http://www.theluzzattoblog.com The Intellectual Property Marketplace is becoming crowded and complex. More and more players are entering the marketplace -- bringing with them capital, expertise, new services and business models for making money from IP. The growing number of players and choices is making it harder and harder for IP owners of all sizes to figure out to the best way to profit from their IP. That is why we started this blog. enghttp://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=112 A friend of mine - Alexander Poltorak, CEO, General Patent Corporation has written an excellent piece on patent enforcement which has been published by Industry Week. According to Alexander every business owner and manager needs to know the DO's and DON'Ts of patent enforcement. He provides a det...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=111 iPad included in patent infringement suit From CNET A company that has already sued Apple over a patent on zooming and scrolling on a mobile Web browser, is now adding the iPad to the lawsuit Monday. EMG Technology, a company based in Los Angeles, sued Apple in November 2008, claiming that it...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=110 $135 Million Left On The Table at ICAP Ocean Tomo Auction!! I recently attended the ICAP Ocean Tomo Patent Auction. I have to say that I not only had a great time, but saw first hand the advantages of the auction and other ICAP Ocean Tomo tools for selling patents. There are two main takeaways f...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=109ICAP Ocean Tomo IP Think Tank & Live Auction I will be attending the ICAP Ocean Tomo IP Think Tank & Live Auction Event taking place onMarch 24-25 in San Francisco, CA. I am really excited about this particular auction not only because of the IP being auctioned, but also because of th...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=108I will be attending the ICAP Ocean Tomo IP Think Tank & Live Auction Event taking place onMarch 24-25 in San Francisco, CA. I am really excited about this particular auction not only because of the IP being auctioned, but also because of the IP Think Tank Sessions, and other sessions surro...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=107 Free Webinar: What? Google Has Already Patented That Online Advertising Idea? Having just returned from visiting Google in Mountain View, I was very happy to see this invitation to a seminar on Google's online advertising patent portfolio. The seminar is sponsored by Sunlight Research and the we...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=106 From China Daily China received more than 976,000 patent applications last year, up nearly 18 percent year on year, according to the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO). The figure included patent right of invention, utility model and design. Nearly 90 percent of them were domestic ap...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=105 From TorrentBomb For the 17th consecutive year, IBM has earned the most US patents of any company with 4,914. The next closest was Samsung with 2,906. Together with this years acquisitions, IBMs mountain of patents numbers more than 30,000. The sheer volume of IBM patents may have ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=104 From CNN The Great Recession has created more opportunities for inventors, several industry insiders say. Alan Tratner, who has run an inventors workshop since 1971, says he's seen a surge in calls from companies seeking the latest hot idea. He says companies are looking because they're t...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=103 Licensing your invention can be very lucrative -- if you knowhow to approach just the right company. For help on this, please go the IP Playing Field. If you mange to get a company interested in licensing your invention, then you better know as much as you can about Royalties - because in most ca...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=102 From Business Week Who are the patent champs of 2009? Samsung and Toyota, of course. But would you have guessed Mondobiotech, a Swiss company that specializes in fermentation? Patent volume doesnt equal innovation. But all these Excel spreadsheets do suggest where inventiveness is...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=101 From Business Journal Paris Hilton and her shoe company, Antebi Footwear Group, have been sued in federal court in Seattle by a New York shoe company, alleging patent infringement. Brooke Hollow Inc., which does business as Gwyneth Shoes, is suing the celebrity actress and Antebi in U.S. Dist...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=100 In our quest to provide you with 101 deal making tips, here is tip #7: Make Sure You Have An Industry Comparable! In licensing your selling your IP, a critical determinatiion will be the valuation and/or the potential royalty rate. Most entrepreneurs try tocreate all kinds of spread sh...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=99 The Patent Librarian's Notebook is reporting that Free Patents Online is now offering a very cool Patent Mapping Service. The Patent Mapping Service utilzesiventor and assignee city data from 3 million US patents and published applications and then combines them with a map of the US generat...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=98 I was interviewed at the recent Globes Israel Business Conference on why Israel has become a patent hub. Please check out the article that contains snippets from my interview....http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=97 From CNN Money Patent filings fell in 2009 for the first time in 13 years, worrying Silicon Valley that it is losing its place as the leader in global innovation. The number of patent filings in the United States fell 2.3% in 2009 to 485,500 from 496,886 last year, according to a prelimina...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=96 Recession Spurs Growth In US Patent Marketplace From WSJ For the first time in more than a decade, U.S. companies and inventors grappling with the recession filed fewer patent applications this year. But companies struggling with tight budgets also increasingly discovered that patents can be luc...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=95 Latest U.S. cleantech weapon: patent acceleration From Cleantech Group In taking aim at clean technology and its job and wealth creation benefits, America has added another weapon to its arsenal. And unlike the big guns of cleantech stimulus spending (or the Joint Strike Fighter, say) it shouldn...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=94 IP Deal Making Tip (6 of 101) In our quest to provide you with 101 deal making tips, here is tip #6: Make Sure The Final Decision Maker Knows Who You Are!! This happens over and over and in both capital raising and licensing. You start the deal making process with an Executive and you spend...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=93 Hidden away on a patent incubator site called IP Holdings, is a great resource called All Things Patent Here you will find:: 1. Glossary of Patent-Related Terms: Definitions of the most common terms in the patent infringement litigation lexicon. 2. Patent Infringement Litigation News: News ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=92 IP Deal Making Tip (5 of 101) In our quest to provide you with 101 deal making tips, here is tip #5: What Business Are You In? Ok, so you have decided to create a new company based on your IP. Good for you. The first question you need to ask yourself is: What Business Am I In? Why? Because kn...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=91 From Ynet The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations located in Geneva, has decided during its annual assembly meeting, which took place over the weekend, to recognize Israel as an International center for the search and testing of patents. The...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=90 Israel Still Ranks High on Patents, Despite Slump From The Mideast News Source Israel maintains its position as the top country in the Middle East filing for patents, despite an overall downward trend, shows UN report. A United Nations report on patents ranked Israel top among other countri...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=89 The People's Republic will surpass the U.S. as the world's leading intellectual property marketplace From Forbes In 2008, more than 800,000 patent applications were filed with China's State Intellectual Property Office, by far the largest number received by any patent office in the world. In the...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=88 From Business Insider The Eastern District of Texas is known as a hotbed for patent litigation. This week, however, the Court hosted a defamation trial - involving an attorney who blogged anonymously about patent litigation. Texas attorney Eric Albritton sued Cisco and former Cisco attorney Ric...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=87 From Reuters: Zoltar Satellite Alarm Systems of Tiburon, CA has engaged Pluritas, LLC, a San Francisco-based firm that focuses on intellectual property transactions, to conduct an auction of all of its patents on location-aware devices using cell phone and Global-Positioning-System (GPS) techn...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=86 From newspostonline Michael Jacksons family may heave a sigh of relief since the application to trademark the name “Neverland” has reportedly been withdrawn. Jacksons father Joe previously lashed out at proprietors of his sons Neverland Ranch for applying for a...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=85 Sunlight Research is presenting the latest in its "Pesky Patents" Seminar Series: Six Programs on the Most Litigated Patents in 2008. In a free webinar to be held Thursday, September 10, 2009 12:00 PM - 1:00 AM CDT they will discuss Pesky Patents owned by Rates Technology and Network Signatures....http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=84 From the Ny TImes Research shows that having patents helps young technology companies get venture capital financing. The proposed changes to the patent system might undermine investor confidence in the effectiveness of patents, which could cause them to cut back on the financing of new companies ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=83 In our quest to provide you with 101 deal making tips, here is tip #4: Keep your cool and play it very cool. Patience is really a virtue in IP deal making.This is especially true if you are trying to license your IP to a major company. Remember, your IP is the center of your universe -- but in r...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=82 I have met with so many inventors who believe that their pending patent is enough for them to enter into a licensing agreement with a company in the particular field. Please, inventors understand once and for all that a pending patent s never enough. You need much more. A real life example - an...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=81 From the Globe and Mail interview with Mosaid CEO John Lindgren: (Q.) What's an intellectual property development company? (A.) We monetize intellectual property. We have over 1,700 patents and applications now which has doubled from a couple of years ago. The majority were filed f...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=80 Techdirt wrote a great piece stating that the Segway invented by world-renowned inventor Dean Kamen, failed because it focused on invention rather than innovation. This is very interesting because I am sure that most inventors do not really know the difference - or why the differenc...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=79 From the Jerusalem Post: Let's see: There are reality programs (online and on TV) that purport to pick the best singer, the best dancer, the best chef, the most agile traveler, the nicest house makeover, the most adept survivor, who can eat the most disgusting stuff, who gets the fanciest Sweet 1...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=78 Licensing is becoming more and more important to Corporations Accoring to an ipPerformance Group survey, corporate intellectual property strategies are becoming more sophisticated including the growing importance of licensing initiatives. One hundred and eight companies participated in the 2009 ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=76 Kudos to my friend and colleague Ronen Sasson who just won a major trademark victory in Israel. Ronen represented Opet Petrolculuk A.S a Turkish Company in an opposition against Opel. The Israeli Registrar of Trademarks rejected an opposition filed by Opel against the registration of ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=75 During a meeting with serial entrepreneur and investor Mike Berman, we discussed the expectations that inventors and entrepreneurs have when starting a new company around their patents and IP. I told Mike a few stories about how most inventors have such high expectations -- like throwing a prov...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=74 If you have patents and other IP you would like to license or sell, maybe you should consider HOT IP. Hot I.P. is a regular e-bulletin presenting technologies from universities and research institutions around the world. According to the company, all submissions are judged as top-echelon, v...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=73 There is a new source to help you sell your patents and IP. Yet2.com the premier online marketplace for patents and IP is now also helping companies and inventors sell their IP and patents anonymously. According to Yet2.com, their new practice for anonymous patent acquisition was devel...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=72 Global Changes: An Opportunity for Israeli Biopharma R&D In front of a standing room only crowd, Dr. Kfir Luzzatto delivered a very informative and entertaining presentation at the BIOMED Israel Conference For those of you that could not attend, please email me - michaeln@luzzatto.co...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=70 For those of you planning to attend BIOMED ISRAEL 2009 We would like to invite you to a special presentation by Dr. Kfir Luzzatto, Senior Partner of Luzzatto and Luzzatto Patent Attorneys, entitled: “Global Changes: An Opportunity for Israeli Biopharma R&D” A Special Brea...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=69 Seth Godin -- probably the best marketing guru ever - wrote a great piece on joint ventures versus licensing. The entire post can be found here Basically, Seth Godin says that there are 2 reasons joint ventures fail. The joint part and the venture part. Because all ventures are risky, we ha...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=68 In a book I highly recommend called Winning, Jack Welch, the legendary former CEO of General Electric provides a detailed section on strategy -- which includes a section dealing wtith Licensing. In the section on competition and strategy, Mr. Welch provides a series of slides that hel...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=67 WWW.INTA.ORG Visit our booths at INTA -- Booth numbers 835 and 837 We will answer any questions you may have about Trademark filing in Israel and on Intellectual Property Protection in Israel. Looking forward to seeing you soon!! ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=66 Are you trying to commercialize your patents and IP? Having trouble? Thought so. Potential investors, buyers, licensees -- the money people - see great IP everyday and are enundated with offers to buy, invest in or license IP -- ad nauseum. If you want to commercialize your IP and get the money ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=65Profit from your patents and IP via R&D Licensing Companies You have cutting edge IP which can provide a paradigm shift in your industry. One lucrative and creative way for you to commercialize this IP is via an R&D Licensing Company. R&D Licensing Companies are highly industry speci...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=64 For updates and more information about how to make money from your Patents and other Intellectual Property - follow us on Twitter: @ipplayingfield ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=63 Technology Transfer Tactics -- a great resource for technology transfer - is offering a pretty good deal on an audio conference dealing with royalty monetization. What I like about the audio conference is that the participants have real life experience in the most recent royalty monetization deal...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=62 Ok, you have a great idea and maybe you even applied for a patent application. However, before you think about spending time and money marketing your invention - ask yourself these questions. If you can answer them honestly, you will know if you should proceed -- or not. 1. Did you conduct a pate...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=61 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 ma...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=60 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 Fina...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=59 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 chang...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=57 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 ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=56 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. Howe...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=55 Image Source: The BBC 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 a...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=54 As you can see from the title, we plan on providing at least 101 deal making tips for your IP related ventures. Our very first tip is: It is better to negotiate the right deal badly - then the wrong deal well! For example, if you decide to sell your patent, it is better for you to negoti...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=53 LISTEN, LISTEN LISTEN Let the other side talk Mark Twain said it best: "if you are talking your not learning!...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=51 Found this great article on Inventors at Radio Man's Blog. Here are some highlights: Segway scooter inventor Dean Kamen freely admits it: He often suffers sleepless nights wrestling over whether to quit a project that's not panning out. Knowing when to quit a fruitless project is difficult, s...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=50 A prominent feature of our blog will be to answer questions submitted by our readers. Please feel free to submit your questions and we will answer them as quickly as possible. Question: What is the biggest mistake a patent owner makes when licensing his invention? Michael: Tough to come up wi...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=49 A prominent feature of our blog will be to answer questions submitted by our readers. Please feel free to submit your questions and we will answer them as quickly as possible. Question: I read your post on companies raising money during a recession and while it gave me some confidence I am sti...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=47 The most important step in obtaining the best possible IP protection is to choose the best possible intellectual property attorney. Choosing the right patent attorney is one of the most important decisions you can make in protecting your invention. Here are some tips to help you choose the bes...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=46 Ok, you want to license your invention to a major corporation. You find the right person at the company, contact her and arrange a meeting. Good for you. Now, do you want to screw this up big time? If you do, ask her to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). A major player will never, ever, sign...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=45 When pitching your invention to companies, dont focus on you and your invention. Don't focus on the patent issues and don't focus on the money you want. Instead,show specifically how your invention will help the particularcompany grow and prosper. Always keep in mind this q...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=44Is Your Invention a "Have to Have"? I divide inventions into three categories: 1. Me too 2. Nice to have 3. Have to have If your invention is not number 3 have to have it will be very difficult to license. While most inventors think that there invention is a have...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=43 In my almost 2 decades of experience workng with inventors, I have found that the following are the 3 most common mistakes inventors make when they try to license their inventions. Hopefully, you will learn from their mistakes -- I did. Inventors conduct strategic planning for the lice...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=39 Google's CEO Eric Schmidt gives his take on Intellectual Property protection in this video. Pretty insightful stuff -- if you ask me ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=38 The following ten commandments have helped companies develop business plans for internal use -- and to raise millions of dollars. These rules (commandments) should act as your guide in your quest to develop the best possible business plan. I . I Am Your Business Plan. Think Me Thro...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=36 Dr. Kfir Luzzatto reveals his tips for an economically sound IP management, which will help you navigate through lean times. These are difficult times for IP owners. The economic pressure they feel daily is inevitably passed on to the patent law firms that manage their intellectual property. Face...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=34 Once you have your business plan ready, the next step is to use it as a tool to raise money. Raising money from venture capitalists and other professional investors can be a daunting task but it can also be exciting and even fun. You really should not be intimidated e...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=33Many Great Companies Were Formed During a Recession! Common wisdom says that nowis probaly one of the very worst times to raise money. But don't let that stop you. Many great companies were formedduring a recession.These include: HP GE Sports Illustrated Trader Joes MTV CNN ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=32 This post will conclude our series on creating the best possible business plan for your start-up. Our final topic is your financial projections. Financial projections that must be included in every business plan include cash flow, revenue, and profit and loss statements. All of the forecasts must...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=29 Your Management Team will play a critical role in both growing your startup and in helping it raise money. Investors typcially like to "bet the jockey and not the horse" This means they will invest in an "A" team with a "B" technology and not the other way around. However, having a great manage...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=28 As we continue with the 4 P's of marketing, we call upon marketing guruSeth Godin who has added an exceptionally important new P to the list: Purple Cow. Seth came up with this new P as follows: "While driving through France a few years ago, my family and I were enchanted by the hund...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=24 What Is a Business Model? Quite simply, your business model is how your company will make money. By answering the following questions in detail, you will be able to develop a viable business model for your company: 1. What is your value proposition? 2. Who are the specific customer...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=23 The Market Analysis and Competition Block isprobably the most difficult section of the business plan. While it is difficult, it is also crucial for several reasons. First, for internal use, you must determine your precise market, the status of the market, and how much of the market you...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=22 Our quest for making money from your IP via creating a new company continues . . . Our topic is creating the best possible business plan for your start up. The focus of this post is to provide you with thebasic building blocks of a business plan.We have included them for demonstrat...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=21 12 Tough Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Prepare YourBusiness Plan Thebusiness plan development process is a dress rehearsal for the real world. Dont take it lightly. Throughout the entire process, you will have to objectively and realistically answer tough business ...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=20 If you think you can be a successful entrepreneur and want to create your own company from scratch, the first thing you need is a business plan. Why? In today's highly competitive, fast-paced, global business arena, if you fail to plan you are planning to fail. Successful companies grow an...http://www.theluzzattoblog.com/showpost?p=19 Greetings. Today we begin a series of posts that will teach you how to make money from your Intellectual Property (IP). There are numerus ways for you to make money from your IP - ranging from selling you patent to creating a new company from scratch. We start our series on making money with the...