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Independent Invention

February 6th, 2010 Posted in Copyright, European Patent Litigation, French Patent Litigation, German Patent Litigation, Patent Trolls, UK patent litigation | No Comments »

Is “independent invention” a cure against trolls in that it can be argued that infringement cannot be established in case of an “independent invention”? No it is not. A  lot of confusion, misunderstandings, half-truths, nonsensical quasi-lawerly talk exists around the term “independent invention“. The term is often “spittered” about as means against patent infringement actions by NPEs or patent trolls, but has no basis in patent law and lacks a common understanding and agreement on what it means as it is often used in a nonsensical way. Read the rest of this entry »

How Sun Tzu Would Outflank Patent Trolls

January 22nd, 2010 Posted in Patent Trolls | No Comments »

The debate about patent trolls or NPEs is not slowing down and more voices are heard every time about how patent trolls can or should be addressed. David Wanetick of IncreMental Advantage has very specific advice to companies dealing with trolls. He suggest diverse tactics – inspired by Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese military strategist – to counter patent trolls. As can be expected if you take “The Art of War” as guidance, the suggestions are all based on the presumption that patent trolls deserve to be defanged. How interesting and thoroughly worked out this view is - click here to read his advice – we do not necessarily agree with this one-sided view.  Much of what is being presented as a “problem” Read the rest of this entry »

Patent Lull

January 11th, 2010 Posted in European Patent Litigation | No Comments »

Entering the new year we thought it time for some intellectual reflection on the current stage of patent litigation in Europe. Those reflections come from a idiot savant, as we are out of patent litigation in Europe for some time now and much what is being brought up may also have to do with being out of the litigation loop and hence may have colored our view on what’s going on in Europe at this time. For years patent litigation in Europe was seen by many as convoluted, cumbersome and fragmentized. Rightfully so. The patent practitioners, in response, brought creative solutions and innovative ways to expedite proceedings, to improve predictability and make Europe a true “single”  Read the rest of this entry »

Year End’s Wishes for 2010

December 27th, 2009 Posted in Patent Policy, Patent Strategy | No Comments »

2010 fast approaching it’s a good time to reflect on the past year and come with some good intentions for the New Year. Almost a decade ago we were hyped by fear of a Millennium Bug as a potential apocalypse of the Internet and IT systems. Google was still in its infancy and the social media technologies were in an embryonic state compared to today’s ubiquitous facebooking, twittering and blogging. In the ten years that have passed the technological and communications landscape have changed with 350 million users[1] worldwide on Facebook and Qzone (Facebook’s equivalent in Asia) with 200 million users[2] in China alone. Read the rest of this entry »

Patent Cliffs and lessons from 60 years pharmaceutical innovation

December 21st, 2009 Posted in Innovation, Patent Management | No Comments »

warning signEvery now and then the ipeg blog pays attention to innovation. Although some of our readers think this is not something for a patent blog (we recently were commented by a known blogger in the US that ipeg could not be counted among the top ten patent blogs as we publish not solely on patents and not ‘frequently” enough[1]), we think innovation is a subject worth paying attention to for a patent blog. Weren’t we told at university that patents spur innovation, a long held adagio that seems to be increasingly questioned these days, but that aside. Read the rest of this entry »

FRANDly EU decision in Rambus case

December 17th, 2009 Posted in Licensing | No Comments »

approvedThe recent European Commission decision on Rambus’ alleged antitrust behavior provides interesting insights in what royalty rates offered by Rambus can be regarded as “fair”, “reasonable” and “non-discriminatory”. The antitrust proceedings dealt with the licensing behavior of Rambus Inc. after the adoption of the DDR RAM industry standard by JEDEC. To implement the instructions of the DDR RAM standard, Rambus’ technologies – which are included in this standard – are essential. Read the rest of this entry »

Copenhagen Climate Conference and Patents

December 8th, 2009 Posted in Patent Policy | 2 Comments »

co2 written in the clouds in a clear blue skyThis week, 34000 people gather in Copenhagen to meet delegates from every corner of the world and to negotiate pressing climate issues. So what have patents to do with this? The conference builds on the discussions and agreements established in Rio de Janeiro (1992), Kyoto (1997), Hague (2000) and Bali (2007). If previous climate meetings dealt with issues such as setting greenhouse gas emissions targets and avoiding deforestation, this year’s conference focuses even more on how “climate changing technologies” should be managed among others, from a intellectual property and technology transfer point of view. Read the rest of this entry »

Patent Brokers and their Headaches

December 4th, 2009 Posted in Patent, Patent Management | 1 Comment »

Cheat_000006782161XSmallAssume you are a patent broker. You are being approached by a party who is extremely enthusiastic about his patent, it’s the invention that will change the world, where anyone has been waiting for or that multiple parties use (read: infringe). However he tried to sell himself but he either did not get any bid, or thought the bids he did get were too low. So, he engages an IP broker. As any broker works in the world, he only takes the job if he thinks the patent is sellable, that there is a market. The broker will require a small upfront amount to cover the initial administrative costs as well as a percentage when he succeeds to sell. So far so good. Read the rest of this entry »

China drafts all-out national standards IPR policy

November 25th, 2009 Posted in China, Patent Policy | 1 Comment »

Standard_000007952416XSmallChina’s standard setting organization (Standardization Administration of China, or SAC) posted a draft new patent regulation (“Regulations for the Administration of the Formulation and Revision of Patent-Involving National Standards (Interim) (Exposure Draft)”. Industry concerns, mostly from outside China have been expressed. Especially the provisions of the articles 8, 9 and 13 cause concerns that companies have to licence their IP below market value. Read the rest of this entry »

IP Rankings, Credential or Kiss of Death?

November 18th, 2009 Posted in Patent Management, Patent Policy | No Comments »

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In the IP Legal World Top Ten Lists are a staple of a culture obsessed with ranking. The IP legal world (patent attorneys, IP trial lawyers and their European counterparts) are used to do whatever it takes to show up on Top Lists of Best This And That, simply to stay competitive, to be known and, most of all, to get recognition from peers. Whether customers in fact choose any of their IP counsel by exclusively relying on those Top Whatever Lists is, as far as we know, the Big Unknown. Surely, many corporate counsel will check whether their choice who to represent them Read the rest of this entry »

Can Sweden bring political IP unity before year’s end?

November 15th, 2009 Posted in EPLA, Patent Policy, UPLS | No Comments »

Business people standing with hands togetherWith just a little more than a month left of the Swedish EU presidency, it is time for some reflection. What has been achieved in the case of the intellectual property system during the last 6 months? The Swedish government said it would drive progress towards the much debated Community Patent and the Unified Patent Litigation System (UPLS). So, what happened? Despite years of discussions on the topic of harmonizing the prosecution and enforcement procedures of European inventions, we are still a long way from seeing white smoke billowing from the chimney. Alleged claims of cost savings of up to €289 million with an UPLS and increased patent power Read the rest of this entry »

Is Nokia to turn the tables in the standards game?

November 10th, 2009 Posted in German Patent Litigation, Patent Policy | 5 Comments »

Finish_iStock_000006627709XSmallLately patent infringing issues arising from implementing standard compliant products are catching the news media, among which in Europe the decision in Orange-Book-Standard by the German Bundesgerichthof (BGH). In the US Nokia sued Apple for producing it top selling iPhone compliant with the telecommunication standards GSM, UMTS and the networking standard WIFI, alleging 10 Nokia patents infringed. While these patents have been licensed by 40 other companies, including all major vendors of mobile devices, only Apple has refused to agree to Nokia’s “appropriate” licensing terms. Highlighting its R&D costs, Nokia wants a fair reward for its IP. Read the rest of this entry »

Patent Plutonomies

November 2nd, 2009 Posted in Patent Policy | No Comments »

No Access_000009556527XSmallMichael Moore’s new movie, “Capitalism – A Love Story” provided us the inspiration to blog about Patent Plutonomies. Ajay Kapur, (former) global strategist at Citigroup, and his research team came up in 2005 already, with the term “Plutonomy” to describe a country that is defined by massive income and wealth inequality. According to their definition, the U.S. is a Plutonomy, along with the U.K., Canada and Australia.  In a series of research notes, Kapur and his team explained that Plutonomies have three basic characteristics: Read the rest of this entry »

Germany Speeds up Patent Proceedings, remaining EU jurisdiction of choice

October 13th, 2009 Posted in German Patent Litigation | 1 Comment »

OldBooks_000002891011XSmallAs of 1st October we see a few but substantial changes in German patent procedural law. Let’s pick the most interesting. Considering the pre-eminent position of Germany as a favourable patent jurisdiction in Europe its no wonder the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, “BGH”) was flooded with patent invalidity cases (roughly 200 pending cases for 2009 with an estimated duration 4 to 5 years each). Many in and outside Germany agree this time frame must be lowered to let Germany prevail as a jurisdiction of choice. Read the rest of this entry »

Patent Bubble

October 8th, 2009 Posted in Finance, Licensing, Patent Policy, Patent Strategy, Patent Trolls, Valuation | No Comments »

Bubble_000008984194XSmallOver the years patent build up could go without repercussions for the patent “market”. Let us say the market for supply and demand for patent rights. Initially, during the 1980s and early 1990s this was because Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean companies took licenses from European and US patent owners. Then the Korean powerhouses came up, well  placed to take over the consumer electronics market but low on IP.  Taiwan had its own policy but was not afraid of buying strategically, be it a lot less then Korean companies.  Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t Like a Blog, Sue It

September 25th, 2009 Posted in Patent Policy, Patent Trolls | No Comments »

Flipping the Bird - Furious Audrey with Cat EditionNot many things gets emotional in Patent World it seems, except when it comes to NPEs, Patent Trolls and Those Who Oppose or Defend Them.  When emotions run high and words come out fast, the pen can be much sharper than the tongue. That experienced Rick Frenkel, a lawyer and the (former?) director of IP litigation at Cisco who outed himself as the author of the widely-read Patent Troll Tracker blog. The blog follows companies said to holding patents solely to sue for infringement. (Now the blog can be read only by invited members)[1]. Read the rest of this entry »

Green-Orange-Red, the German Orange-Book decision is putting industry on alert

September 14th, 2009 Posted in German Patent Litigation, Patent Policy, Patent Trolls | 1 Comment »

downtown stoplight 3 packThe recent German Federal Supreme Court ruling Orange-Book-Standard (BGH, 5/6/2009 – KZR 39/06) seems to be a strong attack on one of the core features of intellectual property rights: the provision of an injunctive relief in (patent) infringement proceedings. In the context of standardized technology the Federal Supreme Court concludes that an injunctive relief is exposed to the widely known “competition law defence” under special circumstances. It may result in Germany being a NPE walhalla. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel for industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Patent Integrity

September 7th, 2009 Posted in Patent Management, Patent Trolls | No Comments »

“Integrity” Road Sign with dramatic clouds and sky.CIP Forum 2009, currently held in Goteborg, Sweden, covers lot of IP management issues from valuation, open innovation and the relationship with IP, and of course contributions where the Patent Troll prominently appears as the bad guys. No IP forum these days can go bye without at least at some occasion hit on the trolls. Patent trolls or NPEs (Non Practicing Entities[1]) are bad, as they do not innovate, is what we learn. True or not, it misses the point. We like to compare NPEs with Real Estate management companies (“Agents”). Property developers are creating new (real  estate) property, the Agents are not. True again, but, so what? Read the rest of this entry »

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