How to get more with a smaller IP budget?
Corporate leadership is squeezing IP budgets across the country. This impacts both staffing and overall IP creation efforts. In-house IP management is being asked to file more applications with less staff, under strict budget limitations. For example, several months ago we visited a west-coast client, a U.S. subsidiary of a large multinational electronics company. The […]
TC Heartland Decision and its impact on NPE Litigation Trend
On May 22nd of 2017, the Supreme court of the US issued its landmark ruling on TC Heartland LLC V Kraft Foods, the decision being credited to have changed the law on venue for patent cases. Few months later in mid-November, the US court of appeals confirmed the same, holding that the TC Heartland decision was in […]
GreyFox – A Tool That Helps Sell or License Undervalued Patents
One of the major concerns for corporations is how to sell their undervalued patents. Another concern they face is to increase the value of their good patents as thousands of good patents get abandoned every year just because they mistakenly get considered as patents having no value. We feel this happens because of two reasons: The decision is […]
How not to be a loser in the game of M&A of patent assets?
When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, the incoming IP from the entity being acquired (or merged with) is vital. The concerned authority, in most cases a patent counsel, has to assess the patent portfolio to find its strategic value to the company’s business. Assessing the strategic importance of an incoming patent portfolio has to […]
Why is it important to check the strength of your patent?
Before we move ahead to the topic – importance of checking patent strength, for the uninitiated, here is a definition of the term: What is patent strength? Patent strength, in simplest terms, gives an idea of the survivability quotient of a patent. A granted patent doesn’t always mean that it is novel or can survive […]
How China is going to be the next innovation hub?
IP House, a research group of 30 IP professional set up in 2014, analyzed 5022 out of 5432 cases handled by the Beijing IP Court, one of the three specialized IP court of China. Out of these 5022, 1095 cases were by foreign litigants. This makes 20% of the total cases litigated in the Beijing […]
Visual Memory vs NVidia – What led Federal Circuit Reversed District Court Decision to Declare Claims Disclosing Programmable Memory System Patent Eligible Subject Matter?
Visual Memory sued NVIDIA for infringing its US5953740 patent. NVIDIA in a response filed a motion under Rule 12(b)(6) which was granted by the district court. The district court scrutinized claims of 740 patent under the step one of the Alice Test and found the claims to be directed to the “abstract idea of categorical data […]
When does a Mathematical Formula or a Law Of Nature become patent eligible?
The gist of the verdict: Claims having a mathematical formula or an application of laws of nature are patent eligible if they improve a particular process. If you don’t know, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program under which the US and other allied nation developed a fifth generation single engine aircraft, F-35, for their Navy and […]
A 4-step Process to License your patent portfolio
IP licensing can be a great source of revenue generation for companies with significant patent portfolios. Take Qualcomm for instance, which generates billions in patent royalties every year. Arm Holdings is another amazing example which makes all its revenue by licensing its Intellectual Property solely. This revenue can further be invested to fuel innovation. But […]
Prior art search – 4 Cases where finding reference was next to impossible
Invalidation searches are not a cakewalk. That’s why a lot of time many prior art search service providers or your in-house team fail to return with a result you needed. Weak results or no results lead to weak arguments that hamper your chances to win litigation. Well, it turns out, you can find results if […]
Patent abandonment: IBM’s grant to lapse ratio touched 50% in 2016
IBM received more than 8000 patents last year but at the same time, they also abandoned more than 4000 patents from their portfolio. For the last few years, their patent grant to lapse ratio has been increasing continuously which touched 50.6% in 2016. As we all know that IBM is the biggest patent filer across […]
How Outsourcing Decision Matrix Helps Select Better Vendors?
Often in business, you need to outsource certain tasks to an external vendor – either a freelancer or firm specialized in your vertical. Coming to the decision that you need to outsource a certain task or process is easy. The difficulty lies in deciding a vendor (Partner?) you should hire for the job. Further, if […]
How we found hint of a prior art in PTAB docs during a Patent Validity Analysis?
You will agree when I say it’s not always the hard work that leads you to success. Experience plays its sweet role by equipping you with abilities to make decisions that optimize and simplify a task which may be difficult otherwise. And when you combine such optimization with the art of smart work, you can […]
Patent Acquisition Strategies – Where to find Ideal Patents to Mitigate risks during Foreign Expansion?
Lack of IP poses a challenge of patent infringement not only within the country but also when companies plan to go global – They are welcomed with lawsuits. At such a time, patent acquisition of foreign assignees helps support the goal of having global business operations. Decision-makers, however, face the dilemma of what to do […]
Intuition, Data, Decisions – What bothers C-Level Executives?
I have always imagined C-level executives seated on a giant throne, with an invisible crown made of gold and diamonds, donning a three-piece cashmere suit, the modern equivalent of a silk robe; a Rolex in one hand and infinite power to change things around in another, strategizing with their army of knights, plans, to get […]
Cosmo Technologies Vs. Sun Pharmaceuticals – Why US9320716 May Get Invalidated?
US9320716– An apparent sword in the arsenal of Cosmo Technologies -a subsidiary of COSMO Pharmaceuticals- has been on the battlefield a lot, lately. This weapon of choice, both individually and in combination with others, has been used to rage lawsuits against big pharma companies including the likes of – Sun Pharmaceutical, Mylan Pharmaceutical, Lupin Limited, […]
