Clean technology has been a buzzword echoing in the minds of political leaders, economists and environmental advocates for several years, but a recent flurry of patenting activity among sustainable energy pioneers suggests that noble concepts are finally turning into material innovations.
Solar energy continues to dominate the conversation, according to Environmental Leader contributor John Lazurus, accounting for more than 30 percent of all patents granted in the cleantech space between 2008 and 2010. Wind power and hybrid vehicles have also garnered respectable shares of intellectual property interest, yet each of the three still retains a fair amount of "patentable white space," according to Lazurus, that could provide avenues for powerful investments.
With innovators barely scratching the surface of smart grid, geothermal, nuclear and biofuel IP potential, cleantech could soon see a swell of patent applicants hoping to be the first to file inventions that could transform the way industries and nations generate and distribute energy.
According to GigaOM, patent disputes in the cleantech industry have not reached the level of hostility seen in the mobile technology sector, but that could soon change as competition becomes more fierce. Earlier in the month, Honeywell's patent team filed suit against upstart smart thermostat manufacturer Nest, suggesting that industry veterans are already taking stock of their patent portfolios to ensure smaller competitors are not getting a leg up on crowding the marketplace.
Intellectual Property Activities and Management
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has released an initial proposal detailing how it plans to utilize its newly gained authority to set its own fees. While a number of businesses have been distressed by some of the planned fee increases, intellectual property experts insist that the ends may justify the means in the quest to improve patent quality.
Patent management teams around the country have been crunching the numbers contained in the USPTO fee change proposal in an effort to determine exactly what the legislation could mean for their operations. According to an independent analysis conducted by Bloomberg Government, large companies would pay approximately 47 percent more to apply for and register a patent.
But despite increased sensitivity to price changes in a time of economic uncertainties, some IP analysts are taking the agency at its word and acknowledging that such fees will be necessary to increase USPTO hiring and pare down a massive national patent backlog.
"There should be no question that now is the right time to have a discussion about the benefits of investing in further improvements in patent quality and the potential costs of delaying that investment," explained Microsoft patent attorney Horacio Gutierrez in a recent company blog post.
According to PatentlyO, the forthcoming debate could help the patent community face vital questions such as the importance of maintaining a reserve fund for three-month's worth of USPTO operating expenses and for establishing transparency and accountability for internal investments.
Intellectual Property Activities and Management
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has circulated three draft guidance documents concerning its role in facilitating the development of biosimilar products. Experts are suggesting that the newly released provisions could affect everything from invention disclosure to trade secrets management within the dynamic pharmaceutical industry.
The FDA defines a biosimilar product as one that is "highly similar" to an already-approved biological product, yet retains minor differences in the structure of its clinically inactive components. This classification is distinct from generic versions of over-the-counter drugs which essentially differ in name only and are regarded as therapeutically interchangeable.
With the government agency in support of the inherent cost-efficiency of qualified biosimilar products, the pharmaceutical industry is on alert.
"Manufacturing processes are patent eligible, but require disclosure of all information about how the invention is enabled," explained Mass High Tech columnist Lori Valigra in her latest column. "But that opens the door for competitors to look at the details and design around them."
As a result, Valigra envisions pharmaceutical companies revisiting their trade secrets management protocols to potentially hide their innovations from biosimilar competitors.
As the FDA awaits public comment on its draft guidance, the scientific factors considered by the patent review committee could attract the most attention, according to Patent Docs. The structure of independent safety reviews and the operational definition of clinical significance, for example, remain open to interpretation.
Innovation Processes and Management
As Apple, Google, Microsoft and others continue to vie for supremacy in the mobile device market, it has become clear the intellectual assets will play a central role in the future of the industry. With Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility still navigating the final hurdles before approval, competitors have suggested that the search engine giant could gain an unfair advantage from its strategy of licensing intellectual property obtained in the deal.
According to PCWorld, Google hopes to retain the ability to block the sale of goods that potentially infringe upon standard essential patent licensing agreements until matters of litigation are resolved, thus shifting the burden of proof to licensees. Microsoft and others contend that such moves would degrade the quality of consumer offerings and inhibit industry competition through the threat of injunction.
In a letter to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Google deputy general counsel Allen Lo stated that the company "appreciates the IEEE's important role in industry standard setting" and would honor commitments made by Motorola Mobility and continue licensing the standard essential patents in its possession and collecting associated royalties.
Such patents have already been used to ban the sale of Apple mobile devices in Germany, according to PCWorld, and similar injunctions could become a staple of Google's intellectual property strategy. With that in mind, Apple is also pushing for a reevaluation of the pricing terms associated with standard essential patent licenses.
Commercialization and Licensing Processes and Management
Late last month, the World Health Organization unveiled a road map for eradicating tropical diseases that will involve the open exchange of intellectual property between nearly a dozen global corporations. But while increased access to pharmaceutical patent libraries is expected to drive clinical innovation, it remains to be seen if practice will live up to theory.
The WHO has recruited financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, governments of the United States; United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates and the World Bank in its quest to eliminate 17 tropical diseases by 2020. But perhaps more valuable will be the sharing of expertise and biological compounds between medical researchers.
Although the initiative has attracted attention from a wide variety of interested observers, some have begun to wonder if the project retains rigorous scientific standards.
The answer, according to Nature columnist Daniel Cressey, is a "cautious yes." The open patent strategy adopted by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, for example, has yielded the release of details surrounding more than 13,000 proprietary molecules that have shown promise in malaria treatments. With more eyes scanning the results of past trials, researchers expect to see even faster drug optimization.
However, the data sets presented for interpretation may have been sanitized of clinical failures, according to Cressey, as a result of companies screening out potentially "undesirable traits in molecules." With potentially misleading information released into the public domain, the consequences could be clinically dangerous.
Intellectual Property Activities and Management
Apple's latest patent application may signal a new standard in mobile technology as the company works to incorporate 3D eye-tracking into the graphical user interface of future iPhones and iPads.
The tech giant's recently submitted patent applications suggest an interest in bringing the motion-tracking capabilities seen in modern video games to mobile platforms. By combining these innovations with facial recognition technology, a mobile device would be able to identify specific users or track their movements. This could be applied to diverse pursuits, from digital photography and video gaming to biometrics and surveillance.
"With information regarding lighting conditions in the user's environment, the position of the user's eyes and a continuous 3D frame-of-reference for the display of the electronic device, more realistic virtual 3D depictions of the objects on the device's display may be created and interacted with by the user," the application abstract stated.
According to Patently Apple, these 3D capabilities could be a central feature of the upcoming iPad 3 and may help push the device further into the health IT community on the strength of realistic brain scan displays and other unique capabilities.
Innovation Processes and Management
In accordance with provisions of the America Invents Act, the U.S. patent system will transition to a first to file framework in March 2013. As stakeholders across the intellectual property community debate the merits of this move prior to its enactment, some are beginning to suggest that the legislation may not serve its expressed goals of protecting inventors and fostering innovation.
The impetus for these changes came, in part, as a response to prior art controversies that have complicated patent approval and prosecution processes.
"With first to invent you run the risk of going through the patent process and, at any time, someone can say 'I thought of that two years ago, here's my notebook,'" product design executive Louis Foreman recently explained in an interview with the New York Times.
But while first to file is expected to provide firms and investors with clear perspective on an invention's market standing, according to the Times, there may be several practical limitations to the model.
Invention disclosure can be a particularly thorny issue in the healthcare sector, for example. According to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, rewarding researchers who are the first to file may indirectly inspire a patent team to submit an application before the implications of a medical discovery are fully understood. Additionally, patent review boards may have to rely on subjective, "sound prediction" standards to certify patentability instead of waiting years for clinical trials to support inventors' claims.
Innovation Processes and Management
In an effort to direct the attention of technological innovators toward some of the world's most pressing humanitarian crises, the White House has partnered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a new program that will provide incentives to those who "do the most" to apply their intellectual assets to the development of much-needed solutions.
The U.S. patent system has been an unintentional source of frustration for legislators, according to PatentlyO, with the market-driven approach to innovation often steering focus away from humanitarian causes that do not present a clear opportunity for financial gain. To encourage and reward more altruistic pursuits, the Patents for Humanity challenge will offer award certificates that can be redeemed for accelerated prosecution of any patent application.
Previously, access to the USPTO's Track I Prioritized Patent Examination Program could only be obtained through a $4,800 fee.
"For over two centuries, strong patents have provided business incentives that encouraged technological progress to build our modern world," project coordinators noted. "As we struggle against humanitarian issues plaguing many of the world's poor, patents play an essential role in creating lasting solutions."
IP Watchdog's Gene Quinn, who was in attendance at the White House unveiling, suggested that a number of provisions will be put in place to ensure the judging committee receives high-quality patents that target a variety of problems. The meritocratic process will also consider all proposed solutions – regardless of geographic location, technological basis or production expense – and reward the standout inventions accordingly.
Innovation Processes and Management
Whether seeking venture capital for larger facilities or grants for research and development, young firms are always on the lookout for the next source of funding to help drive their business forward.To attract potential investors to the table, it may be wise for startups to either bolster or highlight the value of their intellectual assets.
Citing a 2007 study conducted by University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan researchers, IP Stone columnist Tom Kohler recently highlighted findings that suggested "a doubling of patent application stock for a given firm was, on average, associated with a 92 percent increase in pre-money valuation."
"I have seen this effect first-hand in financing transaction, particularly with startup companies in the medical device sector," Kohler added. "Large schedules of patents and patent applications are treated reverentially by investors, with the number of patents and applications often receiving more scrutiny than the content of any particular patent or application on the schedule."
Kohler cautioned, however, that patent quality is still an important consideration that cannot be overlooked.
For example, tech startup Visualiiz was able to bring its comprehensive IT management software to market earlier this week, according to Data Center Dynamics, on the strength of its patent-pending 3D visualization technology. This breakthrough could prove to be particularly lucrative for Visualiiz's backers, as it comes at a time when data center managers are placing an increased emphasis on multi-faceted tools that boost efficiency.
Innovation Processes and Management
In its annual report to investors, semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices revealed a change in strategy that will include the integration of third-party intellectual property into new product lines designed to capture customer attention in a dynamic marketplace.
AMD has built the bulk of its reputation on x86 microprocessors that have been a staple in modern computing systems for several decades. But according to Computerworld, the company's computer chips have not found the same success with tablets and smartphones, which many view as the way forward in the industry.
To adapt to market changes faster, AMD will welcome the use of third-party IP in future processor designs to deliver "more tailored customer solutions."
"AMD's strategy capitalizes on the convergence of technologies and devices that will define the next era of the industry," company president Rory Read explained. "AMD has a unique opportunity to take advantage of this key industry inflection point."
The success or failure of this patent strategy could be assessed later this year, according to Computerworld, when Microsoft's Windows 8 for PCs and tablets hits the shelves. The software is set to run on devices based on AMD's x86 architecture, as well as components produced by competing processor manufacturer ARM.
Innovation Processes and Management
