IP P®OSPE©TIVE

As a lawyer, it is generally not my job to come up with a price to be paid for a license to use a client's trademark. Sure, I might be given some ballpark figures by the client and set out to negotiate based on these figures, but I don't come up with these ballpark figures. I could if it was asked of me, but it is usually left to the client to figure out what it thinks its brand is worth for the ... Read More

The legal profession is very much like other successful services that have enjoyed longevity - it capitalizes on a need based on a recurring problem by fixing the problem(s) or preventing its persistence or recurrence specific to one client.  The legal profession with regard to intellectual property is no different.  In fact, the IP legal profession has perhaps relied on this business model to an even greater degree, as the general lack of comprehension with respect to intellectual property in the business ... Read More

I'd like to first thank all of the faithful IP Prospective readers over the last 12 months.  IP Prospective will celebrate its first birthday next month! 2009 has been quite a year - for good and for bad. The financial market was consumed by a somber mood for most of the year, with just enough shining moments near the end of the year to lead U.S. consumers and investors into 2010 with an optimistic vibe. The intellectual property market did what most expected ... Read More

Chicago-Kent Law School, a member institution of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), will offer the first multidisciplinary Masters program in Intellectual Property Management and Markets in the United States. The IAM blog first broke the news to me, as Joff Wild wrote last week that Ron Laurie, long time advocate of and expert on the CIPO movement, apprised him of the new offering.  I had caught wind of such an interdisciplinary program in the works at an institution in the UC system ... Read More

In October the FTC published in the Federal Register new guidelines for the use of testimonials and endorsements in advertising.  These guidelines were revised, and on December 1 the FTC adopted them.  The guidelines have sweeping implications on internet advertising, including blogs, where testimonials have become a cheap and prominent method of advertising.  Among the new guidelines that advertisers and endorsers must follow include the following: Endorser testimonials must be honest and based on experience, opinion, or belief. Endorsements may not be presented out ... Read More

In the corporate world, the phrase "due diligence" is generally used in the same sentence as the word "merger" or "acquisition", and quite rightly so. Due diligence is the practice of "fact-checking" the representations and warranties set forth in the acquisition documents and/or purchase agreement.  It is also a diligent investigation of the acquisition target to make sure no sleeping liabilities are left under the covers. But due diligence is not inextricably tied to the M&A process. In fact, it should be a ... Read More

The debate rages on. This is an oral argument with very different closing statements and a hung jury. The case is argued by the plaintiff, "Fair Use", and the defendant, "Don't You Dare Use." It is a vicious cycle: do Intellectual Property Rights encourage innovation or stifle it? The side that dedicates their career to research sees an impediment to new research. The side that dedicates their career to protecting the right to an economic advantage created by innovation sees a means ... Read More

Sometimes legislation changes an entire business model, even one that has been set in place for nearly a century.  While the music industry has been going through such changes due to both technology advancements and the legislation that has tried to keep up with them, the terrestrial radio business, although tangential to the music industry, has enjoyed its business model without much interruption.  This all might change with the Performance Right Act (H.R. 848), which is slowly making its way through Washington. As ... Read More

As a blogger myself, unknown legal risks involved in providing content on the internet are always a concern. The growth in internet marketing, social networking, and other uses of the internet for business and collaboration has provoked an new need for legal protection from unwanted or unwise uses of these mediums. For instance, a blogger may control his or her own blog content, but what about the unsolicited comments? Can harrassment, derogatory language, or other unwanted uses of the comments section subject ... Read More

I was introduced today to a new and intriguing blog titled Intellectual Profit, authored by Raymond Hegarty.  A recent post titled "Ten Reasons for a Separate IP Commercialization Business Unit"  caught my eye.  Noting the recent encouragement from IP professionals for the CIPO position within the C-Suite of companies, Hegarty makes the argument for bypassing this extra seat in the board room, and leading the CIPO to his own and separate business unit, even in another jurisdiction.  This is a move that, ... Read More