IPL&B is Folded into Corporate Counsel

I learned recently that IP Law & Businesses, a decade old monthly published by American Lawyer Media, was folded into another ALM pub, Corporate Counsel. IPL&B was (still is) a well written print magazine targeted primarily to lawyers. It was hurt by IP law firm and practice consolidation, shrunken advertising budgets and higher costs.

What also may have contributed to IPL&B’s demise as a stand-alone is not developing the emerging non-lawyer IP professional and transactions market.

ALM was acquired in 2007 by the UK’s Incisive Media. In September, 2009, I also learned recently from a party close to the situation that Royal Bank of Scotland and Apax Partners, the private equity firm that financed the buyout, took control. Incisive apparently abandoned or was forced to abandon the assets in the wake of performance issues. The 2007 purchase price was $630 million (USD). I believe that www.law.com was a part of the deal and continues to publish under the ALM banner. Before being sold ALM was owned by U.S. Equity Partners, which was headed by Bruce Wasserstein.

Joe Mullin will continue to report for IPL&B, and his incisive The Prior Art blog, which covers patent litigation and other topics, will still be seen online.