Mar 31, 2009
I returned from the Ocean Tomo Spring 2009 Conference and Auction in San Francisco with a head full of questions about the status of the market. The market continues to grow, and that is a fact evidenced by the number of professionals and market participants that attended the conference. Nevermind the dismal auction results, which will be the subject of another post, the conference itself and the overall optimistic and enthusiastic mood of discussion that buzzed through the rooms and halls of ... Read More
Mar 31, 2009
Ocean Tomo launched its new website, OTI.com, a site for global IP market data with a touch of community atmosphere to go with it. The site was introduced at the Ocean Tomo Spring 2009 Conference in San Francisco last week with a large display booth that attracted a lot of attention from conference attendees, including myself. The site adds easy patent search tools to a murky market, contributing greatly to the movement for transparency that Ocean Tomo continues to lead. The platform ... Read More
Mar 30, 2009
This has been in the works for a long time. Today, Google and over 100 record labels broke a lot of barriers, both cultural and legal, to start an online music downloading service available only in China. Negotiations to open the service have been carrying on for years. Apparently, over 100 record labels, including the largest (Warner, Sony, EMI, Vivendi) have licensed their music for free download in China. Ad sales in China will serve as Google's revenue stream.
This accomplishment breaks legal barriers, ... Read More
Mar 24, 2009
As a corporate law practitioner, an interesting IP question that pops up with more regularity is whether and under what circumstances a director of a corporation may be held personally liable for mismanagement of intellectual property. This question is usually not posed with reference to conflict of interest possibilities, but instead with regard to the duty of care and its implications on maintaining complete information and making sound decisions with regard to that IP. Of course, many board members don't completely understand the ins ... Read More
Mar 24, 2009
I will be in San Francisco this week for the kick-off of the IP Markets 2009 series (lets hope its a series) and the live IP auction hosted by Ocean Tomo. Let me know if you will be in SF this Thursday or Friday and would like to meet.
Rumors have been flying about the economy's negative effect on sale prices for the IP in this auction's catalog, and on IP value in general. This event will be a great indicator of the economic ... Read More
Mar 23, 2009
You can't discuss the burgeoning market for IP investing without mentioning Intellectual Ventures (IV). Since 2000, IV has built a portfolio of thousands of patents alongside investments estimated at close to $5 billion from large Fortune 500 companies, among others, including Sony, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Google, and eBay. Why do so many lucrative investors throw money at IV? It is simple. They have an inventory of dynamic and strategic patents and a team of prosecutors to enforce those patents, resulting in large ... Read More
Mar 23, 2009
The clash beetween technology and music continues, as YouTube (Google) and Warner Music Group have failed to reach a licensing deal (to continue their previous two years of licenses), and Warner has asked YouTube to delete a number of videos using its copyrights. A New York Times article today reports that these deletions cause a big risk to YouTube, because some of its most viewed videos are professional music videos from large labels. In fact, 6 of the top 10 most viewed ... Read More
Mar 20, 2009
The annual South By Southwest festival is in the thick of things right now with the music stretch of the two week ordeal. It is a meeting place for burgeoning film, music, and technology industry participants, and many deals (or just handshake deals) are struck here. Films are screened, over 1,800 bands are showcased, and hundreds of new technologies are put on display for consumers and media cameras to swallow. Importantly, panels discuss industry norms, updates, and policy changes, which lead to ... Read More
Mar 18, 2009
Arizona State University and UPenn tech transfer offices have entered into a three-year agreement whereby the offices share the risks and rewards with the spotty tech transfer process. This is the first of such a deal that I have seen with as many of the formalities laid out in contract, including the distribution of revenues. Read more about the deal at Tech Transfer Tactics Blog. Read More
Mar 18, 2009
A few months ago a post on Joff Wild's IAM blog sparked a great debate about the valuation of IP, the difference in valuation contexts, and the viability of a practical approach. Jumping into the discussion late, Michael Martin of Broken Symmetry posted a "final word" comment on Wild's post and on Broken Symmetry. A few of his words moved me to revisit the IP valuation discussion on IP Prospective with a few of the standard-setting initiatives that have commenced, old and new.
One of ... 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. 