Feb 12, 2010
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
Jan 13, 2010
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
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
Oct 20, 2009
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
Sep 25, 2009
An interesting piece by Jackie Hutter over at the IP Asset Maximizer Blog uses some narrow empirical data offered by Marcus Malek of the Intangitopia Blog to dispell the notion that intellectual property auctions have provided any benefits for individual inventors or patent holders. The piece was written in response to this NY Times article by Steve Lohr, which claims that "patent auctions offer protections to inventors." Ms. Hutter "wonder[s] if the fact-checkers took a break when this article was presented for publication," adding that ... Read More
Sep 9, 2009
Back in June, Intellectual Asset Management Magazine first published the IAM 250, which I posted to IP Prospective with some color. As a refresher, the IAM 250 is "[a] public, searchable directory of those individuals who offer world-class services relating to the development and implementation of strategies which enable IP owners to maximise the value of their rights portfolios." It is, as advertised, a listing of the world's leading IP strategists.
Jordan Hatcher over at the Tangible IP blog has put together a ... Read More
Aug 17, 2009
An interesting article in the New York Times today discusses a Silicon Valley company called Tessera Technologies that creates packaging technology that allows for the production of miniature electronics products. The intrigue of the article to most readers, and to the author, is two-fold: (1) the miniature technology products envisioned by the company's leaders, and (2) the ability of the company to avoid the demise that many Silicon Valley companies have met over the last few years. A certain few last paragraphs ... Read More
Jul 31, 2009
I apologize for the break in action. I have been on the road almost continuously since attending last week's ICAP/Ocean Tomo "IP Markets 2009" Summer Auction and Conference in Chicago. Thanks to those who have messaged or emailed in search of the "full report" I promised before the event, I have not been derailed from my mission and will hereby "give the people what they want."
We all know the results of the auction. For the second straight auction, the numbers were disappointing. ... Read More
Jun 26, 2009
As I said, the Ocean Tomo brand is still strong, and in fact continues to grow.
Just a week after news hit the fan that Ocean Tomo was selling its transactions practice and would be falling apart soon hereafter (not true), we receive word that Ocean Tomo and French bank Caisse des Dépôts have agreed to a working protocol to develop the first European patent ratings system. No money has yet changed hands as a result of the deal, but it is said ... 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. 