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Contact: Al Rickard, 703-402-9713 or arickard@associationvision.com
Intellectual Property Licensing Discussed at Licensing Executives Society Meeting in Philadelphia May 10-12 Joint meeting with Association of University Technology Managers Draws More Than 500 Attendees Some of the biggest issues in intellectual property licensing were discussed at the 2006 Spring Meeting of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel May 10-12, 2006. LES President Dwight Olson opened the meeting by highlighting the theme of "connecting" to new ideas and new friends while renewing relationships with longtime colleagues. Olson is Vice President of SEC e-Compliance Professional Services for Iron Mountain Digital in San Diego, California. Intellectual property licensing is often called the "business of ideas." It provides a framework for the commercialization of ideas and inventions to create products that improve people’s lives. Each of the sessions at the LES-AUTM meeting provided knowledge to help leaders from business, academia, government, and research laboratories find ways to facilitate this process. To support the theme of connecting, the opening plenary session focused on overcoming cultural and communication barriers in today’s increasingly global business environment. Three keynote speakers explored this issue and offered practical advice on how executives can work effectively with business partners overseas. Salvador Apud, Senior Partner with ITIM International for the Americas, highlighted many of the differences among business cultures. "What makes you a good manager in the United States can make you a lousy manager in other countries, and vice versa," he explained. Perceptions of people from other cultures can be a huge barrier to business relationships. For example, he noted the following characteristics that Mexican business executives ascribed to their German counterparts:
"Culture matters," he explained. "Companies need to use cultural diversity as a competitive advantage. They need to develop relationships and understand other cultures before doing business. People want to do business with friends." To make his point, Apud noted that the common American business phrase, "Time is money," is often replaced by "Relationships are money" in other nations. To achieve effective intercultural management, he listed the following attributes that executives should have to do business internationally:
A variety of intellectual property licensing issues were discussed in 40 education sessions. Topic tracks at the meeting included business development, health care, high tech, legal, international, and valuation and taxation. One track also focused on industry, academia, and government laboratories. One current issue dealt with nanotechnology, where navigating a complex thicket of patents is becoming a larger issue as this new technology finds its way into a range of new industries. Speakers in this session explained that 10 separate patents are now on file for microscopic carbon nanotubes, the essential building blocks of much of this technology. An additional 20 patents are on file for the manufacturing process for these nanotubes. Determining what type of licensing arrangements to offer (exclusive versus nonexclusive) is also a complicated area in this rapidly emerging field. Another session on surviving patent litigation featured real-life stories of intense patent infringement battles and offered advice on how to manage these difficult lawsuits, including how to approach jury trials. One speaker analyzed a well-known case of patent infringement in the medical area that pitted Johns Hopkins University against a company called Cellpro. Although Johns Hopkins initially lost in a jury trial, where it proved difficult to help the jury understand a complicated scientific issue, the university later won a $7 million settlement against the company, and the law firm that represented Cellpro was also hit with $4.25 million in class action lawsuit settlements. The lesson: It's not over 'till it's over. Dealing with "divorce" in intellectual property licensing collaborations was also discussed in a session, where experts shared strategies for enhancing communication between partners and writing contracts that spell out reasonable expectations. One speaker noted that more than half of the intellectual property collaborations between universities and corporations were deemed "failures" by the corporate CEOs, often due to miscommunication or a mismatch of expectations. On a lighter note, one session featured ballroom dancing as a metaphor for building business partnerships. Executives learned the elements of ballroom dancing and how certain moves and nonverbal cues can help a dance partner anticipate the next move, resulting in smooth dance steps. In the same way, establishing the right framework for a business partnership and setting up good communication allows both partners to anticipate how the other will react in certain situations. # # # About the Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. and Canada), Inc. Established in 1965, the Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. and Canada), Inc. (LES) is a professional society comprised of over 6,000 members engaged in the transfer, use, development, manufacture and marketing of intellectual property. The LES membership includes a wide range of professionals, including business executives, lawyers, licensing consultants, engineers, academicians, scientists and government officials. Many large corporations, professional firms, and universities comprise the Society's membership. Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. and Canada), Inc. is a member society of the Licensing Executives Society International, Inc. (LESI), with a worldwide membership of over 12,000 members in 30 national societies, representing over 80 countries. For more information on LES, visit www.usa-canada.les.org.
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