From the category archives:

Patent

Creating Markets For Patents

by Doug Park September 22, 2009

The New York Times recently reported on the emerging patent marketplace. The idea is that a market where patents can be bought and sold would reduce the costs of patent litigation and promote innovation. What are the prospects for success of a patent marketplace?
Patents As Commodities?
For a patent marketplace to operate efficiently, it would certainly [...]

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Intellectual Property And Open Innovation On The Smart Grid

by Doug Park August 27, 2009

Will the smart grid develop through proprietary intellectual or open innovation? To what extent can both contribute to the smart grid’s growth? The answers to these questions will have a huge influence on how the smart grid works and what it ultimately does for energy efficiency. In this post, I offer a few thoughts on [...]

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Mistakes Small Businesses Make Regarding Intellectual Property (Part 2)

by Doug Park August 7, 2009

In this post, I continue to examine how small businesses and startups can avoid common misconceptions about intellectual property. This time, I turn to patent issues that small and emerging companies must consider to maximize the value they create and capture from their intellectual property.
As noted in the previous post, these misconceptions come from an [...]

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Data Exclusivity And Competition In Biologics

by Doug Park July 23, 2009

How long should biologics enjoy protection from competition? That hotly debated question in Congress has produced a wide range of opinions, from 5, 7 to 12 years. Some Congresspeople favor a 5 year period, Howard Dean, the National Venture Capital Association, and Senator Edward Kennedy all support 12 or more years of data exclusivity for [...]

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Economically Rational Patent Trolls

by Doug Park July 9, 2009

In The Prior Art blog, Joe Mullin wrote yesterday about GOOD Magazine’s profile of Erich Spangenberg, a highly successful “patent troll.” Mullin’s main beef with the article is GOOD’s comparison of Spangenberg, and patent trolls more generally, to Robin Hood. Mullin argues that in the case of patents, there is no poor person to whom [...]

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Honeywell’s “Patent Troll” Loses One

by Doug Park July 1, 2009

The patent troll loses one.
Honeywell’s intellectual property licensing unit, Honeywell Intellectual Property International (HIPI), recently lost a patent infringement suit that it brought against Novatek, a Taiwanese LCD panel manufacturer. What’s notable is that Honeywell sued seven other defendants for infringing the same patent, and all of those defendants settled. Novatek refused to pay Honeywell [...]

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J&J Unit Wins $1.67 Billion Patent Infringement Verdict Against Abbott

by Doug Park June 29, 2009

Centocor Ortho Biotech, a business unit of Johnson & Johnson, today won a $1.67 billion award for Abbott Labs’ infringement of its patent on Remicade. Centocor’s Remicade and Abbott’s Humira are competitors in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Humira is Abbott’s best-selling pharmaceutical. Abbott’s success has relied on Humira.  Humira has gained FDA approvals [...]

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