Feb 18, 20100

Putting the Spotlight on NPE’s, “Invention Capital”, and Disclosure

By: Ian McClure
eureka1

"If everybody in the industry does it, I'll be right there," said Nathan Myhrvold, leader of Intellectual Ventures, to the New York Times in an article yesterday titled "Turning Patents Into Invention Capital".  Myhrvold was alluding to the public disclosure of patents and license agreements, something that has been the topic of conversation in the IP market over the last few years.  The article was actually a literary review of Intellectual Ventures, the NPE that so many love to hate, but so ... Read More

Categories: Portfolio Potential
Feb 17, 20100

Message from the Battlefield: Properly Secure Intangible Assets Before Managing Them

By: Ian McClure
masterlock-main_full

Consider a hypothetical:  Imagine you are the CEO and sole owner of a new business enterprise.  You hire a few employees who will have some innovative roles within your business model, whereby they may have some opportunities to create original work product that will be important to your business' success.  This work product may be a process, a technology, a marketing plan, a human resource protocol, a work of art, or a memorandum.  Now assume that, a few years down the road, ... Read More

Categories: Copyright Caucus, Patent Prospects
Feb 12, 20100

Lebron James and The Simple Economics of Brand Licensing

By: Ian McClure
lrmr

In 2001, I saw Lebron James play in high school, and I remember telling myself, "that is the next Michael Jordan."  Of course, I meant this from a basketball standpoint, but you can't refer to Michael Jordan without refering to his brand.  MJ's brand is one of the most prolific in sports, and its longevity continues to impress.  It turned out that Lebron lived up to my basketball potential billing.  The brand of Lebron James has not disappointed either.   He recently partnered with McDonald's, ... Read More

Categories: Burgeoning Business, Monetizing IP, Trademark Trends
Feb 11, 20100

Introducing The Duncan Bucknell Company (and of course, Duncan Bucknell)

By: Ian McClure
think_tank

I've been meaning to have Duncan Bucknell as the IP Market Player of the Week for some time. Indeed, Mr. Bucknell frequents all of the IP blog conversations that I do, so I've read his perspective on different facets of the IP Market - usually equipped with a bit of humor, which is always a relief. On Duncan Bucknell's  IP Think Tank Blog, one of my favorite IP blog conversations took place last year, titled "What is IP Strategy Anyway?" I encourage you ... Read More

Categories: IP Market Players
Feb 11, 20100

Ocean Tomo PatentRatings Ranks 25 Most Inventive Companies

By: Ian McClure
ot_logo

Things have been warp-speed at the office lately, so I apologize for being about 3 weeks late on this. Better late than never. Ocean Tomo was asked by Bloomberg Business Week to use their PatentRatings platform to rank the 25 most inventive companies in the world. OT's patented program ranked companies based on the most valuable patent portfolios. Read more about the rankings and the results at Ocean Tomo's press release. A good James Malackowski quote from the release: "The ultimate value of a patent ... Read More

Categories: Today in IP