Are we getting value for all the money we’re spending on patents?
By David French
“How can we find out whether we’re getting value for all the money we’re spending on patents within the company?”
This is a question I’ve heard before, and it’s a tough one to answer.
Corporations today are spending money on intellectual property. This includes not only patents but also trademarks and copyrights and occasionally industrial designs. All these items should be addressed in the modern high technology environmental. But a difficulty exists, particularly with respect to patents, in determining whether money invested in patents is money well spent.
There is a story going around that companies should have a large portfolio of patents in order to protect them in case they are sued by a competitor. The theory is that if you are sued then you will counter-sue, relying on one or more patents in the patent portfolio. But there is a fallacy involved in this scenario.
