Business Power: Creating New Wealth from IP Assets

Chapter 6. How to Turn White Space Dark for Fun and Profit: Capturing and Creating IP Assets

STEVE PARMELEE

A white space management agenda is, first and foremost, a survival activity. Done properly, however, white space inventing can also create value that leads to direct increases on the bottom line.

Key Points to Look For

• The patent portfolio should provide a comprehensive quilt of patented technologies that leaves no “white space” (holes) in the protective blanket.

• White spaces represent a vulnerability and threat to your company that, if not quickly repaired, allow a competitor to potentially disrupt your business and, in the worst case, actually create the need for you to license from the competitor.

• White space inventing is a sophisticated process that may look like brainstorming, but is much more focused and serious.

• Every company will have intellectual assets that need to be codified and protected to ensure maximum value to the inventor and the enterprise.

“White Spaces”

The IP executive (it could be the CTO, IP Counsel, or an outside law firm) must establish a portfolio of IP assets. Large and small companies need to develop their portfolio and manage it as a compilation of business and financial assets. Patents are business assets that often constitute some of the more challenging contents of an IP portfolio. Each patent should have a corresponding area of business coverage or ...