By Sam Wiley and Adam Falconer Introduction Gaming is big business, involving unique opportunities and challenges. In the gaming ecosystem, there are technology and hardware companies, production companies, investors and publishers, content owners, consumers, and of course developers, designers and artists. As the lines between mobile app development, social gaming and traditional gaming continue to […]
Invention harvesting
June 5, 2013 by 1 Comment
By Donal O’Connell To invent: To invent means to produce or contrive something previously unknown by the use of ingenuity or imagination. An inventor is therefore someone who invents, someone who devises some new process, appliance, machine, or article. When a new product appears, the person who first thought of it, and who first defined […]
In Defense of Patent Trolls
May 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
By Ian Maxwell In this essay I will avoid using the term ‘Non-Practicing Entity’ because I am sick of hearing the ubiquitous ‘pejorative’ associated with the explanation of relationship between the terms ‘Non-Practicing Entities’ and ‘patent trolls’. Let’s just call a spade a spade – they are patent trolls. This is not to say that […]
Apple v Samsung: The War Over “Cool”
May 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
By Neil Wilkof Last August, we published a blog post–“Apple v Samsung: Don’t Take Your Eyes Off the Brand and User App Ball” (here) in which we questioned whether Apple’s successful verdict in suit against Samsung would be a game changer in the smartphone world. Views were heard far and wide than the case would have […]
IP CloseUp 30 is a handy tool for those who want to track the most active IP stocks in an instant
April 24, 2013 by 2 Comments
By Bruce Berman IP CloseUp is pleased to announce the IP CloseUp® 30 a free, all-in-one information update of the leading patent stocks. A click or a tap is all investors, innovators, lawyers and or businesses to track the ups and downs of the rapidly expanding universe of IP-sensitive stocks. In addition to Acacia, WiLAN and Virnetx, smaller players like Marathon Patent […]
The Rebranding of Blackberry: Of Geese, Ganders and Keys
April 18, 2013 by 1 Comment
By Neil Wilkof As probably many Kat readers are well aware, Research in Motion (RIM) issued three announcements at the end of January—one large, one medium and one small (sort of like the egg rack at this Kat’s local grocery) here. First the “large”—after much anticipation, the company announced the launch of the BlackBerry10 smartphone […]
Patent Valuation and Baseball Players
April 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
By David Wanetick It appears that patents and baseball players share the same value curve. Similar Life Expectancy: The statutory life of a patent is 20 years. Twenty years is about as long as you can expect a baseball player to last. After studying the 5,989 position players who began their careers between 1902 and […]
Is a patent troll watching your business now?
April 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
By Ray Felts and David DiGiammarino You’re a venture capitalist. You just invested in a promising startup, e-Widgets. The future looks bright. Suddenly, out of nowhere, e-Widgets gets a certified letter in the mail. The letter claims that the company’s flagship software is infringing on an existing patent. Instead of focusing on innovation that e-Widgets […]
What Exactly Does Intellectual Ventures Do That Seems to Bother (Some) People?
April 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
By Neil Wilkof There are few companies in the IP firmament that attract as much as pro and con as Intellectual Ventures, here and here. Since its establishment more than a decade ago, this privately-held company has engaged in a combination of carrying out internal R&D, partnering with research entities and acquiring patent rights (apparently […]
Is Traction the New IP for Startups? Maybe Not for Yours.
March 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
By Jackie Hutter “Traction is the new IP.” This emerging mantra results in many startup CEOs eschewing the traditional path of patent and other forms of IP protection. While I am aware of no rigorous studies conducted to date, anecdotal information indicates that startup entrepreneurs are increasingly saying no to patents, and likely to other […]
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