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Archive - October 2012
If investors and the C-suite see patents in the wrong way we will all end up the losers
The value of shares in IP pure plays goes up and down. And as this blog has recently noted the movements can be pretty spectacular. That’s because prices are ultimately controlled by investors who may not properly understand what they are investing in: the quality of the assets companies own and how much they are really worth; how they do deals around the assets and leverage them in other ways; income timelines; the vagaries of litigation; and so on. Because of this, both ...
Posted by Joff Wild, IAM Magazine on 30 October 2012 @ 5:38PM
NPEs do not like the UK, but Germany and the new EU patent may be much more enticing
Christian Helmers and Luke McDonagh have produced what looks to me to be the first in-depth research into what they call “patent assertion entities” (PAEs) in the UK. Entitled Trolls at the High Court?, the study explores the number of cases involving PAEs that were heard at the Patents High Court for England and Wales between 2000 and 2008. It finds that there were a total of 15 cases involving PAEs, either as defendants or plaintiffs, in the years examined, representing ...
Posted by Joff Wild, IAM Magazine on 29 October 2012 @ 1:22PM
Patent values will slide because of AIA, says former Federal Circuit Chief Judge Michel
A panel of retired patent judges voiced their criticisms of the America Invents Act (AIA) during a session at this week’s American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) annual general meeting in Washington DC. Paul Michel, former Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, stated his belief that the AIA would negatively impact on the economic value of patents. “The proliferation of post-grant procedures is going to slow things down and increase ...
Posted by Jack Ellis, IAM Magazine on 27 October 2012 @ 1:34PM
The US is the world’s number one when it comes to IP, says Kappos
David Kappos, director of the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), has updated practitioners on efforts to boost efficiency at the agency, as well as progress on the implementation of America Invents Act (AIA) provisions. While the backlog in patent applications has been significantly reduced – even as filings go up – it would seem that IP professionals are approaching new administrative procedures created under the AIA with extreme caution. Presenting at ...
Posted by Jack Ellis, IAM Magazine on 26 October 2012 @ 12:02PM
The patent marketplace cannot escape anti-trust regulators' laser-like stare
There’s a scene in the third film of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy when after having managed to travel incognito through the wastelands of Mordor to the foot of Mount Doom, suddenly the piercing, laser-like gaze of Sauron falls directly on the two heroes, Frodo and Sam; immediately the forces of hell are unleashed upon them. It's a memorable moment and for some reason, whenever I think of the IP transactions marketplace and the globe’s ...
Posted by Joff Wild, IAM Magazine on 25 October 2012 @ 12:20PM
Acacia, a 50% fall in value and an opportunity (or two)
Acacia posted its 2012 Q3 results last Friday and they showed that the NPE generated revenues of $34,939,000, down nearly $30 million year on year; while GAAP net loss was $6,402,000. However, total revenues for the three quarters stood at $184,463,000, up over $20 million on the same period in FY 2011, while the rolling 12 month revenue total stood at $205,258,000, compared to $177,014,000 at the same time last year. Yesterday evening, Acacia’s share price closed at $23.49, ...
Posted by Joff Wild, IAM Magazine on 23 October 2012 @ 2:26PM
New project plans free database of IV's patents and the shell companies which hold them
Patent analytics firm IP Checkups got a lot of coverage last week following its announcement that it plans to create a free online database that will provide details of Intellectual Ventures’ patent portfolio, as well as the names of the various shell companies which hold them. I met up with Matthew Rappaport, managing director of IP Checkups, at the LES annual conference in Toronto and asked him to provide a few more details of what is being planned. This is what he replied: ...
Posted by Joff Wild, IAM Magazine on 22 October 2012 @ 3:50PM
IPXI in final preparations to offer first portfolios to buyers - UPDATE
Slowly but surely IPXI is heading towards the day that it opens for business. Earlier this week I caught up with Ian McClure, who heads up IPXI’s transaction and business development team, at the LES meeting in Toronto, where the exchange was demonstrating how its trading screen will appear and operate. McClure told me that after a 60 day process over the summer, the IPXI selection committee had preliminarily approved nine portfolios that were ready to take to market, with three ...
Posted by Joff Wild, IAM Magazine on 19 October 2012 @ 1:42PM
A new way to solve patent disputes in Asia
Costly litigation is not the only avenue open to companies who find themselves in the midst of a patent dispute. Expert determination can be a useful alternative – either as a standalone solution or as part of a broader resolution process. And for those facing IP battles in Asia, this option has just become considerably more accessible in the region. Singapore’s IP Office (IPOS) is currently rolling out a new service as part of its offering at the Arbitration and Mediation ...
Posted by Helen Sloan, IAM Magazine on 18 October 2012 @ 3:12PM
Patent purchases and R&D spend are simply different sides of the same coin
Last week’s report from The New York Times entitled ‘The Patent, Used as a Sword’ has generated a fair amount of discussion among both pro- and anti-IP camps. According to the piece, 2011 was the first year in which Apple and Google spent more money on patent litigation and transactions than on research and development. But the article doesn’t tell the whole story. Last year, of course, saw both the $4.5 billion auction of bankrupt Nortel’s patents ...
Posted by Jack Ellis, IAM Magazine on 18 October 2012 @ 9:25AM
