We have discussed the importance of intellectual property and the questions that Boards of Directors should ask about their company’s IP. These questions are really an “as is” assessment. What are we spending on R&D—actual and relative to competitors? Are we harvesting the output of R&D and turning it into intellectual property to benefit the stakeholders of the company? These questions are just the beginning.
Categories: IP Research, Boards of Directors, Time Horizons
To this point, we have discussed the importance of IP and the high level questions a Board of Directors should ask Management. These questions cover a wide range, believe it or not. It’s never so simple as simply knowing which patents the company holds, though many Boards leave even that much to the IP lawyers. We started with the deep dive into research and development, with questions such as:
It’s easy to assume that a company has a good process in place for determining what to patent. Unfortunately, this is often not the case—even for large companies with resources. Certainly, some inventions should come from planned research and development.
Understanding how efficient the Company is in generating and capturing inventions is one measure but boards of directors should be asking if the Company is patenting the right things, i.e., what is the Company’s intellectual property strategy?
The question of the moment concerns technology pioneer, Apple. Will they boon or bust? Chances are they will be just fine, with a few hurdles to overcome first. And even though we may have thought we were closer to a corona vaccine than we actually are, all is not lost. We will still have dinosaurs on phones.
In our last installment, we discussed the absolute and relative spend on research and development, and how Boards should certainly be sure to keep watch over these expenditures.
Categories: R&D, Boards of Directors
For decades, boards of directors held to the adage, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” That standard business expression seemed cut out specifically for intellectual property and other intangible assets. For that reason, most companies have a poor track record of crafting IP strategy and managing their intellectual property assets. Boards of directors simply didn’t think of intellectual property as a business tool. Instead, it was something for the lawyers to handle.
Categories: R&D, Patents, Boards of Directors
A lot of people—too many, perhaps—learn about investing in startup companies by watching shows like Shark Tank or Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch. Sure, the investors pictured do sometimes end up offering money in return for a stake in one of the companies. And sure, some of those companies go on to experience success they might not otherwise have enjoyed. For the most part, however, these shows are a bit of fantasy created and played out on television for the sake of entertainment.
Categories: Patent Analysis, IP Investment
