A very exciting IP global meeting just finished in Portugal, with approximately 500 IP professionals and companies from around the world, and many of the leading figures from the largest IP deals in recent past, USPTO, EPO, academics, politicians and others. IAM did a fantastic job with speakers, logistics, details, as everyone has come to […]
Insights
Patent Quality in Chicago – Companies with the Highest Quality Patents Issued in 2011
My team recently completed an analysis of Chicago’s most innovative companies in 2011 for Crain’s. It was non-trivial to tease out exactly which companies should be considered – those with Chicago headquarters, even if innovation was somewhere else, those with headquarters elsewhere but innovation in Chicago, small, big, etc. Once we had the list, we […]
Intellectual Property Strategy Comes Alive Over Breakfast in Chicago!
I just finished the last of four exciting breakfast discussions on Intellectual Property Strategy – Houston, Denver, St. Louis and the finale of this round in Chicago. The purpose of the meetings was to share best practices, talk openly among intellectual property owners, attorneys, professionals and service providers, and set the agenda for the next […]
Jim Malackowski Discusses Likely RIM Suitors on CNBC Today
News broke after the market closed yesterday that Blackberry Smartphone-maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) had engaged bankers to assist in a strategic review of business and financial performance. This announcement came as part of a business update warning shareholders of an upcoming first-quarter operating loss. Referencing recent billion dollar patent sales by Nortel and […]
Will Facebook Grow Into Their Valuation?
Everyone knows the metrics by now, the end of Facebook’s first day of trading: Market Cap = 112.6 bln.; 107x last twelve months (LTM) earnings; 26x LTM revenue. That’s a whole lot of expectation to fulfill. How will Facebook grow into that valuation? What is discussed most frequently is the addition of a next generation […]
Patents for Humanity – New USPTO Humanitarian Initiative
On Wednesday I watched as David Kappos announced the USPTO’s new humanitarian initiative – Patents for Humanity. “Innovation is 99% about failure, which is expensive,” Kappos said. He’s completely right. It is difficult to disseminate knowledge due to the high costs associated with the current patent system. The barriers of entry – both time and […]
Spurring Economic Growth Using Intangible Assets
I have long noted that although the U.S. IP market is the envy of the world, not enough attention has been paid to the role of governmental policy to further our leadership edge. This is troubling in light of the oft reported efforts of European, Asian and now the Mid-East efforts to build a technology-based […]
Did Google buy Motorola Mobility Primarily for its Patents?
Google (GOOG) agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility (MMI) for $12.5 billion this last summer. Many analysts are puzzled as to why GOOG offered so much, for a business whose sales are a far distance behind Apple and profit margins well below its own. MMI issued a new warning that its smartphone sales are slightly up […]