Columns
In June 2008, French courts rendered three decisions that held eBay liable for the sale of counterfeits on itsonline auction platform.
The IP profession has traditionally been locked out of the boardroom, so the creation of the chief intellectual property officer role is surely worth celebrating. But before we do, we should consider whether the CIPO isthe first or last step up the ladder. In fact, maybe it even involves the wrong ladder in the first place.
InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch is all about the US company’s portfolio of famous brands. And it is the declining value of another celebrated American brand that has helped to make it possible.
Innovation profoundly affects every business and investor. While most executives believe that new ideas are the currency of choice, few agree on the best ways to profitfrom them.
Industry insight
Turning IP into cash is one way torecoup investments in its creation.However, to do this as effectively aspossible, you need an effectivestrategy and the right tools, writesLaura Gaze, Senior MarketingManager with the ScientificBusiness of Thomson Reuters
Features
One of the disincentives to drilling into a patent portfolio to search out further value-enhancing opportunities is cost. However, there are ways to save significant amounts of money – something that financial modelling will help patent owners discover.
One of the major aims of the six-month French presidency of the European Union, which began on 1st July, is to provide fresh impetus for European innovation by securing major changes in the EU’s patent policy.
Steps towards the harmonisation of patent laws and practices have been slow. A panel of leading IP professionals consider what effects the current lack of harmonisation has on patent owners and offices, and what isneeded for the situation to change.
450 delegates and speakers, drawn from all corners of the world, came to the first-ever IP Business Congress in June. For two days at the Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam, they focused on the role of the chief intellectual property officer and how companies that embrace the position can enhance their bottom line and obtain other more intangible benefits. To cap the event off, there was a spectacular example of IP monetisation in action.
There has never been a better time for banks and other investors to get involved in the European innovation marketplace. The structures and the tools are there. All that is lacking is the strategy.
History is full of examples of markets evolving by organising with standardised approaches to sharing information and streamlining transaction processes. Will the nascent secondary patent market learn and adopt suchefforts, or remain largely a lawyer’s sandbox?
Products driven by new technologies are increasingly underpinned by technical standards. Companies have to understand the potential problems, as well as the opportunities, presented by this emerging issue.
Best practice intangible asset management brings tangible benefits when a company finds its reputation is on the line.
Insights
The Allied Security Trust provides further evidence of high-tech companies’ determination to combat the threat they believe is presented by patent trolls. It is also very goodnews for innovators.
Roundtable
The patent landscape of the United States continues to evolve. Three leadingIP professionals on the front line of change discuss what it all means
Management report
Because intellectual property is a legal right, in the end it only has value if those that own it are ready to go to court to defend what they have. A company that is prepared to stand by and watch others infringe its patents, trademarks, copyrights or trade secrets will not be in business for long. Certainly, its shareholders will veryquickly begin to ask questions.
