U.S. patent grants were down 3.5% in 2018 over 2017, only the second decline in the past decade, but the largest. All nations experienced a decline in grants, except China, which was up 12%. The reasons for the declines are unclear. They range from Over-patenting in prior years Uncertainty of newly issued patents Lower return […]
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USTR warns of increasing attacks by China on US intellectual property, including cyber-attacks
January 8, 2019 
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A report released in late November the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) states that China appears to be stepping up its attacks on U.S. intellectual property. “China fundamentally has not altered its acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation, and indeed appears to have taken further unreasonable […]
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Patent litigation is down 41% since 2015; IPRs are lowest since 2014
January 2, 2019 0 Comments
Patent disputes are significantly lower since they peaked at 5,874 in 2015. Litigation tumbled 41% to 3,491 cases in 2018, and was down 14% from the prior year. While litigation is never good, it is not always bad. Not everyone agrees that the drop in patent suits is a positive sign. Some see it as […]
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IP CloseUp surpassed 200,000 views in 2018
December 31, 2018 0 Comments
In 2018, IP CloseUp broke though the 200,000 view level, generating a total of 207,868 on 373 posts since it was first published. Among the most popular posts for 2017: “For Samsung charity begins at ‘home,’ Marshal’, Tx” “BofA, JPM Chase and Morgan Stanley are leading banks for patent loans” “‘Men of Progress’ depicts US’ […]
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How Spotify can survive the size of Apple, Amazon, Google & YouTube
December 18, 2018 0 Comments
The streaming genie is out of the bottle. There is no going to back to CD sales or downloading as the primary model for music revenue. For industry leader Spotify, whose stock has dropped from a high of $196 in July to $120, more challenges lay ahead. Streaming may be acceptable to celebrity artists with […]
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“Know-go” – negative know-how that can be protected as a trade secret is among IP’s most overlooked assets
December 13, 2018 0 Comments
Thomas Edison famously said: “I have not failed. I have just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” After hundreds of experiments with different materials for a long-lasting light bulb filament, Edison, as much as businessman as an innovator, zeroed in on carbonized thread. “At that point,” says James Pooley, author of SECRETS: Managing Information […]
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A responsive patent system requires time and participation: a response to Jay Walker’s IPAS 2018 speech
December 10, 2018 1 Comment
GUEST COLUMN: At the IP Awareness Summit held at the Columbia University on November 29 Jay Walker, entrepreneur, prolific inventor, TEDMED curator and founder of Priceline.com, spoke about a “broken” patent system and need for a Constitutional Convention to fix it. In the following response to Walker’s speech, Brenda Pomerance takes a different view. […]
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To encourage investors the IP system must provide stability and predictability, says USPTO head
December 4, 2018 0 Comments
IP is the engine that makes economic and cultural developments work and the USPTO keenly focused on facilitating this goal. That was the message delivered by Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Andrei Iancu, at the Second Annual Intellectual Property Awareness Summit in New York on November 29. […]
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USPTO Director Iancu, top-ten inventor Jay Walker and IBM’s patent chief + surprises set for IP Awareness Summit this week
November 26, 2018 1 Comment
The IP Awareness Summit 2018 – IP literacy matters The second annual Intellectual Property Awareness Summit is being held at Columbia University in New York this Thursday, November 29. The Summit is being held by the Center for IP Understanding (CIPU), an independent non-profit. This year year’s theme is IP literacy in a digital world. Featured […]
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U.S. cities are attracting a lower percentage of startup capital
November 19, 2018 0 Comments
Several surveys of global innovation have noted that the U.S. innovation edge is slipping, but until now they have not pinpointed where the U.S. share of global tech investment is going and possible reasons why. A recent report detailing which cities today are attracting the most venture capital, Rise of the Global Startup City, states […]
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Et tu, TechCo? Some potential patent licensees should be outed for abusive behavior
November 13, 2018 0 Comments
What is the appropriate response to a legitimate request for patent licensing? If you are an information technology company comfortable taking full advantage of confusion in the patent system, and unfettered by business ethics, it may be tossing the offer in the garbage can — just because you can. Can a business simply ignore a […]
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Costs to establish clear patent ownership are soaring – Here’s why
October 30, 2018 0 Comments
It has never been easy for American innovators hoping to generate a return on their inventions, but new hurdles have made it impossible to license even the best patents. Despite increased availability of capital and access to data, IT patents today have a much more difficult time proving themselves than a decade or a century […]
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About Bruce Berman
Bruce is a long-time IP observer, adviser and editor, who is in close close contact with the leading owners and influencers. He tracks latest trends and developments, and monitors transactions, strategy and performance.
Since 1988 Bruce has been working with IP holders, managers and lawyers, as well as investors, to convey value to the right audiences. In 2016 he founded the Center for IP Understanding, an independent non-profit, www.understandingip.org.
Bruce is responsible for five books, including the best-seller "From Ideas to Assets." He has written The Intangible Investor column for IAM Magazine since 2003. For his full bio, visit www.brodyberman.com or click below.
