I found this article on TMCnet.com. Essentially companies, both large and small, are using patents to both protect their intellectual property and create new sources of revenue.
Instead of using patent law just to protect their products, companies have begun using their intellectual property, or IP, as part of a comprehensive corporate strategy to create and manage their business.
In layman's terms, "It's my idea, but you can use it if you pay me, and if I can make money off what you make using it." Oversimplified, I know, but I like things made simple.
They continue:
Under this new approach, a company uses its patents proactively to seed its technology across various markets. The concept also involves offering licensing deals on reasonable terms to help grow business and to collaborate in ways that advance the technology as a whole. In this way, a company can broaden its sphere of influence by creating a business ecosystem that shares the same technology.
In some ways it's a fascinating concept. All this is being hastend by things like the $600M settlement BlackBerry just paid out over a patent dispute. There are more cases like that on the horizon, too. Congress is also considering patent reform legislation.
Last year, in a major shift in the way IBM manages its intellectual property, the company pledged 500 of its existing software patents to a "patent commons." The patent commons, conceived much like a village commons, is intended to enable Linux and other open-source software developers to use IBM's proprietary technology without risk of infringement.
IBM said it made the move to counter the effects of protectionist patent policies, which can stifle innovation. By allowing free access to these patents, IBM hopes that open-source software developers will extend IBM's existing technology by making new advances.
So it looks like even companies like Big Blue are pointing their ships in this direction.
In another approach, certain companies with closely related patents may collaborate by organizing a technology "pool" that enables members to share their patent rights under a set of defined rules. Pools can be useful in developing industry standards for software or hardware architecture.
So, if you've got a great idea, especially in the high tech arena, you just might want to find the number of a good patent attorney and start a dialogue soon!
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