IAM Issue 58

Companies across Asia are
beginning to put much greater
emphasis on intellectual property as
a major business asset. The IPBC
China in Beijing last December
provided a forum for them to learn
more about how to develop effective
value creation strategies

The significant potential benefits
of special purpose IP holding
company vehicles should be
soberly assessed against their
inherent risks and drawbacks

Only a decade ago the world’s
leading semiconductor intellectual
property company, ARM Holdings,
had no internal patent counsel. Head
of IP Samantha Funnell explains the
challenges she faced in creating the
in-house function

Two new regulations have brought
Europe closer than ever to a
unitary patent regime. However,
the compromises that have been
deemed necessary risk creating
a patchwork system far more
complex and hostile to users than
that which it will replace

Although China became the world’s
leading patent filer in 2011, patent
quality is still a serious issue. Is the
country’s network of patent-related
policies and practices actually
contributing to these problems and
hampering innovation?

In today’s challenging economic
climate, cash-strapped companies
must increase their competitiveness
using fewer resources. Shrewd
innovation management strategies
can optimise the R&D effort – and
IP functions have a crucial role to
play in this regard

If you thought the smartphone
industry was big, take a look at
the multitrillion-dollar exchanges
and financial services sectors.
The potential patent battles
between industry players could
well dwarf anything seen in the
Apple v Samsung dispute

In order to maximise the value that
a company gets from its IP-based
transactions, it needs to put in
place an effective management
strategy that encompasses all
relevant parts of the business.
Three acknowledged experts in this
field explain how it can be done

While isolating a clear valuation pattern
for public IP companies is difficult, those
offering significant blue-sky potential
and simple stories, together with
consistent communications and tradable
catalysts, are being embraced by public
market investors

Rights holders are likely to be
disappointed by the ECJ’s decision
in ONEL, which fails to provide a
final answer as to whether use of a
Community trademark in one member
state is sufficient to maintain that mark

This is likely to be a crucial year for
publicly held licensing companies
(PIPCOs). Interest is booming as a result
of savvier IP investors, PIPCOs’ access to
capital markets and better marks in court

As it does every year, IAM
has identified a group of
individuals, organisations and
entities who helped to shape
the IP landscape in 2012

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

When it comes to “perfect” software, there are as many definitions as there are users, writes Brandon Trenz of
Thomson IP Management Services