THE IP PLAYING FIELD BLOG beta
Who's Who and Why You Need to Know

Angelina Jolie versus Robert Kearns

Image Source: www.people.com

In life you need to make some pretty tough choices. On an international flight I had to choose between the latest Angelina Jolie movie or A Flash of Genius the story of the inventor of the intermittent wiper blades and his lawsuits against the Big 3 and other car makers for patent infringement.

I think I made an excellent choice. The movie is a must see for any inventor as it shows just how hard it is for a sole inventor to make a deal with a major corporation and what happens when the corporation infringes on an inventor's patent.

As a patent attorney, inventor and entrepreneur, I watched the movie with great intensity. I had lived through similar experiences and could really feel for the inventor Dr. Robert Kearns.

A few take aways from the movies:

1. Don't ever put all your eggs in one basket - negotiate licensing agreements with several companies at the same time - not one after the other

2. Get the best possible experts to help you - Kearns' investors and advisors were neophytes and worse - were doing business with the big 3 and could not risk going to battle with them.

3. Take the money - Kearns was offered $30 Million by Ford during the trial - Kearns turned it down because there was no admission of infringement by Ford. Kearns ended up with a verdict of $10 million. Better to take the money and help other inventors than to risk everything for an admission of infringement

4. Make sure you have a paper trail - Keep great records, prepare and send meeting summaries with everyone you meet during any licensing discussions. You never know what will end up happending a few years down the road and you certainly will not remember everyone you met with and what they had to say

On the flight back home - its a no brainer - Angelina Jolie -- unless of course there is a new flick about patent trolls . . .I think Hillary Duff would make a great troll

How To Make Money From Your Patents and IP

Image Source: www.alliedexecutive.com

There are numerous ways to make money from your patents and IP. Money making routes include:

1. Licensing

2. Creating a new company from scratch around your IP

3. Selling your IP

4. Spinning your IP out of a Corporation or University

5. Litigation Finance

6. Royalty Monetizations

7. M&A

The key is to know the advantages and disadvantages of each route and to determine which route is best for your particular situation.

The best way for you to learn more about each route is to visit the section of the IP Playing Field Roadmap where we discuss each in detail.

You can also follow the Roadmap and you will get to both firms that can help you get to the money and firms that will give you money for your IP.

To Sell Your Patent or Not to Sell Your Patent -- That is the Question

One relatively quick and easy route to making money from your patent is to sell it outright. You get cold, hard cash and walk away.

Until a few years ago, selling your patent was very difficult as there were no real mechanisms in the marketplace for buying and selling patents.

This has changed in a really big way. Now, there is a whole new industry for buying patents comprised of companies that will buy your patents directly from you, and a slew of patent brokers who can help you get the best deal.

However, out of all of the options you have for making money via your patent – selling your patent outright is the only one where you have no upside. Yes, you get money for your patent – but keep in mind that the buyer expects to make money as well.

You need to weigh all of your options very carefully before deciding to sell and this is one of the reasons we created the IP Playground – so you can know all of the routes for making money from your patent and then decide accordingly.

So, please visit the money making routes in the IP Playing Field and then you can make the best possible – and most educated decision on whether to sell or not.

Reminder - Ocean Tomo Live Patent Auction

Ocean Tomo will return to The Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, site of its first live IP auction, for the third time to kick off IP Markets 2009. The Spring Event, which will take place on March 26-27, 2009, includes a one and a half day conference focusing on cutting-edge IP-related issues, a Gala Dinner at San Francisco City Hall, and of course, the Live IP Auction.

The Event is well attended by approximately 500 IP and business professionals, including Fortune® 500 IP and licensing professionals, C-level executives from small and mid-size companies, investors, individual inventors, attorneys and press.

For more information and to register click here.

IP Deal Making Tip (3 of 101)

Tip number 3 out of 101 is:

Be a Bulldog

Image Source: www.sporthorsephotography.net

What does this mean? Never give up and never surrender. The Deal must happen and you will make it happen.

Don't confuse this with with being patient. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. However, you need to know how to wait -- but not how to quit! If the deal is really important to you (and it should be or you would not be doing it - see deal tip #1) then you must never rest until all avenues have been exhausted.

Real Life example: We found the perfect company to license our invention. Really win-win. The problem was that we could not get a meeting with the Executive we wanted to champion our invention. We tried everything - flowers and candy for his secretary, email, snail mail, Express Mail, phone calls, begging, you name it we tried it.

We really believed in our invention and that it was truly a win-win deal. So we built a very basic model, flew across the Atlantic and just showed up at the company’s main headquarters. We sat in the lobby all day demonstrating our invention to anyone in the company's lobby and to employees of the company who were wandering in and out.

We brought our own lunches and took separate bathroom breaks (the receptionist would not let us in or call the Executive, but she gave us lots of coffee).

Finally, after several hours, the Executive we wanted to meet ushered us in to his offices . . . and the rest is history.

The moral to the story is if you really believe it is a good deal for both sides - never give up and keep trying until the deal is done -- no matter what it takes.

IP Deal Making Tip (2 of 101)

As you can see from the title, we plan on providing at least 101 deal making tips for your IP related ventures. As you can see from the picture -- our second tip is:

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

What does this mean -- focus on your goals and objectives in doing the deal and don't worry about side issues or what the other side is getting. You need to know what you want out of the deal and have a continuous laser like focus on your objectives.