AGENDA: Thursday, February 26th, 2015

The AIA created three pseudo-litigation proceedings for challenging patents after issue: post-grant review, inter partes review, and CBM, plus the new supplemental examination. This process is supposed to be faster and more streamlined. Understanding how to best utilize these proceedings will help to shore up effective defensive and enforcement strategies.

This panel will examine:

• When you should consider post issuance proceedings against NPEs
• Determining the defensive strategic implications of the new proceedings
o Post-grant review
o Inter Partes Review
o CBM
o Supplemental examination

Running monetization programs for operating companies is becoming more complex due to the AIA and, most recently, SCOTUS’s ALICE decision. At the same time, IP departments are being pressured to derive as much revenue from their portfolio as possible. IP leaders must balance the need for revenue with the new risks of deriving value from their portfolio.

This panel will examine:

• Today’s monetization environment—what it looks like and how to navigate it
• Pressure from management and how to respond
• Lessons learned from successes and failures
• Where things are headed

The management of your IP portfolio is the nexus of every component of your IP strategy. From evaluating what to keep, what to monetize, and how to go about generating your IP pipeline, the way you manage your portfolio is central to your success as an IP leader. This panel tackles how to use a combination of offensive and defensive strategies to develop a robust intellectual property strategy that aligns with your business goals.

This panel will explore: 

• Conducting due diligence in advance and in the moment
• Evaluating the health of your portfolio—signs of vitality and red flags
• Short- and long-term strategies for buying, selling, and licensing
• Creating and implementing your strategy with management buy-in

MODERATOR:

Maintaining an IP portfolio can be complicated when it is managed both domestically and internationally. However, unifying your patent prosecution strategy across regions is crucial; the consequences of inconsistent or contradictory patent prosecution strategies can be devastating.

This panel will explore:

• Benchmarking the impact of AIA and first-to-file on your patent portfolio
• Making provisionals work for you
• Defining what “cost-effective” means and applying that definition to your portfolio
• Building a strategy around business goals to business threats
• Getting everyone on board, from R&D to Upper Management

The majority of IP infringement and litigation suits are brought on by NPEs.  Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” strategy for dealing with them, so IP leaders must develop a coherent understanding of when to fight and when to settle.

This panel will examine:

• How to evaluate an NPE and the specific threat it poses
• Strategies to deter NPEs at the outset
• When you should fight and when you should settle
• Is sharing caring? (Is intra-company defense viable?)

To achieve the best outcome for your enforcement strategy, you need to put in place an effective strategy for dealing with infringers. While licensing may provide short-term results and litigation offers more finality, both pose specific risks and opportunities that you must understand before you choose between them.

This panel will examine:

• The current environment: AIA, ALICE, defensive landscape
• How to identify and understand infringers
• When to license—advantages and disadvantages
• When to litigate—benefits and risks

Intellectual Property: The Shift in Value of Assets

Two major economic shifts occurred in the last 20 years: the transition to a global innovation-driven economy, and the fact that capital markets now value corporations more for intangible assets than tangible ones.  Lewis Lee will discuss these shifts in the context of describing the central role that IP as an emerging asset class plays in today’s economy.  Lewis will address how companies should adopt data-informed proactive approaches to cultivate IP as an asset that can be leveraged in the business marketplace.  Learn how to assess, build, and capitalize IP portfolios for the betterment of your company. 

Presented by:

Roundtable Discussions Hosted By Topic Experts.

Topics:

• The Impact of Alice
• Pending Litigation Reform Legislation
• The Art of Patent Visualization
• Best Practices for Pruning and Divesting IP Assets
  

Organizations today are increasingly being charged with aggressive financial goals for their IP. Furthermore, IP is being used strategically to block or protect market share, and rivals are using litigation for a quick revenue hit. As a result, infringement claims from operating companies are on the rise. However, defensive strategies against other operating companies are very different from defensive strategies against NPEs; therefore, developing a defensive strategy specifically for operating companies is imperative to protecting your IP.

This panel will examine:

• What to do when approached—engaging and understanding motivation
• Determining legitimacy and exposure
• Preparing your defense—buy time, maximize resources, know the endgame
• Anticipating enforcement strategies and formulating your responses
• Considering the consequences when defending against a rival