Tag Archives: Center for Intellectual Property Understanding

Trade Secrets: “What People Need to Know” — Sen. Coons, IP experts, scheduled to speak May 29

April 17, 2019 by Bruce Berman 0 Comments

Trade secrets, or know-how, frequently in the news, are simultaneously among intellectual property’s most valuable and misunderstood rights.

A luncheon briefing designed to put these essential rights into clearer perspective will be held at United States Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington on May 29 – “Understanding the Secret to Trade Secrets: What People Need to Know Today.”

The briefing is being hosted by the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU) in conjunction with the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC).

The event will clarify (1) what trade secrets are, (2) why they are more important now, (3) how they are used and (4) their impact on innovation, competition and trade.

Panel coverage includes:

  • Trade secrets’ role in promoting commerce and security
  • The hidden value of “negative” know-how
  • How trade secrets compliment patents and trademarks; their drawbacks
  • U.S., China and trade secrets today

In additional to Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Vice-Chairman, Select Committee on Ethics and proponent of IP rights, speakers will include

  • F. Scott Kieff (U.S. International Trade Commission chief, 2013-2017)
  • James Pooley (Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, 2009-2014)
  • Brian Hinman (Aon IP Solutions; former Chief IP Executive, Philips and Verizon, and head of licensing at IBM)

“Trade secrets, or know-how, frequently comprise the most valuable part of a businesses’ IP portfolio,” says Marshall Phelps, former Vice President of IP Business and Strategy at Microsoft and IBM, and a member CIPU’s board of directors.

“Trade secrets can be as important as patents or trademarks. Despite the news coverage regarding IP and China, little known about how know-how works in practice.”

The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) brought trade secret misappropriation under federal jurisdiction.

For the briefing agenda, go here.

To request an invitation, write registration@understandingip.org. Registration is free, but space is limited.

Image source: CIPU; foodsafetynews.com; GIPC

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Cong. Collins & Jeffries, and expert panel, will look at innovation policy and IP on May 8 in Washington

March 29, 2018 by Bruce Berman 0 Comments

WASHINGTON, DC –– What is innovation policy? What does it mean to U.S. competition and jobs? Who is responsible for it?

These are among the questions that will be addressed at an afternoon briefing held by the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU) at the headquarters of the United States Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington on May 8.

The event will feature two leading proponents of IP rights, Congressmen Doug Collins (R-GA) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), both members of the House Judiciary Committee, Sub-Committee on the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet.

“Innovation Policy and Intellectual Property: Building on a Strong Foundation” is being held by the Center for IP Understanding, an independent non-profit, and the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC), a division of the Chamber. Persons interested in receiving an invitation please contact CIPU at explore@understandingip.org.

Preceding the Congressmen will be a panel, “What is Innovation Policy? Why is it Necessary?” featuring leading experts on innovation, IP and the economy, including:

 – Manny Schecter – Chief Patent Counsel of IBM, board member of CIPU and the IPO Education Foundation
– Alan Marco – former Chief Economist for the USPTO and now Associate Professor of Public Policy at Georgia Tech
– Adam Mossoff – Prof. of Law at George Mason University, Center for the Protection of IP
– Robert Atkinson – founder and President of Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), an independent think tank

Discussion Will Follow

A networking break will follow the panel and a reception will take place at the conclusion of the program.

Go here for information about the “Innovation Policy and Intellectual Policy: Building a Strong Foundation.”

“U.S. innovation policy and IP focus are seriously lacking,” said Marshall Phelps, former Vice President of IP Business and Strategy at Microsoft and at IBM, and a CIPU board member. “Other nations take their policies more seriously. The timing is right to dissect what U.S. innovation policy means and how it effects jobs and competition.”

Briefing partners and supporters include the Michaelson 20MM Foundation, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Berkeley Research Group, the Tusher Center for Intellectual Capital Management at UC Berkeley-Haas and Open Invention Network.

Image source: understandingip.org; nesta.org.uk; theglobalipcenter.com; 

 

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IP “literacy” matters – Ideas Matter promotes IP understanding for all

January 22, 2018 by Bruce Berman 0 Comments

A basic literacy about IP rights is everyone’s responsibility. 

While at times complex, patents, copyrights, and trademarks can be widely understood if people are clear about their purpose and who they benefit.

Putting IP rights in perspective is serious business – especially given that knowledge-focused economies place an increasingly high premium on innovation, authorship, and brand.

Ideas Matter, a London-based consortium of IP holders and innovative businesses believes it is necessary to provide audiences more information about why IP rights are important and how it affects people. Recently, it teamed with the Center for IP Understanding at the IP Awareness Summitt in Chicago, to produce a video about the need for everyone to know more about IP rights.

“I think the economies of the world have realized that the market is controlled by innovation and invention,” said Judge Randall Rader (ret.), Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. “That requires research, that requires development of new ideas and resources, and, of course, those investments need protection.  That’s where the intellectual property system pays benefits.”

Ideas Matter released a video of interviews with IP experts and holders conducted at the IP Awareness Summit in Chicago. IPAS 2017 was held by the Center for IP Awareness (CIPU) in conjunction with Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.

For background about the video and Ideas Matter, go here. Twitter: @IP_IdeasMatter.

To view the five-minute video, go here or click on the image above.

Image source: ideasmatter.com

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Center for IP Understanding is started by leading IP execs to raise awareness, improve attitudes

February 21, 2017 by Bruce Berman 0 Comments

The Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU), an independent, unaffiliated non-profit dedicated to increasing IP awareness and improving negative attitudes towards patents, copyrights and other rights, was launched in New York last week. 

As reported in IAM, Law 360, World IP Review and other publications, the non-profit Center for IP Understanding was founded to address the uncertainty among audiences regarding patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets — especially who do they benefit and their impact on new ideas and jobs.

“[The Centre’s] creation is in many ways a response to the battering that IP’s public image has taken over the last several years,” reported IAM blog, “particularly in the US. In that time a series of Supreme Court cipulogodecisions are widely seen to have undermined patent rights; the idea of efficient infringement has taken root; and the ‘patent troll’ narrative has gained wider traction in many parts the media.”

Outreach

Executives and advisors involved in CIPU on the board of directors or as informal advisors include Marshall Phelps (Microsoft, IBM, retired), Brian Hinman (Philips, active), Keith Bergelt (Open Invention Network, CEO), Harry Gwinnell (Cargill, Eastman Chemical, retired), and trade secret expert James Pooley (Orrick).

Also helpful in getting CIPU underway were Judge Paul Michel (Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, retire), David Kappos (Commissioner of the USPTO, retired) and film producer and author Irv Rappaport, former chief patent counsel at Apple and Medtronic, who has generated more than 20 patents, and Jonathan Taplin, a film producer, author and Director Emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab a the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Among the CIPU’s goals for 2017 are a survey of IP awareness and attitudes among the general public and business owners; a research report on trends in media coverage of patent disputes; and a possible joint conference with Duke University on Innovation Policy.

The Center for IP Understanding also plans to provide outreach to educators, parents and business that help to facilitate better IP behavior.

Cultural Shift

“We have entered the ‘free-information’ era, where online content and patented inventions are readily pocketed by those who would never dream of shoplifting,” said Bruce Berman, CIPU Chairman, and CEO of Brody Berman Associates. “Products like music, books, novel designs, inventions and counterfeit goods appear to be there for the taking – or feel as if they should be. Uncertainty about what IP rights cover and their appropriate use compound the problem. CIPU will address these and other issues.”

“IP confusion is costly for consumers and businesses alike,” said Vice-Chairman Marshall Phelps, who is a member of the IP Hall of Fame. “Free-riders – unauthorized users of IP-protected products and works – come in many shapes and sizes. They impact performance and investment, as well as job creation. IP awareness and acceptable behaviors are too important to be left to audiences to decide on their own.”

For the IAM story go here.

For the Law 360 article go here.

For the full launch announcement go here.

For more information about the Center for IP Understanding, please visit www.UnderstandingIP.org. 

Image source: The Center for IP Understanding

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