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 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
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
Nov 10, 2009
Oral arguments in the Bilski case began yesterday before the U.S. Supreme Court. Gathering from the numerous blogs and other sites covering the arguments, it is apparent that the Justices were ready, questioning both sides incessantly on their arguments' weaknesses. A large question in the minds of the Justices is whether the authors of the 1952 Patent Act contemplated patenting business methods.
The patentability of business methods awaits its fate. There are numerous blogs with full coverage of the arguments. See IP Watchdog, ... Read More
Sep 29, 2009
President Obama named Victoria A. Espinel the first IP czar, charged with the responsibility of enforcing the nation's intellectual property laws. The position is a product of the ProIP Act, signed into legislation last year. Ms. Espinel has served as an advisor on intellectual property issues to the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Finance Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee.
More on the appointment and Victoria A. Espinel HERE. Read More
Sep 14, 2009
The Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum has published a ranking of countries for strength of intellectual property laws. The latest report, which is put together after a study of numerous world economic indicators, identifies Singapore as the country with the strongest intellectual property laws, while the United States is ranked 19th. For the rest of the list, see HERE. For analysis on the gaps in proof stemming from this survey, see Joff's comments HERE over at the IAM blog. Read More
Sep 1, 2009
You've heard the news. Disney is paying $4 Billion for Marvel's intellectual property portfolio, including 5,000 characters, but the deal will leave a few licensing deals for movies and toys in place without substitution. According to the the NY Times, "[t]he deal was valued at about $50 a share, a 29 percent premium. On Monday, Marvel shares shot up 25 percent to $48.37." Some believe the premium paid for the IP is too much. Nevertheless, there may be implications on the wider M&A market ... Read More
Aug 13, 2009
Proof that our economy continues to evolve into a knowledge economy.
In the most recent report in a series of 12 released by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), it is confirmed that U.S. Copyright Industries continue to add value to the U.S. Economy and GDP, outperforming many other industries. According to the report:
" . . . in 2007 the gross consumption expenditures and investments of the entire U.S. federal government (a much broader measure than value added) were $979.3 billion. This figure is only ... Read More
Jul 16, 2009
Another Ocean Tomo conference and auction is upon us, and perhaps this one has solicited the most curiosity from IP market outsiders because of the recent sale of the Ocean Tomo transactions practice to ICAP, including its well known auction platform. How will this transaction affect the public perception and success of these auctions? Was the auction platform really a "distressed asset", as many have called it? These will be answered shortly. The turnout for this event, however, should prove that there ... 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. 