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There’s a lot of lip service given these days to ‘aligning IP with business goals’. Most times there’s no indication at all about how to do that or any of the practicalities. One practical matter that comes up time and again is around the goals themselves. Specific goals allow more room for compromise or pivots in the approach used to obtain what really matters. Putting it another way, an indirect strategy… Read More
There is no doubt that CEOs are gaining a greater perspective on IP. There is also no doubt that the key question a CEO will want to know about IP is whether his enterprise has a patent or trademark to defend anything considered important at the moment. If his attorneys say yes, then that may be all he wants to know – trusting that the people employed to handle IP matters will… Read More
Over the weekend I collected and read all the posts that I have written in my two years with Think IP Strategy straight through to pick out the common threads. In doing so one element popped out at me, and I include it here within our list of mistakes. This is the failure to lead. The IP legal profession tends to attract a fairly conservative lot. That has made industry transformation… Read More
Even in the midst of drafting this blog post my To Do list seems to be winning its race with me. It’s a dual metric race, because I have to balance speed with precision to catch up, more like driving in a hurry through a city than an open highway. I should be good at this, because a significant part of my own practice within the team practice of Think IP Strategy… Read More
Monetary concerns are some of the most common issues out there for IP managers. These concerns stream from limited budgets and the need to balance those limited budgets with comprehensive global protection (from filing IP to assertion, defensive litigation actions and other). Let’s face it, there is always something more that can be done…one more patent filed, one more country covered, one more report requested…. The situation should make getting the most… Read More
Throughout some of my recent discussion with different companies and indeed one of the reoccurring themes since I have a started studying and working in the IP field is how to guide the organization towards capturing IP value and how to effectively do this on an on-going basis. Most often an asset deemed to be “valuable IP” would fall into one or more of the following categories: assets required for the company… Read More
Ok, I get it that lobbying can be an important part of an overall strategy and so hats off to those who have created some fog around a seemingly broken patent system. However, things have gone just a little too far now – and unfortunately all of the hyperbole is focused on the United States. To summarize Kenneth Lustig’s recent Forbes article on the topic: (and thanks to David Kline for sending… Read More
The strategic principle behind this mistake is one of the classics of strategy. IP is opportunity and not exploiting an opportunity, especially a hard won opportunity, means to make an investment and not seek a reward. IP can be used within product solutions, it can be licensed, or it can otherwise be used to shape relationships with customers, partners, and competitors. It will foster useful interactions or keep others from competing where… Read More
This is a metaphorical question of course. It represents another universal issue in strategy. Renowned generals throughout history have shown a propensity to win great battles, but fail to win their wars. Sports teams make big plays, run up the stats, but don’t win their important games. Talented chess players give masters a run for their money, but just can’t attain mate. It happens in IP also to apparently talented IP professionals. … Read More
Millions of dollars are invested every year in protecting new ideas through intellectual property – for many however the strength of these intellectual property rights is still largely misunderstood. Probably the most common mistake related to the strength of IP has not so much to do with the strength of the right itself but with the owner’s perception of what it means. An IPR will not give you the complete and utter… Read More
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