public domain

Airborne Contagion: Intellectual Property Analysis of iBio, Inc.

On February 29, 2012, iBio, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, announced the issuance of a patent on an influenza virus vaccine. As a result, iBio’s stock increased over 10% during a time when the overall market was declining – proving, yet again, that intangible assets influence marginal value (or at least investor emotion and sentiment). This announcement and subsequent rise in iBio’s stock value is particularly interesting considering Fraunhofer USA, Inc. was, at least at the time, listed as the patent’s inventor and assignee.

ShareThis

Insider Patents: Transparency in proprietary advice – or the Ghost of Gordon Gekko

The FBI is investigating 120 alleged cases of insider trading. During our research into this week’s hot topic of who really owns social networking – Amazon, Facebook, or Yahoo! – we reported that a consulting company holding patents in the social networking / e-commerce space – patents that clearly impact the future business of Goldman’s darling, Facebook. In the knowledge economy, how do traders, consultants, and other professional services selectively use information gained from clients or partners without tripping over ethical and legal obstacles?

ShareThis

The Social [Amazon] Network: Intellectual Property Analysis of Amazon.com's social networking patents

Amazon owns a growing set of social networking patents that describe key aspects of Facebook and legally predate Facebook by seven (7) years. Given Facebook’s strategy of back-filling its patent portfolio to retroactively protect itself (i.e. the company filed over 410 US patent applications in the past 18 months vs its 56 granted US patents), what do these Amazon patents mean to Facebook's investors and its forecast $100 billion dollar valuation?

ShareThis

Cracking the Whip: Intellectual Property Analysis of Intellectual Ventures v AT&T et al.

On February 16, 2012, Intellectual Ventures (“IV”) launched its seventh patent infringement suit, this time against AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile . In a familiar pattern, all but one of the patents in the suit were assigned to what appear to be IV “shell” companies before their most recent assignment to Intellectual Ventures by name. To IV’s chagrin, all three defendants control significant intellectual property estates in the technology space of the asserted patents; AT&T alone owns almost 500 properties that predate the patents being asserted against them.

ShareThis

Amazon’s Fulfillment: Intellectual Property Analysis of Amazon.com’s order fulfillment patents

Last year, Amazon spent nearly $4.6 billion or 10% of its net sales on fulfillment. To offset those expenses, Amazon has been monetizing its fulfillment capabilities through arrangements with its marketplace sellers and leveraging its purchasing power with delivery companies. In 2011 alone, Amazon generated over $1.5 billion in shipping related revenue. Clearly, these fulfillment strategies are vital to Amazon as are, by default, the proprietary technologies that underpin them. Is Amazon’s intellectual property portfolio sufficient to defend these strategies?

ShareThis

The Social Network: Intellectual Property Analysis of Facebook, Inc.

Following Facebook’s February 1, 2012 filing for an Initial Public Offering, the market is wondering if Facebook’s quest for public status will paint an even bigger patent litigation target on its back. Is Facebook’s $100 billion valuation protected? Facebook itself certainly doesn’t seem to think so. After all, over 65% of Facebook’s portfolio was originally issued to other entities (e.g., they were NOT the source of innovation).

ShareThis

A Real Deal? Intellectual Property Analysis of RealNetworks

RealNetworks, the company behind Real Player, recently agreed to sell about 190 patents and 170 pending patent applications to Intel Corp for $120 million. Intel announced it was getting “foundational media patents” in this acquisition, but should it have had a “real” look into the portfolio that it is acquiring before it agreed to purchase?

ShareThis

A Maple Leaf Rag: Intellectual Property Analysis of WiLAN v Research In Motion

WiLAN, a Canadian patent licensing, non-operating entity, has sued struggling Canadian Blackberry producer Research In Motion over patent infringement. Again. Is WiLAN trying to recover its losses from a failed hostile takeover of fellow patent licensor Mosaid? Or, are they trying to “bring value to industry and consumers” by asserting one patent that was passed along to at least four different owners before it was ever owned by WiLAN, and asserting another that claims rights to a keyboard?

ShareThis

Power of the Pen: Intellectual Property Analysis of Helferich Patent Licensing

Helferich Patent Licensing, an ambitious non-operating entity, has sued numerous corporations, but recently took aim on the media industry. Helferich has filed a patent infringement suit, using a patent that recently had 65 new claims added in a patent reexamination procedure in December 2011. Perhaps its time that the media use the power of the pen to shed more light on a system that continues to allow jobs-killing, anti-growth, anti-business behavior?

Ever heard of Helferich Patent Licensing?

ShareThis

Kodak’s Final Gasp? Intellectual Property Analysis of Kodak v Apple, HTC

Not much has changed for Kodak since news first circulated last quarter about their pending bankruptcy. Well, nothing changed except that Kodak has continued to burn cash at a ferocious rate, its digital imaging portfolio still has not sold, and its latest reorganization plan reminds us of Research in Motion’s redundant management structure.

ShareThis
Syndicate content