British Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Wilcox has been touring the facilities of several leading environmental innovators this week and encouraging members of the business community to take advantage of the so-called "green channel," a set of provisions that speed the patent application and review process for firms with eco-friendly new ideas.

Much like a logo applied to physical products, a company's website domain name contains a great deal of brand equity and needs to be protected appropriately. The intellectual property community has come to understand the importance of these issues in recent months as cases of so-called cybersquatting abound and organizations prepare their applications for a new website registration option.

Technology manufacturers who have been following industry headlines in recent months may be getting the impression that it's only a matter of time before one of their old patents or newest inventions becomes the target of an intellectual property dispute. Although infringement filings are on the rise, there are a number of preventative steps companies can take to reduce the odds of receiving an unwelcome subpoena.

German pharmaceutical giant Bayer has for several years retained exclusive intellectual property rights to a revolutionary cancer drug that could also hold the key to progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS. But according to Reuters, the Indian Patent Office "effectively ended Bayer's monopoly" by issuing a compulsory patent license that would allow a local company to produce a less expensive, generic equivalent.

The software industry has emerged as one of the most consistent sources of innovation in the American economy and has been a dynamic landscape for intellectual property management in recent years. Some legal experts have gone so far as to assert that the industry may be outgrowing the patent system as traditional modes of invention disclosure and application filing are becoming impractical.

The academic community has been a consistent source of innovation in the American economy, and universities have often been handsomely rewarded through well-designed patent licensing agreements. As companies look to navigate the new landscape brought on by the shift to a first to file system, it may be wise to follow the lessons observed in the higher-education sector.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent report on international protection confirmed on several levels that smart intellectual property strategies can help unlock global opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses. But according to IP Watchdog founder Gene Quinn, many smaller firms still view the patent system from the outside looking in.

Recent research from the National Women's Business Council has taken a closer look at the gender differences among patent applicants in the past four decades, suggesting that the rise of female patent holders may lead to a surge in entrepreneurial activity and women-owned businesses.

One of the largest fundamental changes introduced by the America Invents Act was the expansion of the prior user rights defense to patents covering all technologies, as opposed to prior mandates that limited the defense's application to business processes. Although this provision is expected to provide crucial intellectual property protection to parties that have been using an invention in the field for more than a year, some wonder if the legislation may indirectly foster a culture of secrecy that inhibits invention disclosure.

Agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto recently marked an important victory in an intellectual property dispute with rival firm and DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International. A court ruling ultimately upheld a Monsanto patent claim even though Pioneer was effectively first to file the original application.