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IAM Issue 84

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Escaping the prisoner’s dilemma: towards a new transparency in patent licensing

For too long a widespread lack of transparency, flexibility and fairness has held back many sectors of the patent licensing industry. For the sake of all participants, this must change ‒ which means tackling the prisoner’s dilemma head on

Joseph Siino

Features

Xiaomi shake-up

Xiaomi revamped its IP function in 2016, bringing in a savvy, business-focused team to concentrate on strategy. Now the company is becoming a more vocal leader in the IP space
Jacob Schindler

The last one to the party: why AI has left legal departments behind

Artificial intelligence is having a profound impact on the tech world, across a range of disciplines. While in-house IP departments have been slow on the uptake, the potential of this new technology is astounding

Jay Yonamine and Jeremiah Chan

The year America fought back

There has been an upswing in US sentiment among respondents to the 2017 IAM benchmarking survey, with more confidence in the litigation system matched by less interest in seeking opportunities elsewhere ‒ although there are still concerns about the USPTO

Joff Wild and Sara-Jayne Clover

Thinking inside the box

Innovation or patent boxes are gaining in popularity as a way of using tax policy to encourage IP-backed R&D. With tax reform on the new administration’s agenda, the United States could be the next major market to introduce one
Patrick C Keane , John Warner and Olivia Johansson

Join a defensive aggregator and what is your financial return?

Defensive aggregator models continue to evolve to address the challenge posed by patent assertion entities. While determining the financial return on these can be challenging, there are solutions – as a work-through of the LOT Network proposition demonstrates

Kent Richardson and Erik Oliver

Size is not everything

After it opted against a sale five years ago, InterDigital has been on a licensing roll with a series of headline deals. The question now is whether it can maintain this growth

Richard Lloyd

IoT markets and their patent landscapes

The world of the Internet of Things is becoming increasingly complex in terms of both markets and technology definitions. And that is before we even get to the patents
Ian MacLean , Raymond Angers and Goran Grbic

How to win a patent case in China as a plaintiff

There is a reason why patent litigation in China is surging: patent owners have some big advantages. However, there are differences from US patent disputes at every stage which plaintiffs need to know about

Erick Robinson

IP value in the lands down under

Australia and New Zealand have the expertise, the investment and the right economic conditions to become high-tech innovation dynamos. What they need now is an IP strategy

Jack Ellis

Collaborative invention mining at Tata Consultancy Services

Matching inventive ideas to business objectives is a complex interdisciplinary process. However, so-called ‘collaborative invention mining’ can help an organisation to align its inventions with its long-term strategy

Santosh K Mohanty and Akhilesh C Srivastava

Columns

IP lawyer: Dos and don’ts for clearing the Alice hurdle in e-commerce

It has become harder to patent some aspects of e-commerce in the United States, but protection for several other aspects is still possible. As the dust settles, we are getting a better idea of what to emphasise and what to steer clear of when drafting and prosecuting patent applications

Intangible investor: Report: foreign sources responsible for most US IP theft

Up to $600 billion is stolen annually, according to a report from the bi-partisan US IP Commission

View from the IP Hall of Fame: Are trademark surveys worth the cost?

The probative value of a trademark survey often does not justify the cost. However, a relatively inexpensive trademark survey of modest scope can be of value if it is designed and conducted fairly, it measures the right issue and it is only one of a number of pieces of evidence relied upon

IP strategist: Why do more companies not have a chief IP officer?

The chief IP officer role is relatively young; but regardless of what you call it, there are still too many companies with no designated person responsible for handling intellectual property at the strategic level

Insights

A fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory decision from London

In April the High Court in London issued a decision that could have profound consequences for FRAND-based licensing deals worldwide

Seen and heard

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

Data centre

IP-related statistics from the recent past

A selection of key IP facts and figures, as reported by IAM and other sources

Industry insight

Inside Google’s IP battle with Uber

Google is looking to leverage different forms of intellectual property in its pending battle with Uber. As all eyes turn to the increasingly acrimonious lawsuit, is this the start of the next big IP war?

Kevin Rieffel