As related in earlier blog articles, a “living” intellectual property (IP) security policy involves more than just pre-hire actions and new hire orientation. IP security policy procedures must be visible and active in the ongoing work routines of management and employees. If an employer cannot demonstrate reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy, the business’s IP rights may […]
Widerman Malek Law Blog
IP Security Policy: Post-Hire
Part of living an intellectual property (IP) security policy is institutionalizing a corporate culture that values and respects IP rights. Indoctrination of employees into such a culture can begin during the pre-hire process, and necessarily continues during new hire orientation.
IP Security Policy: Pre-Hire
Topics related to intellectual property routinely are neglected in daily business planning and operations (which is surprising given that intellectual property is by far the main value driver in most businesses). Take, for example, the hiring process. Businesses put a lot of time and effort into identifying employment candidates, planning and conducting candidate interviews, and orienting hires […]
Patent: A Tool, Not A Business
A patent in the United States grants an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the claimed invention in this country. Such a right to exclude competitors can be a useful business tool. But too many inventors, in my opinion, delay the birthing of an invention-centric business […]
Did KTLA Infringe on Kurt Knutsson’s Cyberguy Identity?
Did KTLA Infringe on Kurt Knutsson’s Cyberguy Identity?
Kurt Knutsson, better known as Kurt the Cyberguy to long time followers of KTLA Tribune television, filed a lawsuit against KTLA for breach of contract, age discrimination, and misuse of name and likeness. Kurt Knutsson established himself as the technology expert, reporting on the latest innovations and gadgets for KTLA in exchange for exposure and payment. His “Kurt the Cyberguy” reports were syndicated to more than 20 stations…..
Never Too Early, Never Too Late
The output of an intellectual property (IP) landscape analysis is typically a report that captures business factors in a given technology area at a “snapshot” in time and synthesizes findings into actionable information. The findings in an IP landscape report may be applied to support business decision-making at any level of intellectual asset management (IAM) maturity achieved by […]
IAM, Sun Tzu, and “White Space”
“Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Sun Tzu, […]
IAM: He Who Fails To Plan …
As mentioned in a previous article, a company’s business plan is a good source of input to intellectual asset (IA) lifecycle planning. More specifically, a well written and routinely updated business plan may serve as a starting point for an intellectual property (IP) landscape analysis. IP landscape analysis is a knowledge discovery discipline that involves […]
IAM: It’s Your Business
Intellectual asset owners (and, frankly, many IP attorneys) allow themselves to be consumed by the intellectual asset protection effort. And that is perfectly understandable! The investment of time, energy, and treasure required of, for example, an inventor in a patent prosecution can leave little left of all three. But successful exploitation of an intellectual asset demands diligent attention not […]
Watch Your Assets …
Business assets have value. Understanding the value of assets on hand is important to starting a business, to conducting a business, and to dissolving a business. Ironically, many business leaders who are diligent about routinely tracking the value of hard assets, like a truck or a building, have no similar discipline in place to measure […]
