Attorneys, Are You Getting Quality Prior Art Search Services?

Whenever one gets into a problem, the right thing to do is to identify and apply the best solution. However, one can’t decide if a solution is best unless it is compared with other available solutions. This is applicable across the industry where every client is dealing with a service provider and needs a benchmark […]
Which are the Top Patent Prosecution Firms in Germany?

Encompassed in beautiful alpine ranges, Germany – the second-largest country in Europe – boasts not only of scenic beauty but is also an important hub of innovation. Home to major pharmaceutical and automobile manufacturers, the country has been a center of innovation in Europe for decades. When we are discussing the innovation quotient of a […]
Unitary Patent Court and the Global Patent Market

After traveling together on a long road for 43 years, on 19 Feb 2013, the 25 member states signed a deal to end the regime of the “bundled patent” system by setting up a Unitary Patent Court in Europe. The agreement is a major landmark that will affect the population of 400 million across member […]
Patent Licensing – A Way for Universities to Generate More Revenue

Universities spend billions to provide first-class research and education. To support that spending, these organizations rely on students’ tuition fees and funding they receive from the government/corporations. In essence, revenue generation of universities depends on external factors. Hence, it’s the high time all the universities start exploring new ways to generate revenue from their resources […]
Top Non Practicing Entities (NPEs) Holding Patents in 4G LTE

In our last post in the LTE series Top 50 Innovative Companies of 4G LTE, we shared that Qualcomm is one of the top innovators in this space, filing a maximum number of patents in the 4G LTE domain. It was not surprising at all, as the company is already a prominent player in the communication sector. […]
Patent Monetization Mistakes Most Businesses Are Collectively Making

In business, the cost is everything. As such, in drafting and prosecuting patents, the lowest-cost provider usually wins the business. While this approach may well result in obtaining patents at a lower cost, it does little to create real value from a patent portfolio unless that is your sole strategy – to collect many patents […]
The State of Innovation in Australia

Traditionally, the Australian economy has been highly dependent on mining operations and farming. Although consistent innovation is happening in the mining sector, the other sectors are being hugely neglected. In comparison with the other OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, R&D investment by both private and government entities is low in Australia. Often […]
Why Image Analysis is Important in A Prior Art Search?

In today’s consumer-centric world, satisfying a clients’ needs is the primary goal of any company. When it comes to prior art searches, there is only one thing that can satisfy a client: a relevant prior art. Thus, as a searcher, finding a relevant prior art is of utmost importance, and for that, we cannot limit […]
Patent Commercialization: Are You Considering Non-Infringing Alternatives?

Often, parties involved in patent infringement lawsuits are either unaware or they often fail to consider non-infringing alternatives. However, non-infringing alternatives could be a game-changer during litigation, as it has the potential to cut down royalty costs and could often help assess the value of the patent infringed. Moreover, it can serve as a value generation […]
Why 90% of Patents Are Valueless?

After several years as a commercial litigator, a few more years with a prominent IP (intellectual property) firm in Washington, D.C., I spent a fair amount of time as in-house patent counsel to a small licensing and IP monetization firm. In my position, I had the opportunity to review hundreds of patent portfolios that were […]
Invalidating Patents using Non Patent Literature – A Valuable Source of Prior Art

Every day, as we take a step at making our life more digital, we facilitate digitization of our knowledge. Hundreds of documents, on a regular basis, are getting scanned, listed, indexed and made searchable through various portals. The interesting fact is that this increasing and untapped potential of non-patent literature (NPL) as prior art is […]
Why You Need A Strong Prior Art Search?

Are all prior art searches equal? No. Some only apply to the United States. Some will also include foreign patents. And others will include searching for non-patent literature. As the focus of the patent search expands, so does its costs. So, even if a competent search is conducted for prior art in the United States, […]
The Art of Smart Patent Filing – Strategies Inspired from Sun Tzu

Stephen King once said, “Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.” Some books are written in such a way that the more times you read them, the more secrets you uncover. One of those books is Art of war by Sun Tzu. The one size fits all book. Every time you read […]
A Patent Prior Art Search is More Than Just Providing References!

Time and again, the prior art searches we conduct teach us new lessons. These lessons not only help us add new rules to our little black book of prior art searching but also point us to the true north. They teach us that possibilities are unlimited and we will eventually find what we are looking for. An […]
7 Patent Monetization Mistakes You Should Never Make

9 out of 10 patents fail to generate value for their respective owners. These patents don’t get implemented in products, nor do they find any licensing opportunity in their lifetime. Does that mean that 90 % of patents are useless? No. Some of them could be, but not all. Most of that 90% of […]
A Ray of Hope Under The Alice Decision

The recent verdict of Motio Inc. vs. Avnet Inc. has come up as an accurate example of bypassing invalidation based on the Alice decision. Background – Avnet challenged Motio’s U.S. Patent No. 8,285,678 stating that it claims an abstract idea and cannot be patented as per Alice ruling. US’678 is directed to “version control” of […]