Philadelphia (USA), May 19, 2009, Chief Intellectual Property Officer Conference

Companies are searching for dormant assets to monetize and leverage with unprecedented vigor. Intellectual property professionals are increasingly being evaluated on the basis of the financial returns they deliver. IP professionals are now expected to dedicate their skills to alleviating the business problems that confront their superiors. The management of intellectual property lies at the epicenter of corporate power. This is because Fortune 1000 companies spend about 10% of their revenues on research and development and 10% of such expenditures are allocated to intellectual property management. Thus, 1% of a company’s revenues can drive as much as 50% of the profit structure of the company.
Also, according to some experts, over 85% of the market valuation of the S&P 500 is represented by intangible assets. Other evidence of the power of intellectual property includes:
Ernst & Young reports that patent licensing alone should soar from the $110 billion it generated in revenue in 2000 to $500 billion by 2015.
Qualcomm has generated as much as $430 million in licensing revenue in recent quarters while IBM earns more than $1 billion annually licensing its IP.
However, failing to manage intellectual property can be fatal. The Harvard Business Review concluded that more than $1 trillion annually is wasted in patent assets. Patents can be invalidated, injunctions on revenue-generating products can be granted, and patent litigation can endure for years and cost tens of millions of dollars. Recent examples of patent litigation include:

Microsoft vs. Alcatel-Lucent - $1.5 billion
Verizon vs. Vonage - $58 million
Michelson vs. Medtronic - $1.35 billion
Medinol vs. Boston Scientific - $750 million
NTP vs. RIM - $612.5 million
EOLAS vs. Microsoft - $520 million
Paragon vs. Weyerhaeuser - $480 million
@Home vs. AT&T - $340 million

The effective use of IP requires you to know how to inventory your IP. After taking effective inventory, you must be able to determine which IP assets should be licensed, sold, retained, spun-off, borrowed against, pooled and securitized.Don’t miss this unique opportunity to listen to world-renowned authorities discuss a multitude of methods for deriving value from intellectual assets. Be sure to hear the best strategies for managing and monetizing your patent portfolio. Learn how to transform your company’s IP portfolio from a dormant asset into a dynamic asset.

More info here.

Prague (Czech Republic), 21st-22nd May 2009: International Conference on Intellectual Property Rights Protection in Europe

The Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic and the World Intellectual Property Organization are organising a conference on "Intellectual Property Rights Protection in Europe" to be held in Prague (Czech Republic) on 21st-22nd May 2009.
In the context of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation and the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Czech Industrial Property Office invites all specialists involved in creation, development, research and innovation to an open discussion on strategy of IP rights protection, quality of patents in Europe, the Community Patent and enforcement of IP rights.

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