Innovation

9 April 2025 · Articles, Brand, Confidential Information, Counterfeit, Fakes, Information Security, Innovation, Investors, Patents

IP risks, just another bump on the way to success?

It is a fact of. business life that you will hit the IP risks and bumps at some stage: These may include the following IP risks: Trademark musical chairs ! Copyright flattery (or not)? Trusted colleague as was. Reputation under threat. Information theft. Patent bullying by a big kid. Social media lock out Fakes IP […]

10 February 2025 · AI, Confidential Information, Contracts, Cyber Security, Information Security, Innovation, Know-How, Knowledge, Knowledge Transfer, Trade secrets

Information Flows to The Highest Bidder. How About Yours?

A US Federal Reserve official leaked trade secrets while being paid US$450,000 to ‘teach’ at a Chinese university. This is the allegation by US prosecutors. John Rogers shared the information with Chinese intelligence officers who posed as graduate students from a Chinese university. The secret information was from the Federal Reserve’s powerful interest rate-setting committee […]

28 January 2025 · AI, Articles, Creativity, Innovation, Knowledge

Deep Seeking is the Mother of Innovation

A start up spends a fraction of the big 4 tech giants and beats them at their own game. Stock markets plummet as investors realise the tech giants are not invincible! They say necessity is the mother of innovation and creativity, and a Chinese start up 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. We have been […]

23 January 2025 · Articles, Innovation, Trade secrets

Nintendo Launch is a Yawn. Trade Secrets Leaked.

‘Switched’! Careful release of selected information before your launch builds intrigue, but too much makes for a flop. Nintendo Switch 2 users have waited years for a proper upgrade, then when it arrived it’s like ‘so what’! Controlling trade secrets in your supply chain is key. Apparently, suppliers revealed the design such that 3D printed […]

9 December 2024 · Articles, Innovation, Investors, Trade secrets

Financial Trading Strategies Protected With Trade Secrets

Hedge funds Millennium and Jane Street settled on the theft of a trading strategy when two traders left one to join the other. It turned out the trading strategy was worth $1bn a year in profit to Jane Street, hence the case. Ryan Baker, an intellectual property lawyer in LA, said the law “contemplates formulas, […]

28 November 2024 · Articles, Confidential Information, Cyber Security, Innovation, Investors, IP Audit, IP Value, Knowledge Transfer, Trade secrets

How Do You Prefer Your Secrets? Raided or Traded?

The most valuable IP in your business is highly likely to be your trade secrets. A stark reality faces you and that is if you are not actively managing these assets they are probably flooding out of your business with the loss of the associated value and competitive edge. Trade secrets are the fastest growing […]

20 November 2024 · Articles, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Investors, IP Audit, IP Strategy, IP Value, M&A Due Diligence

Investor Ready IP Best Practices for Tech Companies.

Easy IP Audit. The Better Way What Got You Here Will Not Get You There Your business evolves, the landscape evolves, the law evolves, your strategy evolves and the economic climate changes. Is Your IP Fit For Purpose? As your business evolves so your IP needs to evolve as well. Investors assess IP protection, ownership, […]

19 November 2024 · Articles, Confidential Information, Innovation, IP Culture, IP Education, Trade secrets

Tesla Shares Innovation With Supplier, But Struggles To Keep Secrets

Tesla Sues A Major Supplier For Patenting Their Invention. Thank you to Prof. Dr. Alexander J. Wurzer Director IP Management Training for curating this excellent podcast on the importance of trade secrets and how it fits into strategy. You cannot innovate in isolation and working with partners and suppliers is crucial in this, but how […]

13 November 2024 · Articles, Innovation, Investors, IP Culture, IP Education, IP Strategy, IP Value, Patents, Trade secrets

The Great Patent Myth. What Is A Patent Really Worth?

I once worked with a small business where they had spent $1m on patent filings for a particular invention. The business pivoted away from the invention but it was assumed that there would be 5X return on cost spend through sale or licensing of the patents. Sadly there was no value in the patents. Another […]

7 November 2024 · Innovation, Knowledge, Knowledge Transfer, Partnerships

How Do You Protect Your Innovation in Partnerships?

The human species survived because we could communicate and share ideas about what worked and what did not. How to light a fire using flints and tinder, how best to catch a woolly mammoth, how to successfully raise crops on clay based of soil; you get the idea. We innovate better when ideas from different […]

30 September 2024 · Innovation, IP Strategy, IP Value, Patents, Trade secrets

There Are Several Ways To Protect Your Innovation

Patents are not the only answer to the innovation / invention IP question. If I asked you if I could share your invention with the world, what would you want in return? This is the pay off you are making when you file for a patent. 20 year monopolistic rights over the patented invention? Yes. […]

27 June 2024 · Innovation, IP Strategy, Knowledge, Knowledge Transfer, Trade secrets

You Might Have A Patent But Do You Know The Trade Secrets That Sit Within The Patent?

THE MOST IMPORTANT STUFF IS NOT IN THE PATENT It is held in the head of the operator. This is the know-how that makes the system work at all times. It may be the 30 year veteran who just knows (by the change in the sound of the machine) that it is time to add the ingredient!