Features
Everyone has heard of patent trolls. Well, Leo Stoller may just be the US’smost notorious trademark troll. Google has decided to take him on
Brand extensions and celebrity endorsements can be the easiest route toa rapid increase in revenue. But as some companies have found out, theyare not guarantees of success
Companies that produce software for internal purposes may find that theyare sitting on a potentially lucrative new revenue stream
It is not just bad management that can harm the value of intangible assets;they can be deliberately targeted for both criminal and political reasons
SMEs are innovative and dynamic, but all too often they fail to establishequal partnerships with larger companies. If this is to change, both sides ofthe equation have to rethink the way they do business
Industry insight
The launch of the .asia top leveldomain is something that companiesacross the world will have to factor into their internet strategies, writesPeter Whiley of CPA
Columns
The company that does no evil isfacing a number of challenges fromrights owners unhappy with itsbusiness models
The largest ever IP-backedsecuritisation, US$1.8 billion forSears’ Kenmore, Craftsman andDieHard brands, may be a harbingerof things to come for IP as an assetclass and for financial marketsflush with capital
The first live multi-lot IP auctionfor Europe was held in Munich inthe middle of May. Although saleswere disappointing, overall it wasa promising start
Intellectual property may be the idealinvestment to help venture capital dowhatever it does a little bit better
Insights
The European PatentForum showed that theEPO was prepared tothink ahead and set theagenda. But if words areto turn into concreteaction, the office mustcontinue to look beyondthe patent community
Brad Smith and Horacio Gutierrezwould have known exactly whatthey were doing when theyagreed to speak to Fortunemagazine about Microsoft’srelationship with open sourcesoftware
The top three positions within theindustrial materials industry remainfixed. The strongest movementswithin and into the top 10 reflectincreases in influence as well asactivity in this broad industry
Roundtable
Supreme Court decisions, reform initiatives in Congress and changes at theUSPTO mean that the patent landscape is shifting dramatically in the US.Whether this is for better or for worse is a different issue. Four experts givetheir opinions
