Features
Companies across Asia arebeginning to put much greateremphasis on intellectual property asa major business asset. The IPBCChina in Beijing last Decemberprovided a forum for them to learnmore about how to develop effectivevalue creation strategies
The significant potential benefitsof special purpose IP holdingcompany vehicles should besoberly assessed against theirinherent risks and drawbacks
Only a decade ago the world’sleading semiconductor intellectualproperty company, ARM Holdings,had no internal patent counsel. Headof IP Samantha Funnell explains thechallenges she faced in creating thein-house function
Two new regulations have broughtEurope closer than ever to aunitary patent regime. However,the compromises that have beendeemed necessary risk creatinga patchwork system far morecomplex and hostile to users thanthat which it will replace
Although China became the world’sleading patent filer in 2011, patentquality is still a serious issue. Is thecountry’s network of patent-relatedpolicies and practices actuallycontributing to these problems andhampering innovation?
In today’s challenging economicclimate, cash-strapped companiesmust increase their competitivenessusing fewer resources. Shrewdinnovation management strategiescan optimise the R&D effort – andIP functions have a crucial role toplay in this regard
If you thought the smartphoneindustry was big, take a look atthe multitrillion-dollar exchangesand financial services sectors.The potential patent battlesbetween industry players couldwell dwarf anything seen in theApple v Samsung dispute
In order to maximise the value thata company gets from its IP-basedtransactions, it needs to put inplace an effective managementstrategy that encompasses allrelevant parts of the business.Three acknowledged experts in thisfield explain how it can be done
Columns
While isolating a clear valuation patternfor public IP companies is difficult, thoseoffering significant blue-sky potentialand simple stories, together withconsistent communications and tradablecatalysts, are being embraced by publicmarket investors
Rights holders are likely to bedisappointed by the ECJ’s decisionin ONEL, which fails to provide afinal answer as to whether use of aCommunity trademark in one memberstate is sufficient to maintain that mark
This is likely to be a crucial year forpublicly held licensing companies(PIPCOs). Interest is booming as a resultof savvier IP investors, PIPCOs’ access tocapital markets and better marks in court
Insights
As it does every year, IAMhas identified a group ofindividuals, organisations andentities who helped to shapethe IP landscape in 2012
A round-up of IP-related quotes, observationsand opinions from the recent past ...
Industry insight
When it comes to “perfect” software, there are as many definitions as there are users, writes Brandon Trenz ofThomson IP Management Services
