(Editorial note: This is a repost from this blog over 2 years ago, but the content is more relevant than ever. On January 20, 2010, I am participating in a Yet2.com webinar with Ben DuPont and Jason Lye where we will be sharing our thoughts about marketing technology to "non-traditional" technology buyers, many of whom come to the table because they are adopting Open Innovation into their product and technology development processes. I thought this "classic" post would be a good overview for anyone of my viewpoint for those who find my blog as a result of this event. For regular readers, well, I hope you enjoy this too. I will post a link to the recorded webinar when it is available. ) Open Innovation is unquestionably becoming a “hot” area of focus for U.S. companies, especially in the current economic climate in which businesses are more
Companies Adopting Open Innovation Must Incorporate Patent Information at the Front End
Read This to Become a Better Patent Attorney or Agent (Crosspost from GameTime IP Blog)
(Editorial note: My friend Patrick Anderson, proprietor of the great GameTime IP blog, recently met someone who wrote the Don't File a Patent book. As a patent attorney, Patrick was greatly affected by what inventor John Smith--yes, his real name--experienced in his journey in obtaining and enforcing his patent and trademark rights. While most of us would probably not agree with Mr. Smith's apparent blanket advice to inventors that a patent is never the right course to take, his negative viewpoint can be instructive to those of us who want to better understand our client's objectives to create greater business value for them. Very often the relationship between those who toil in the "foxholes" of the patent world do not stop and think about the expectations and desires of those for whom they are working so diligently. For solo inventors and small companies, investment
False Patent Marking Lawsuit Update: A Tale of Successful Defense Strategy
In November, 2010, I wrote a blog post where I talked about a client who was sued for false marking, even though they had months before the suit changed the packaging of their product. We subsequently obtained a good result with our litigation strategy, and I think others may benefit from this experience. Moreover, I think it is important for we lawyers to share strategies for the overall benefit of our respective clients. This is not done enough: we legal experts all-too-frequently provide sagely advice from the comfort of our own siloed client experiences. For the past 3 years as a blogger, I have been working to build a more public dialogue on IP strategy, and did not want to let this opportunity go by to let others know of a successful strategy in dealing with a false marking litigation. (I feel comfortable sharing my experiences with this litigation,
Success at Open Innovation Requires Finding the Right Partners: Here’s How to Improve Your Success Rates
With more companies building open innovation into their product development platforms, there would appear to be increasing opportunities for companies and independent IP owners to sell or license their technology. In my many conversations with corporate innovation professionals, I find that that the desire to in-source externally developed products and technology may be strong, but few know how to go about finding and acquiring what their companies need. As I have written about before, developing fruitful open innovation relationships is very much like dating: you may want to do so, but unless you know where to show up, and how to initiate conversation, chances are you will remain single for a long time unless you engage a matchmaker. Well, I guess you could be your own "matchmaker" and search for potential partners. This is easier today than it used to be because many corporations have idea submission portals and a