Dec 31, 2009
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
Dec 30, 2009
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
Dec 18, 2009
The Intellectual Property Exchange International (IPXI) has announced that it has hired a new President, Gerard J. Pannekoek. This looks promising for IPXI, as Pannekoek was the former President and COO of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first multi-national and multi-sector exchange for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions. His leadership there led to a successful IPO within twelve months of his employment.
The Intellectual Property Exchange International explains itself as follows:
The Intellectual Property Exchange International provides an innovative approach to ... Read More
Dec 18, 2009
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
Dec 15, 2009
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
Dec 8, 2009
ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is the appointed non-profit and independent governor of the internet. On September 30th, ICANN announced the signing of the Affirmation of Commitments, a document confirming the mission and duty of the corporation in regulating and defining the internet for the rest of the world to use.
ICANN's latest project is the unleashing of New Top Level Domains to be used alongside .com and .net for website domain locators. Among those soon to be allowed ... Read More
Dec 4, 2009
The business model of this defensive IP aggregator is not only unique, but it is inspiring for those of us that spend most of our professional time working with and protecting the IP of operating companies. Commencing business just one year ago last month, RPX celebrated its birthday with the recent announcement that HTC Corp., a Taiwanese mobile phone company, has become the 20th company to subscribed to RPX's membership.
How it works: RPX offers operating companies a unique opportunity to defend against offensive patent ... Read More
Dec 1, 2009
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
Nov 30, 2009
China's Standardization Adminstration (SAC) recently posted a draft patent regulation titled "Regulations for the Administration of the Formulation and Revision of Patent-Involving National Standards." After reading some analysis of the draft standard-setting regulation, it seems that these standards are not far off from many Western patent-office standards and patent regulations. There are, as expected, a few concerns. One of the major concerns is found in Article 8 of the draft regulation, which purports to deem any company which fails to satisfy disclosure ... Read More
Nov 17, 2009
As patent reform discussions heat up, it is important that intellectual property professionals, inventors, businesses, and academics stay abreast of the issues and have a common forum for sharing points of view. Apparently, David Kappos and his USPTO team are on top of this, because the USPTO has launched a public blog called the Director's Forum, where David Kappos himself will be publicly addressing its readers with the ongoings of the USPTO.
Transparency is key to the advancement of the IP market, and ... 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. 