Marie-Louise's picks, May 2009

Here are my picks of the intellectual property news, analysis and opinion that broke in the blogosphere and internet over the past month and most captured my interest. I also give my pick of the upcoming IP events to pencil into your diary for the month ahead.

In early April, Neil Wilkof at IP finance wrote a very interesting post ‘The end of Encarta, the innovator’s dilemma, and the tragedy of the anti-commons’ reporting on Microsoft’s decision to cease production of Encarta encyclopaedia software. The post looks at Wikipedia’s impact on the market for encyclopaedia software and considers the applicability of Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive technology and Michael Heller’s concept of the tragedy of the anti-commons. I cannot add anything to the article other than to say it is brilliant and well worth a read!

Most patents worthless?

Another great post from Jackie Hutter at her IP Asset Maximizer Blog, ‘The "Dirty Little Secret of Patents" is that Most are Worthless to Their Owners. Here is Why’ and some very thoughtful and interesting comments following. Jackie makes the bold assertion that ‘most’ patents are worthless and reasons that this results from fact that ‘patent professional’s incentives are typically aligned with the legal process itself, not the business value obtained from the patent rights’. Whether or not you agree with Jackie’s assertion regarding the volume of worthless patents, it offers a timely reminder to keep hold of the reins and to keep your eye on the prize, which is of course to extract maximum business value from your ideas. 

Event – Create a Winning Incentive System for Tech Transfer Staff

In this live audioconference to take place at 1:00-2:30 (EDT) on Friday 29 May, Emory University’s Todd Sherer, PhD, will show you how to craft your own incentive-based compensation plan and will explain the tremendous benefits of a good compensation plan to TTOs. For further information, go to Technology Transfer Tactics.