Great Article on Intellectual Property Finance and Monetizing IP to Kick-Start a Start-Up

By: Ian McClure

Kenan Patrick Jarboe, President of Athena Alliance, has partnered with graduate student Ian Ellis to author a great paper on innovative options for financing innovation.  It is a great read for anyone looking into ways to monetize their intellectual capital or intangible assets, or simply to raise capital in order to turn their idea or intangible asset into reality or a product.   See Intangible Assets:  Innovative Financing for Innovation at the Issues in Science and Technology website. Read More

Categories: Today in IP

IP Finance Options: Understand Your Asset and Exit Strategy

By: Ian McClure
greek

(A few words from a macro - and very general - point of perspective) Financing can come in all shapes and sizes. Generally, a start-up will (hopefully) have a great idea and leaders with a vision. However, many start-ups may be doing so without any assets - just a business plan. It may be hard to obtain financing - whether private equity or commercial loan or otherwise - with just an idea. Some start-ups, however, will be fortunate enough to have one (or ... Read More

Categories: Investment Intelligence, Monetizing IP, Portfolio Potential

Putting the Spotlight on NPE’s, “Invention Capital”, and Disclosure

By: Ian McClure
eureka1

"If everybody in the industry does it, I'll be right there," said Nathan Myhrvold, leader of Intellectual Ventures, to the New York Times in an article yesterday titled "Turning Patents Into Invention Capital".  Myhrvold was alluding to the public disclosure of patents and license agreements, something that has been the topic of conversation in the IP market over the last few years.  The article was actually a literary review of Intellectual Ventures, the NPE that so many love to hate, but so ... Read More

Categories: Portfolio Potential

IP Supplement to UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions Could Be Adopted This Summer

By: Ian McClure
uncitral

Word comes from the IAM blog that the Annex on Intellectual Property to UNCITRAL's Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions, about which I have been regularly posting for almost a year now, may be solidified as soon as February (the next session for Working Group VI, charged with the responsibility for the Annex), and offered for adoption at the next Commission session in June/July 2009.  The Legislative Guide will be a guide on secured transactions offered to all member states of the UN in an ... Read More

Categories: Today in IP

Venture Capital, Universities, and Nanotechnology

By: Ian McClure
nano280

A great article in the New York Times today focused on university technology transfer efforts and venture funding for start-up companies in the nanotechnology field.  Besides opening some eyes to the various beneficial uses of nanotechnology, the article explains the angel and VC investors that join forces with universities in subsidizing new companies, whether that be through start-up capital or providing the machines necessary to produce these technologies.  Nanotech companies frequently own one type of asset and one type of asset only: ... Read More

Categories: Investment Intelligence

An In-depth Look Into Intellectual Ventures

By: Ian McClure
iam_index

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

Categories: Today in IP

Economy Pulse Check: Valuation, Finance, and Exchange of Intellectual Property

By: Ian McClure
pulse-check

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

Categories: Burgeoning Business, Portfolio Potential

IP Finance Gains Momentum; Needs Standards

By: Ian McClure
finance

As individuals and small businesses look to secure funding during a credit freeze, finance innovation has led to a jump in IP-based funding.  In 1997, David Bowie opened eyes when he issued asset-backed bonds on the basis of future royalties, raising over $55 million.  This year, Annie Leibovitz, the famed photographer for Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, secured $16 million in loans by pledging her life's work of copyrights.  The practice is not exclusively available for stars, however, as companies are turning ... Read More

Categories: Burgeoning Business, Investment Intelligence, Monetizing IP, Portfolio Potential

The Ocean Tomo IP Conference: Topics of Conversation in the IP Market

By: Ian McClure
ritz-carlton-san-francisco

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

Categories: Burgeoning Business, Copyright Caucus, Investment Intelligence, Patent Prospects, Portfolio Potential, Trademark Trends

IP Valuation Revisited

By: Ian McClure
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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

Categories: Burgeoning Business, Copyright Caucus, Investment Intelligence, Monetizing IP, Patent Prospects, Portfolio Potential, Trademark Trends