Value Of Intellectual Property Research Articles

Business value of Intellectual Property in Biotech SMEs: case studies of Lithuanian and Arizona’s (US) firms

The paper presents the limited quantitative and qualitative analysis of the biotechnology industries in Lithuania and Arizona (US) focusing on the role of intellectual property for the business income of the small and medium firms (SMEs). The paper also discussed theoretical aspects of the role of intellectual property in the biotech SMEs, presents empirical data on the SME intellectual property holding, employment and income data in Lithuania and Arizona based on the conducted case analysis. In depth analysis of the intellectual property, employment and revenue profile and correlations of the selected biotechnology firms are provided. Case analysis focused on patents, which are dominant and easy to study public form of intellectual property in biotechnology firms. Arizona biotechnology firms were found to especially capitalize on patents, even if the number of employees is small, while in Lithuania biotechnology firms appear to lack clear focus on on patents and instead have non-innovative intellectual property, such as trademarks. This trend is the strongest in the small firms (by the number of employees). Analysis suggests that business value of intellectual property is much higher in Arizona, and is not sufficiently ascertained in Lithuania. Analysis also shows that biotech SMEs in the US benefit from the patent focus and derive significant business value from patents, while the benefits of dispersed approach to intellectual property in Lithuania are uncertain. The authors suggest that biotech SMEs in Europe may benefit from focused patenting.

The USPTO Trademark Assignment Dataset: Descriptions and Insights

Attention to the asset value of intellectual property (IP) has traditionally concentrated on high-value patent sales and licenses. This narrow focus neglects non-patent assets held by a broader set of economic agents, such as trademarks, and overlooks the evolving ways owners are employing and monetizing their IP assets. To help remedy this deficiency, the Office of Chief Economist of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is releasing a series of datasets in formats convenient for researchers. This paper describes the USPTO Trademark Assignment Dataset, a database of 786,931 assignments and other transactions recorded during the 1952-2013 period and affecting 4,197,645 trademark registrations or applications. Since these data have not been commonly used, we provide a comprehensive description, present key trends, and examine the rate of transaction for issued registrations. Trend analysis suggests intensifying trademark collateralization as the number of trademarks recorded as collateral to secure debt has increased in absolute terms and relative to the stock of live registrations. The number of trademarks for which an assignment was recorded has also grown, though this trend appears to be reversing in the last decade. Among the 3.4 million registrations issued during the 1978-2013 period, 31 percent were affected by some transaction over their life; 21 percent changed ownership; and 12 percent were affected by a security interest agreement. While further empirical work is needed, transaction rates by registration cohort suggest that registered trademarks may be more likely to be traded than patents. Further, we do not find a positive relationship between the incidence of trade and maintenance, suggesting that trademark assignment and maintenance outcomes may not follow the pattern observed for patents. Despite some limitations, these data open new avenues for research, particularly with respect to trademark collateralization and the market for brands.

The Necessity of European Harmonization in the Area of Trade Secrets

Albeit often being considered as ugly duckling or stepchild of intellectual property in the past, the subject of trade secret protection has increasingly gained more and more importance. The desire to guard the sweeping economic value of intellectual property, and especially of trade secrets, prompted action by the European legislator. The recently adopted Trade Secrets Directive is aimed at harmonizing key aspects of civil trade secret protection in the EU by providing uniform definitions and requirements as well as minimum standards for procedures and remedies. In a first step, this Thesis evaluates whether this harmonization is necessary at all given the existing domestic legal regimes and the minimum requirements enshrined in TRIPS. After identifying that there is indeed a detrimental fragmentation in the EU with respect to trade secret protection, harmonization on European level proves to be desirable and imperative for advancing the internal market and cross-border activities. To be successful, however, the Trade Secrets Directive must be capable of adequately and effectively introducing an improved and comprehensive European regime on trade secrets. Therefore, the scope and content of the Trade Secrets Directive are critically assessed. Particularly, the limited reach of harmonization is highlighted. Furthermore, key substantive elements of the Trade Secrets Directive are examined with a focus on their impact on the approximation of national laws. In the end, the European legislator did create a level playing field for trade secret protection in the EU – but it is a flawed one.

Analysis of the Disposition of Intellectual Property Cases by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board of India

The establishment of a specialized Board to deal with IP appellate matters was to ease the burden off the shoulders of the various High Courts before which, such appellate matters previously, would lie. The value of intellectual property, unlike tangible property, depreciates with time. Considering the economic significance of intellectual property delay in disposition of cases leads to loss of IP value. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board was established for the speedy disposal of Intellectual property matters. The present study analyses and reviews the performance of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board based on empirical study of the cases between 2003-2011.

A paradigm analysis of valuation of intellectual property

Over the past two decades intellectual property has become a concern and there are certain controversies about the recognition of intellectual property (IP), how will one value, protect and what are the potential benefits to the stakeholders. There have been several issues concerning IP for different stakeholders, the purpose for which IP is being used for; whether, for the licensing, transfer pricing, acquisition, accounting, taxation, fund raising, infringement issues, competitive analysis, external reporting, strategic management of IP, exploitation and management of IP. The aim of the present paper is to divulge various issues that come in the ambit of intellectual property, the recognition of intangible assets and how does it relate to the value maximisation of different stakeholders, what are the impediments to recognise IP, the valuation issues and methods, how reliable is valuation of IP and the relevance and reliability debate. The paper explores different methods and concepts used to measure the IP asset, and thereby, present conceptual frameworks for the valuation and management of IP.

К вопросу об имущественном подходе к оценке объектов интеллектуальной собственности

Рассматриваются вопросы использования практических методик оценки стоимости объектов интеллектуальной собственности методами имущественного подхода в современных условиях хозяйствования как меры затрат, необходимых для полного воспроизводства или полного замещения объекта с учетом его износа.

Intellectual Property in Personalised Medicine

The economic value of intellectual property associated with prognostic and predictive tests is being increasingly recognised, such that some tests with established impact on healthcare pathways can command a premium reimbursement price from payers. Here we examine a number of seminal cases where the economic value of key tests has been hugely affected by the rulings and counter-rulings of the American justice system, with further impact on European and other markets.

MACROECONOMIC EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS OF INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY, IMPLEMENTED IN THE PRODUCTION OF SPECIAL PURPOSE

Proposes a methodological approach and system of indicators allowing to assess the effect of its implementation of special purpose products in foreign markets. Developed tools for assessment of state income from the disposal of the intellectual component of high-tech (knowledge-intensive) products for special purpose, developed in collaboration with the designer. The toolkit is based on the analysis of the results of intellectual activity, as well as on decomposition of the analyzed equipment and the allocation of essential properties of its individual elements. To assess the value of intellectual property applies the cost plus method. The use of the proposed methodological tools provides the correct reflection of the intellectual contributions of all parties involved in the creation of high-tech products.

Intellectual Property Valuation: Asset Strength Approach (Evaluation of the Strength of an Asset Against the Commercial Technology Covered by the Asset)

Intangible assets include intellectual property (IP), such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc. There are numerous reasons for valuing intangible assets, and different approaches have historically been employed. The historical methods of IP valuation share a common drawback ─ the failure to critically evaluate the IP per se. The IP valuation approach set forth herein utilizes both a critical evaluation of the strength of the IP, as well as a market analysis of the key (or “target”) technology covered by the IP. The market analysis yields a value of the key technology. A critical evaluation of the IP is then carried out. For the critical evaluation, the IP (e.g., patent) is carefully reviewed to determine how well (or poorly) the IP covers the key technology, and how strong (or weak) is the underlying IP. The strength of the IP is evaluated by carrying out a detailed and exhaustive due diligence review of the IP and a freedom-to-operate (FTO) clearance review of the key technology. The asset strength approach for IP valuation is unique in that it includes an assessment of the strength/weakness of the underlying IP.

Getting to ROI: Rights metadata and the smart content life cycle

Calculating return on investment (ROI) on individual content assets has long been a dream of content companies. Even the most sophisticated media and entertainment companies cannot be exact about how much a piece of content has made in the past and what its lifetime value might be. However, some companies are doing a lot to create rich data about their content assets by investing in systems that track content usage, and by creating metadata not only to describe the content but also to provide rights, financial and usage data that can be linked to the binary content asset (ie the photograph, video or music). Storing rich metadata in databases rather than in Excel or offline will help content companies to know, protect, value and monetise their content efficiently and broadly. Predictive analytics, machine-readable licensing, and ultimately complete content ROI will all become more important to media and entertainment companies competing in the complex digital ecosystem, where optimising channels, territories and platforms is becoming more crucial. Transparency into what content performs better than other content, and how much to invest in content will lead not only to short-term monetisation opportunities, but also to intellectual property value creation for content when companies look to sell and need to point to the quality of their metadata to prove the worth of the company overall.

Strategic alliances for advanced materials' intellectual property value chain: research and technology organisation's perspective

Intellectual property value chains (IPVCs) comprise exploratory studies, laboratory demonstration, field tests, transfer and/or commercialisation of technologies. Strategic technological alliances (STAs) between different organisations aim at strengthening the IPVCs. This phenomenon has influenced research and technology organisations (RTOs) due to their important role in the IPVCs. Characteristics of technology area, e.g., advanced materials technology (AMT) for this paper, play a crucial role for such alliances. An RTO shall be responsible for arranging complementary assets during exploratory studies, laboratory demonstration and field test stages, while commercialising entity shall be responsible for assembly of complementary assets for competitive manufacturing and marketing. In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop two-step process including: 1) assessment of the level of technology development using intellectual property development indices (IPDIs) for advanced materials technologies; 2) proposing a matrix to assist RTOs in identifying the useful partners from industry, academia and R&D.

Fermentation Control in Baker's Yeast Production: Mapping Patents

AbstractDuring baker's yeast manufacturing, the fermentation process must be thoroughly controlled. This review of the patent literature provides new information on the early development of industrial fermentation processes. As shown by a review of 199 patents filed between 1900 and 2009, inventors in this field were mainly interested to improve yeast yields through the control of infection and sugar concentration in the growth media. Contrary to common belief, much attention was also given to continuous culture processes, involving addition and withdrawal of growth media. These technologies were mainly developed in about 30 y, between 1910 and 1939. In the recent years, inventors gave sustained attention to the fine tuning of fermentation control, mainly the rapid determination of yeast fermentation by‐products in the exhaust to get rapid feedback on the rate of sugar addition in the fermentation tank. Improved fermentation control benefited much the baking industry because baker's yeast had higher gassing power and was cheaper. However, some of these key patents on baker's yeast technology were later declared invalid in court because it had little intellectual property value. In the baker's yeast trade and other sectors, this situation might have encouraged trade secrets while reducing the credibility of innovative ideas disclosed in the patent literature.

Seven Reasons Why Trade Secrets Are Increasingly Important

As technology reshapes the way we live and work, propelling the American economy toward one based on informational assets, trade secrets have never been more important. The ascent of the importance of trade secrets has unleashed an unprecedented boom in litigation, in legislation, and in media and scholarly attention. It has produced damages awards in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and prompted federal authorities to pursue aggressive criminal investigations. The author, an experienced trade secrets litigator, identifies seven factors behind this phenomenon: (1) digital technology; (2) a mobile workforce; (3) the rising value of intellectual property, of which trade secrets are a part; (4) the widespread adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act; (5) trade secrets’ flexible definition; (6) an increase in international threats; and (7) the shifting calculus between whether to pursue patent or trade secret protection. Whether each of these factors will continue to fuel trade secret growth remains uncertain; societal norms fluctuate, political winds shift. But taken together, these seven trends suggest that the business of trade secrets will only assume greater importance in the years ahead. © 2012 David S. Almeling. † David S. Almeling is a Counsel at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in the firm’s San Francisco office. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of O’Melveny or its clients, and it should not be relied upon as legal advice. 1091_1118_ALMELING_WEB_110612 (DO NOT DELETE) 11/6/2012 5:27 PM 1092 BERKELEY TECHNOLOGY LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 27:1091

Intellectual property law and the Single Market: the way ahead

The value of intellectual property as a way for companies to generate income through the licensing, sale, or commercialisation of products or services protected as intellectual property is now well established. At the macro-economic level, the importance of intellectual property is also recognised. As underlined in the 2011 Communication from the European Commission,1 appropriate protection of intellectual property is an essential factor for sustainable and integrative growth in the European Union and for the competitiveness of the European economy. Intellectual property is therefore seen as a key element in order to reach the targets of growth and employment of the Single Market. According to the study carried out in 2013 by the European Patent Office (EPO) and by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), acting through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property rights, IPR-intensive industries2 are shown to have generated almost 26 % of all jobs in the

For Those Playing along at Home: Four Perspectives on Shared Intellectual Property in Television Production

Television audiences and fans are increasingly enrolled in the co-production of the television experience. Return-path communication enabled by digital media allows show producers to gather real-time market data about audiences, as well as to solicit creative input from audience members individually and in aggregate. This transformation is not without its challenges: audiences and producers must negotiate shared ownership of the televisual product. The intellectual property implications of interactive TV are therefore considerable: who owns the intellectual property in shows with substantial audience engagement? How can we locate and ascertain the value of intellectual property added by viewer contributions? The authors propose four definitions of intellectual property through which to examine the status of viewer creativity: legal/regulatory, entrepreneurial, accounting and communitarian. The authors conclude that each definition on its own is insufficient to aid strategic planning, so a new model of programme-as-platform is proposed for TV companies working with interactive IP.

The USPTO Trademark Assignment Dataset: Descriptions, Lessons, and Insights

Attention to the asset value of intellectual property (IP) has traditionally concentrated on high-value patent sales and licenses. This narrow focus neglects non-patent assets held by a broader set of economic agents, such as trademarks, and overlooks the evolving ways owners are employing and monetizing their intangible assets. To help remedy this deficiency, the Office of Chief Economist of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is releasing a series of datasets in formats convenient for researchers. This paper describes the USPTO Trademark Assignment Dataset, a database of over 785,000 transactions recorded during 1952-2013 affecting almost 4.2 million trademark registrations and applications. We provide a comprehensive description and present key trends, showing that among registrations issued 1978-2013, more than 31% were affected by some transaction during their lives, 21% were transferred to different parties, and 12% were involved in at least one security interest agreement. Examining transaction rates by registration cohort, we find evidence that registered US trademarks may be more likely to be traded than are US patents. Other trends and findings are discussed. Despite limitations, these data open new avenues for research, particularly with respect to trademark collateralization and the market for brands.

The Role of Intellectual Property in Developing a Knowledge-Based Society

A long-time dominant position of protective features in the intellectual property (IP) rights has been neutralized by their commercializing possibilities. Patents, trademarks and other forms of IP are increasingly being seen as trading assets rather than protection agents. The economic approach to intellectual property emphasizes the material value of intellectual property, which can be appropriated only if that property is used economically, regardless of its actual legal protection status. National institutions dealing with IP rights need to have a continuous service-oriented approach with developing new and specialized services to facilitate the needs of societies which tend to base their competitiveness on the strength of knowledge they possess. The process of transformation to a knowledge-based economy demands that companies fully understand and take advantage of the IP system, which is where business support institutions can provide assistance. A contribution to the increase in the use of the IP system by Serbian companies in recent years can be attributed to the introduction of new services by the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia.

Exploring a Sense of Intellectual Property Valuation for Indian SMEs

As intellectual property (IP) has become an integral part of business strategy, the valuation of these assets has become more and more critical. Consequently, the strategic decisions of Indian SMEs also increasingly depend on understanding the economics affecting the value of these assets and most crucially appraising the approximate value of their IP. In this light, the paper reviews the principal approaches and methods used to evaluate an IP asset and proposes a framework to help the Indian SMEs to select an appropriate approach for effective valuation of their IP. In the background, paper discusses various scenarios where IP valuation is required and needed for SMEs and also explores some problems and issues generally faced/reported by the Indian SMEs in IP valuation. Further, the paper examines the broadening set of channels through which SMEs can exploit their IP. The paper provides five constructive building blocks (descriptions of IP assets, valuation purpose, influencing factors, valuation premise and Standardizing IP valuation) for Indian SMEs to choose a viable approach. The paper concludes that the selection of an appropriate method depends upon the circumstances surrounding the valuation, including the type of IP being valued, the purpose of valuation, the basis of valuation and most importantly the availability of information. The clear understanding of the underlying assumptions and theories behind the various valuation methodologies will assist the Indian SMEs greatly in negotiations for the sales or licensing of their intellectual property.

Integrated marketing communications in the commercialisation of intellectual property

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is an approach to increase sales of a product by concerted actions in various promotional channels that achieve synergy. IMC has been applied extensively to consumer products. This paper shows that IMC is a valuable tool for the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP), e.g., patents and know-how, in a business to business (B2B) setting, that is for the commercialisation of patents and other types of IP. The value of IP depends strongly in its perceived value or utility for the business-customer, which can be conveyed in an advantageous way bv IMC. Hence, this paper addresses a new strategy for the successful commercialisation of IP. Patent marketing can increase the value of a patent or patent portfolio can be significantly. The business case is the central building block for IMC of intellectual property (IP). An important aspect for inventors is to keep in mind that it is not the technical sophistication of their innovation which brings them success, but its market. Marketing is a key for IP commercialisation.

Brand as a key intellectual property value from the consumer perspective

The purpose and object of this paper is to explore the essence of the concept of value and brand valuation as important intellectual property of an enterprise and to identify the key elements for managing its value in order to retain the existing and win new customers, to increase the market share, sales revenues, profits, and eventually to contribute to the increase of the enterprise value and the level of overall business competitiveness. The aim of this paper is to identify, based on the analysis of different methodologies for valuing brands from a consumer perspective, their strengths and limitations in order to improve and facilitate their application in the practice of enterprises and specialized marketing agencies. The methods of analysis and synthesis were used in the research. The structure of the paper consists of several units. First, the concept of brand and brand value is explained. After identifying the dimensions of brand value, the author's attention is focused on the direct and indirect methods for determining the value of the brand to consumers. The results of this research reflect in identified strengths and limitations of the analyzed methodologies for valuing brands, as well as recommendations for their practical application. The above results of research are aimed at the improvement of certain methodologies and their effective choice by the marketing managers in order to identify the brand value and manage it, with a view to increase intellectual capital and improve competitive position of the enterprise. .