The auto industry's patent dance; Google execs on big data; US and EPO abandonment rates; and more in IAM 73

Issue 73 of IAM has been published online and is available for subscribers. Hard copies are in the post and should be hitting door mats and desk tops next week.

In this issue’s cover story, we explain why the technology revolution in the auto industry has resulted in the sector’s wholehearted embrace of patents and explore how further advancements are likely to accelerate the process. Some believe that these trends are bound to lead to an uptick in litigation; others are not so sure, suggesting that lessons have been learned from the smartphone wars and predicting that the same mistakes will not be repeated. We shall see.

In mid-June, close to 700 people attended IPBC Global in San Francisco. Much of the talk focused on the challenges posed by the changing US landscape and the opportunities now emerging in both Europe and Asia. We carry a full report. Look out, too, for profiles of this year’s inductees into the IP Hall of Fame, who were honoured at a gala dinner held during the event. The other two in-house pieces in this issue come from Asia: one takes a detailed look at the Taiwanese IP ecosystem, while the other examines how Indian software companies are dealing with the actual and potential repercussions of the US Supreme Court’s Alice decision.

There are also five commissioned articles in this issue. Make sure not to miss insights from two members of the Google patent team on how corporate IP departments can make the most of big data; while Rockwell Collins’ Bill Elkington leads a roundtable discussion on an LES (USA & Canada) initiative designed to bring self-regulation to the patent transactions market. Elsewhere, we have a thoughtful piece from Tyson Winarski and Carlo Segantini of Intellectual Venures on how to maximise patent value in M&A deals; while Ocean Tomo’s Matthew Beers and Maria Lazarova compare and contrast abandonment rates at the US Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office. And on top of all that, there is in-depth analysis of Indian government proposals to reform the country’s IP regime – not before time, some might say.

With our regular columns, data centre, Insight and Seen & Heard sections in addition to all of this, there will be plenty to keep readers busy until the next issue of IAM is published on October 1.