Innovation Asset Blog

Patent team guides Pfizer's relocation plans

As Pfizer looks to write the next chapter in its impressive history of research and development, the world's largest pharmaceutical company is starting to look outside company walls and recruit local talent. According to the Boston Globe, Pfizer has been setting up satellite offices in academic hubs around the country as part of a five-year, $100 million search for the company's next blockbuster innovation.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

DISA explores expansion of open source ambitions

With software stories currently dominating the patent litigation landscape, open source development projects have been looking like an increasingly attractive alternative. But while the technology model is primarily associated with private sector upstarts, the Defense Information Systems Agency may be looking to expand its open source research and development capabilities as well.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

USPTO publishes proposed first to file implementation guidelines

This week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office achieved a significant milestone in its ongoing implementation of the America Invents Act. Ahead of the March 2013 transition to a first to file system, officials have published a proposal to amend patent case rules of practice.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Boeing patent application reveals new ambitions

The Boeing 747 marked a quantum leap forward for the aviation industry, representing the gold standard in wide-body, high-capacity commercial airliners for decades. That reputation came into question following the introduction of a legitimate rival in 2005 with the double-decker Airbus A380. But if it's latest patent application is any indication, it looks like Boeing is ready to face the competition head on with the next iteration of its 747 model.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Nokia turns to IP acquisition at critical juncture

Finnish mobile device manufacturer Nokia has fallen on hard times in recent years. Whereas the company was once at the cutting edge of the industry, the latest statistics from comScore confirmed that just 1.3 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers own Nokia devices.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Report: EU authorities captured 115 million infringing goods in 2011

In continuation of its commitment to raise awareness for intellectual property rights enforcement, the European Union has released a report detailing the prevalence of infringing goods across the continent. Customs officials opened a record number of cases in 2011, ultimately seizing nearly 115 million infringing items with a combined retail value of more than $1.4 billion.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

NTP settles patent disputes with 13 leading tech firms

Patent holding firm NTP, originally founded by wireless email inventor Tom Campana, has reached a landmark agreement that will see all pending litigation between the company and 13 leading technology corporations dismissed.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Semiconductor company targets 'connected home' following IP acquisition

As consumer demand for digital technologies and experiences continues to expand in all directions, telecommunications providers are seeking creative ideas that can provide relief for their increasingly strained infrastructure. Semiconductor solutions specialist Entropic Communications believes it may have found an answer following a recent patent acquisition involving satellite broadcasting components.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

LinkedIn harvests innovation from Digg's patent portfolio

The digital media community has been abuzz in recent weeks tracking the decline and ultimate sale of popular social news sharing website Digg. Now that the fallen company has effectively redistributed its physical and intellectual assets to various corners of the technology industry, it looks like leading social media platform LinkedIn could capitalize on some savvy patent acquisitions.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

University researcher taps technology transfer as patriotic obligation

Most academic researchers understand the potential benefits to be gained from commercializing their innovations, but Drexel University's senior vice provost for research Deborah Crawford recently took that notion a step further and suggested that universities actually have a patriotic obligation to do so.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Refurbished SOPA could station US copyright officers globally

Texas Representative Lamar Smith was forced to put proposals for the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) to bed earlier this year, but the congressman has stayed true to his intentions of protecting American intellectual assets abroad with newly drafted legislation.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Patent ruling deals additional blow to BlackBerry

Research In Motion, manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, has suffered a considerable setback in its attempts to turn its fortunes and restore competition with Google and Apple at the top of the mobile device marketplace. A U.S. Federal District Court ruled last week that RIM had infringed upon the patent portfolio of Mformation Technologies when designing the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Michigan's innovation community welcomes new USPTO branch

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's first satellite location made its official debut in Detroit this week, drawing the attention of established and aspiring innovators across the state.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Canada's top court sets new digital copyright precedents

A slate of five digital copyright cases were ruled upon this week in Canada's Supreme Court, but the precedents set in one online music controversy could send ripple effects well beyond the nation's borders.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Microsoft filling mobile gap with patent strategy

Microsoft could soon make strides in the mobile marketplace when Windows Phone 8 and the Surface tablet hit shelves later in the year, but as it stands the company is still well behind Apple and Google in terms of total subscribers. To help address this discrepancy in the short term, Microsoft has decided to cash in on the popularity of mobile devices from a different angle in its latest patent strategy.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

UN agency resolves to address tech patent wars

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized body of the United Nations, recently announced plans for high-level discussions meant to root out "innovation-stifling" uses of intellectual property. Standard-setting organizations, key technology industry players and government officials will convene in Geneva come October in hopes of addressing the misappropriation of standards-essential patents.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

US ranks 10th in global innovation index

Leading international business school INSEAD has jointly released its 2012 Global Innovation Index with the World Intellectual Property Organization. The report ranked the innovation capabilities and performances of 141 countries, revealing lingering disparities in patenting resources but a growing awareness for their central role in economic and industrial progress.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

EU copyright ruling could pave way for digital resales

Oracle software is at the heart of an intellectual property controversy once again, this time in a way that could redefine digital product ownership rights.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

Airbus awarded patent for dual-fuselage, commercial aircraft

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has reportedly approved a patent application for a high-capacity, double-fuselage aircraft design submitted by Airbus in October 2008.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

USPTO reveals three more satellite office locations

In perhaps the most concrete sign of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's renewed commitment to efficiency, the agency's first four satellite office destinations have now been confirmed. The previously announced Detroit office will be joined by sites in Dallas, Denver and California's fabled Silicon Valley.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.

First to file transition necessitates smarter invention disclosure strategies

The first to file provision of the America Invents Act may not go into effect until next March, but biomedical companies need to be diligently preparing today. Research and business development teams should already be in close communication with one another, according to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, surveying intellectual property pipelines and removing administrative obstacles that could delay invention disclosure processes.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.