectives on differences in
processes and structures to tackle
IP valuations, a topic that is under
much scrutiny and debate

The fourth IP Business Congress took place at the
Palace Hotel in San Francisco from 19th to 21st June.
It was attended by more than 500 delegates. Over the
three days of the event, they heard a multi-disciplinary
speaking faculty of IP thought leaders debate a range
of subjects centred on the theme of IP value creation

With the creation of One-Blue, six companies have developed an
innovative patent pool for Blu-ray
Disc products that levels the playing
field, reduces costs and fosters fair
use of the patent system in the
optical disc sector

Patent holders can breathe a little more
easily following the US Supreme Court’s
ecent decision in i4i v Microsoft, which
maintains the established burden of proof
necessary to invalidate a patent

Diverse businesses have made
monetising patents more lucrative and
less painful. They have come a long way,
but are yet to be fully understood

In addition to Google (operating under the Ranger moniker during the
sale process), four parties took part in the auction for the Nortel patent
portfolio: Apple; Rockstar Bidco, a consortium of major technology
companies consisting of Microsoft, EMC, Sony, Ericsson and RIM;
Intel Corporation; and Norpax LLC, an offshoot of RPX Corp.

Losing out in the US$4.5 billion
Nortel patent auction was
undoubtedly a major setback
for Google. The company must
now spend the money it saved
on building a dynamic and
strong portfolio that can
protect the Android platform.
The good news is that it can be
done. The bad news is that
cash-rich Apple will seek to
make it as hard as possible

A round-up of IP-related quotes, observations and opinions from the recent past ...

With more hurdles than ever standing
between drug R&D and brand marketing,
Jeroen Lallemand of Thomson
CompuMark explains how industry best
practices are evolving to help create safer
trade names more efficiently