May 20, 2009
Word comes from Joff Wild over at the IAM blog that the upcoming issue of IAM will be highlighted by an article focusing on Intellectaul Ventures and the machine it has become. Interestingly, Joff explains that the article will prove IV's worth as much more than a patent troll, including IP financing operations. With $5 billion in investors' money, Intellectual Ventures can do much more than just acquiring, licensing, and enforcing patents. This will undoubtedly help shape thefuture of the IP market. More on the ... Read More
May 18, 2009
When the line of traditional investment opportunities curtails, creative alternative investments must be found. I like to think that, currently, one of the most creative alternative investments that provides an option for great return (but with significant risk) can be found in commercial-stage intellectual property. Investing in inventors, universities, and start-ups involved in the innovation-to-commercialization process offer a unique but catchy investment opportunity, and Paul Capital has taken note.
The self-proclaimed "alternative investment firm" offers a branch that focuses on financing royalty products, ... Read More
May 15, 2009
Just this week, Google announced that it was changing its already-disputed advertisement policy to allow limited use of trademarks in the text of some search ads, even if the trademark owner objects. This pours salt on the wound, according to many trademark owners that have opposed Google's policy of allowing businesses to purchase trademarks to trigger pop-up ads above Google searches that include that trademark. This essentially allows competitors to show pop-up ads of their own brand whenever a competing brand name ... Read More
May 14, 2009
One of the more interesting, and important, happenings in the IP market is the emerging movement to fill a C-Suite (corporate exec. office) chair with an individual that understands and envisions IP as a potential asset class, and not a means to litigation. (For a good quote on the idea that we need to move away from the thinking that IP is only relevant for litigation, see the ipVA blog: "the earliest evolution of our market over-emphasises the link between IP value ... Read More
May 13, 2009
Yesterday, the EU handed down the largest fine in history for conducting anti-competitive business practices. The fine was handed to Intel in the amount of $1.45 Billion as a result of Intel's sales of its microprocessing chips, which are used in (or tied to) most PC's sold in the world. The EU fine comes on the heels of announcements by the Obama Administration that it will crack down on monopolistic practices, but after mergers such as Pfizer/Wyeth and Ticketmaster/Live Nation (purportedly) may ... Read More
May 12, 2009
The rising tide of the recession has brought with it a wave of change in our approach to commerce, but perhaps no transition has provided as much optimism as the growing share of commerce involving intellectual property assets. Intellectual property has been increasingly recognized as a burgeoning asset class, an important financing tool, and a revenue-generating instrument for exchange. Acknowledging this phenomenon, the United States has joined a global initiative to help push a common knowledge of this use of intellectual property, ... Read More
May 8, 2009
The economic storm in which companies have found themselves has brought cost-cutting measures to every C-suite discussion table. Frequently, one of the first costs to go is the one which is associated with the most risk, R&D. However, as a recent BusinessWeek article points out, this may just be the time to increase innovative practices instead of cutting them. The best quote comes from Samuel Palmisano, the Chief Executive of IBM:
"Some may be tempted to hunker down, to scale back their investment in ... Read More
May 6, 2009
Acacia Technologies LLC, or otherwise known as the licensing company under the umbrella of the publicly traded Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG), is "in the business of acquiring, developing, licensing and enforcing patents." (from Acacia's website) With over 100 patented technologies in their repertoir, Acacia generates revenue through licensing patents for "primarily individual inventors and small companies with limited resources to deal with unauthorized users." According to Acacia's Fact Sheet, the firm has generated revenue through at least 52 different licensing programs, which ... Read More
May 6, 2009
It was reported by IAM this morning that Alison Brimelow will stand down as the President of the European Patent Office at the end of her term in June 2010. She took over the office in 2007 after Alain Pompidou controlled the position from 2004 to 2007. The EPO will have the task of electing a completely new President between now and then. The new President will have his or her hands full with a growing backlog and financial deficiencies caused by the economic storm. ... Read More
May 4, 2009
I have discovered a very interesting post from a couple of weeks ago on the 12:01 Tuesday Blog, written by Chicago IP attorney Aaron Feigelson. The post is titled "Patenting the Business of Patents", and discusses tangible evidence of the burgeoning IP marketplace by way of 14 U.S. patents (11 of which have been issued in the past 2 years) covering the method and business of valuing IP. Feigelson lists all 14 of the patents, which I will recreate the list here:
7,493,262
Method for ... Read More
Ian McClure is a former corporate & securities and intellectual property law attorney with 
Trevor M. Blum is a former Associate in the Chicago-based, valuation practice group of Ocean Tomo, LLC., an intellectual property (IP) consultancy. Additionally, he provided instrumental research support to Intellectual Property Exchange International, Inc., an IP exchange start-up. Trevor holds a B.S. from Indiana University and is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Cambridge, focusing on international business and finance. His interests also include entrepreneurship, economics, and informational visualization. He enjoys running and cycling in his free time. Trevor seeks to bring a transnational business perspective to the blog. 