Many of today's entrepreneurs have grown accustomed to a rather frenetic pace of business, but this can set them up for a fall when venturing into the world of intellectual property management for the first time.

Swiss telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson has filed suit against leading mobile device manufacturer Samsung, alleging 24 separate instances of hardware and software patent infringement. Ericsson executives labeled it an action of "last resort," in an interview with The New York Times, suggesting that licensing negotiations regarding wireless industry-standard patents had reached an impasse.

The road toward a unified European Union patent system has been defined by a series of fits and starts in recent years, but the process seems to be gaining critical momentum this month. According to EuropeanVoice, diplomats are now scheduled to endorse revised draft legislation in a December 10th meeting.

Provisional patent application (PPA) filings have consistently risen in all but one of the past 15 years, according to the latest analysis from PatentlyO. However, the popularity of this tactic does not always correlate with patent pursuit or award.

David Kappos will leave his post as USPTO director early next year, calling an end to an impressive three-and-a-half year tenure.

Universities across the United States have seen patent licensing revenue climb in recent years as both school officials and private firms take a greater interest in commercializing classroom innovation. However, these numbers hold discouraging news for a few universities, underscoring the diligence required to craft a patent strategy that is both lucrative and sustainable.

USPTO officials have long accepted industry feedback as a welcome and necessary ingredient for patent system progress, but a string of disapproving statements coming out of the software sector has changed the tone of the conversation. To keep both sides moving forward toward smarter solutions, USPTO director David Kappos recently preached patience and encouraged critics to take a more careful view of the facts.

When the USPTO unveiled the locations of its first four branch offices, it was no surprise to see that Silicon Valley had been circled on the map. Although it is still months away from opening, the San Jose site recently reached an important milestone as Michelle Lee, former head of patent strategy at Google, was named branch office director.

When telecommunications and intellectual property management mix together in industry headlines, the theme does not always have to be two firms locked in contentious litigation. Case in point, French phone equipment manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent has independently decided to reassess the contents of its portfolio in pursuit of a new revenue generation strategy.

USPTO officials met with their counterparts from the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in Kyoto this week for the 30th annual Trilateral Conference. After reflecting on their achievements to date, the delegates signed a declaration pledging their renewed commitment to promote further development of and collaboration between patent offices around the world.