Management report
Because intellectual property is a legalright, in the end it only has value if thosethat own it are ready to go to court todefend what they have. A company that isprepared to stand by and watch othersinfringe its patents, trademarks, copyrightsor trade secrets will not be in business forlong. Certainly, its shareholders will veryquickly begin to ask questions.
Columns
IP managers who do not adapt to thenew USPTO rules will have budgetand patent enforcement problems
Finding a patent attorney shouldnot be too difficult. Making sure youhave the right one, however, is aharder task
In the so-called War on Terror,intellectual property has a crucialpart to play. Whether the IPcommunity is doing enough,however, is open to debate
Outlawing broad patents on unusualinventions is a bad idea. It is morelikely to destroy innovation than fuel it
Features
While negotiating parties can usually agree on the major elements in anylicensing deal, things get trickier when it comes to looking at the minutiae.To prevent negotiations breaking down, multi-faceted valuationmethodologies should be employed
SFAS 141 was issued five years ago in the US to change the way in whichacquiring companies value assets and view intangibles involved in an M&Adeal. In order to avoid future problems such companies would do well toensure that IP experts take part in the valuation process
Off-industry and non-core patent licensing has often been held up as theIP industry’s Holy Grail. But recent research suggests that for most it isactually nothing more than myth and mirage
India’s IT industry is one of the country’s great success stories.But to take the next step forward, businesses operating in the sectorhave to come to terms with a series of IP management challenges
It has always been easy to measure the size of a patent portfolio.More complicated has been the task of working out its quality. Now, however,new statistical benchmarking methods are emerging which could makethings a whole lot simpler
Industry insight
Intellectual property due diligenceshould form part of the necessaryaudits undertaken before any M&Aactivity. However, it often isn’tconsidered until very late in theprocess, writes John Pryor of CPA
Insights
At this year’s meeting of the LES USA and Canada,the relationship between patents and finance was highon the agenda. And while the mainstream investmentcommunity remains wary of placing too much emphasison any kind of IP right, specialist investors arebeginning to emerge
There has been a shortage ofdialogue between IP practitioners andowners on the one hand, andacademics on the other – often to thedetriment of both. A new EuropeanPatent Academy initiative aims tochange all that.
