Article | May 26, 2021
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued its 10 millionth patent number in June 2018 and continues to go strong. In fact, according to a PatentlyO.com-published report, “We are about three-fourths of the way through fiscal year 2019 (ends September 30, 2019) and the USPTO is on-track to issue the most patents ever in a single year period,” with the author forecasting, “330,000 issued utility patents, which is up about five percent from the prior one-year high in 2017.” While these kinds of milestones have created much ado about patents that have changed the world, including a number of popular culture pieces, the unfortunate truth remains that a great number of organizations don’t really understand how powerfully advantageous a tool patents can be.
As the pace of patent filings quicken—noting that it took fully 121 years to issue the first million patents but only three years to move from nine to ten million—businesses that understand how to analyze, identify and capitalize on various intellectual property (IP) trends can dramatically hasten and increase value creation, and valuation, within their companies. This is according to patent attorney and IP authority JiNan Glasgow George, a former USPTO patent examiner and engineer turned entrepreneur who launched the Magic Number Patent Forecast software —a comprehensive intelligence tool leveraging machine learning to uncover silent trends sweeping the business landscape, revealing who is filing patents, when and in what sectors. With this kind of AI-driven data, organizations can easily detect early-stage shifts and pinpoint other trends and marketplace insights to give companies a tremendous competitive edge.
“Intellectual property is not just an idea, concept or invention, but rather a financial asset that can render tangible results,” JiNan notes. “Organizations need to shift their mentality away from patents being seen as merely a way to protect their own idea and, instead, regard them as a means to grow a business and create wealth through intellectual property-driven analytics and key business assets that drive revenue. This can include analyzing the competition through a uniquely telling lens, deciding which products to build next, identifying 'white space' industry opportunity and more.”
After more than two decades managing legal matters pertaining to patents and trademarks, JiNan has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and innovation-based companies understand how to parlay patents into assets that give them an edge. Below are three of her key reasons why analyzing patent trends can pay off in a big way:
1. Enhanced Competitive Intelligence. Did you know that large banking institutions like Bank of America and payment card companies like Mastercard and Visa hold large amounts of patents in cryptocurrency? Or that a pharmaceutical company is the leading patent owner in the cannabis sector? Or that consumer sleep is among the newest IP-heavy categories, with Apple emerging as a primary player? Or that early stage companies such as Luminar may be outpacing automotive giants?
“Because investment in patents always leads market activity, we can see investment trends before they’re visible in market activity,” JiNan explains. “Every sector contains strategic insights that can translate into mission critical assets. We also find evidence of investment that might seem contradictory—like a major bank investing heavily in its supposed competitor: cryptocurrrency. It’s data science that allows companies to predict the next waves of innovation within their particular industries and markets.”
2. Drastically Increased Valuation. IP isn’t just for tech and consumer product companies, as even service businesses can pursue IP protection through patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Unfortunately, many businesses are highly undervalued because the owner or executive has not created any IP or cultivated what they have. This is a grave error given that IP plays a huge role in an entity’s valuation. In fact, IP is the one thing that impacts the valuation multiple beyond the profitable business, itself. As such, using trend data to determine with greater accuracy how and where to allocate IP-related resources is key, as “getting it right” can be a significant boon to the bottom line.
“Some start-up companies I’ve worked with have IP portfolios that are more efficient and valuable than large corporations in the same markets,” JiNan notes. “That gives them a high valuation—a vital factor also making these companies attractive targets for investors, mergers and acquisitions. Some companies invest a lot in patents that ultimately are not very valuable, while other companies file for inventions that yield significant returns. The profitable ones can produce impact that multiplies their IP investment—even early stage companies can have IP valuations that are $10 million, $50 million, even $100 million or more. A data-driven IP strategy that considers present inventions in market context can create a five times or more increase in valuation.”
3. Maximized First Mover Advantage. Prior to 2013, the first to invent was entitled to patent rights. The current system—established through the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act—is a “first-to-file” system, meaning that patent rights are given to the first person or entity to file an application whether or not they were the first inventor of the technology, product or service. With access to patent trends and other IP-driven data, companies can not only make smarter investments and develop better strategies to target emerging markets, but also aptly identify underserved or even entirely unexploited facets within those markets.
“Patent data offers huge insight into who is investing in what kind of technology and where and how those funds and efforts are being allocated, long before commercial activity,” JiNan says. “Any company preparing to enter a new market will leave evidence of their intentions in areas that represent opportunity. If you are looking to capitalize on gaps in the market, it’s important to remember there’s no second place in patents—you need trend data to be continuously updated and analyzed. The companies and individuals who profit most from intellectual property are often not the ones who initially created it. ”
According to JiNan, one of the most significant areas of opportunity loss for entrepreneurs and corporate executives is a lack of understanding of patent strategy and undervaluing the pursuit thereof. Because p atents are often the highest value intellectual property assets, she asserts that having an inside track on this kind of activity—and taking proactive measures to interpret and capitalize on that data—can be a real game-changer for an organization.
Ways to gain that “inside track” as well as other ways to maximize patent ROI and profit from your IP endeavors will be explored at the annual Eclipse IP Conference this October in Cary/RTP, North Carolina. Founded in 2013, Eclipse brings together global thought leaders in IP to discuss best practices in patent investment, with this year’s theme being “Own Your Zone, Leveraging IP to Increase Marketshare.” These days, it’s not just about procuring the data. It’s what you strategically do with that data that really counts. The conference includes the likes of New Orleans Saints all-time yardage leading wide receiver Marques Colston, supply chain expert Irfan Khan, Eugene Gold (who grew his business by a staggering 4,400%) and bestselling author Randy Nelson.
With patents among the most important and valuable assets a business can hold, said to serve as “the lifeblood of innovation,” when employed well they can proffer a remarkable return on investment—especially when facilitating market, category or process exclusivity. With JiNan’s insights above, it’s clear that deciphering and mapping early-stage patents and market data can be a powerfully effective means toward this end.
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Emerging Technology, Government Business
Article | October 7, 2022
The CARES ACT (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) passed by Congress created a sprawling, multi-faceted plan to combat COVID-19 and its debilitating effects on the U.S. economy. Signed into law in March, the $2 trillion relief package allocated funding for preserving jobs, backfilling government budgets, helping school districts, providing assistance for the unemployed and establishing grant programs for various industry sectors such as transportation and telecommunications.
There are murmurs of a second stimulus bill which could be debated as soon as July, with the president on July 2 expressing his support for one. But, billions of dollars remain in the CARES Act funding for numerous programs. Much of that funding has reached recipients already, and more should start flowing at any time. All parties and stakeholders are eager, of course, for the funding to reach governmental entities. CARES Act funding programs include the following examples.
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, program was established with approximately $13.2 billion. This funding is designated for public school districts through an application process that has oversight from each state’s centralized education agency. Texas school districts received $1.29 billion through the program, just behind the state of California, which received the highest allotment at $1.6 billion. Other states receiving a larger share of ESSER funding are New York ($1.03 billion), Florida ($770 million), Illinois ($569 million), and Georgia ($457 million).
The program requires that at least 90 percent of the grant funding must be awarded to schools that received Title I, Part A funding during the 2019-20 school year. That stipulation will result in only school systems with a high number of students from low-income families being eligible for the bulk of the revenue. Applications are to be submitted to the state education agency for review and approval. However, decisions about how the funding is used are to be made by local officials in the school districts.
Another part of the CARES Act provides billions more in funding for airports. The Airport Improvement Program (AIP) offers $10 billion in distributions through grants for capital projects. This revenue can also be used to fill funding gaps in fiscal year 2020 budgets, since airport systems throughout the nation sustained such heavy losses as a result of the pandemic. Previously, the grants required a local funding match, but the CARES Act increased the federal share to 100 percent.
The AIP program allocates $7.4 billion for commercial airports that serve more than 10,000 passengers annually. Another $2 billion is set aside for commercial airports and general aviation airports. Looking at the listed intended uses of these funds, it appears that many airports will have thousands of upcoming contracting opportunities. Millions will be spent on projects to extend and/or rehabilitate runways. Other airports plan to install new lighting, expand terminals, purchase additional safety equipment, reconfigure taxiways, conduct studies, and develop planning documents for future expansion.
Cities and counties are most eager to participate in the $5 billion in funding available for local government programs and projects through the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, program. This funding is intended for local governmental officials to use for corridor redevelopment, economic development initiatives and other projects. Every state received funding and some of the larger allocations were designated for Texas ($63.4 million), California ($113 million), Florida ($63 million), and New York ($70.5 million).
The U.S. Economic Development Organization continues to accept applications for projects that reinvigorate regional economic recovery, with $1.5 billion earmarked in the CARES Act for the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program. Through grants for projects that “leverage existing regional assets,” this program is designed to support economic development within distressed communities. Funding is available to states, counties, universities, and regional planning organizations, as well as for public-private partnerships.
Examples of funding allocated through the program include the award of a $400,000 in grant to the Kennebac Valley Council of Governments in Maine to update its economic development plans and provide COVID-19 services. In Texas, the Concho Valley Council of Governments in San Angelo received a $2.2 million grant to purchase a building for its regional headquarters.
The city of Odessa is using $927,708 in CDBG grant money for several social services programs and to supplement local nonprofits’ efforts during the pandemic. And the city of Lewisville recently received $5.8 million in CARES Act money, which includes $452,305 in CDBG grants.
The Federal Transit Administration is distributing $25 billion with approximately $22.7 billion earmarked for large and small urban areas and $2.2 billion set aside for rural areas. This funding does not require a local match of any kind, and it can be used for capital projects and for operations and/or planning purposes, as long as those activities relate in some way to COVID-19.
Transit agencies in urban areas with a population over one million --- such as Cap Metro, which received $104 million --- are getting $17.5 billion through the FTA. Transit agencies serving areas with populations fewer than one million --- such as Brownsville, Texas, which is receiving $7.6 million --- are getting $5.1 billion.
In the middle of the current, historic pandemic, the economy will significantly be stimulated by projects and initiatives that result from this funding. Public-private collaboration will not only create jobs and generate additional revenue flow, it will result in getting Americans working together again … and that will serve the country well.
Mary Scott Nabers is president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships Inc., a business development company specializing in government contracting and procurement consulting throughout the U.S. Her recently released book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, is a handbook for contractors, investors and the public at large seeking to explore how public-private partnerships or joint ventures can help finance their infrastructure projects.
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Government Business
Article | July 11, 2022
The pandemic has blown up entrepreneurs and start-up ecosystems, so government support for start-ups has become critical.
The majority of them faced cash shortages and a lack of venture capital. For start-ups, cash is the most pressing issue. Furthermore, start-ups experienced a slow fundraising process accompanied by investor indifference.
Furthermore, the global workforce was not left untouched by the spillover. Start-ups began to lay off employees and reduce pay. According to StartupGenome research, three out of every four employees were letting their employer down.
While 39% of them laid off 20% or more of their workforce, two-thirds admitted to laying off 60% or more of their full-time employees. In the United States, the economy experienced the sharpest decline in employment, with 20.5 million people losing their jobs.
Following that, in order to address this and reduce the pandemic's impact on start-ups, the governments of many countries have stepped in to save their country's start-up ecosystem.
We've listed a few of the government's initiatives to help start-ups during the current cash crunch.
Direct grants and zero-interest loans:
Right now, cash is the most important concern for new businesses. Grants are regarded as the most beneficial policy instrument (29%), followed by loans (12%).
Access to venture capital investment:
If history is any guide, venture capital activity will likely decline in 2020 as well. This creates a quandary for the 18% of start-ups that require access to financing tools to increase investment.
Employment support schemes:
COVID-19 has had an impact on workforces all over the world. The US lost a record 20.5 million jobs in April, the fastest and sharpest drop since the government began tracking the data. Given these circumstances, it's no surprise that 17 percent of start-ups rank immediate employee protection as one of their top priorities.
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Article | April 13, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic touches every aspect of business, technology, and society. And stable and effective government is at the heart of managing through this crisis. What we do now will have longer-term implications for the health and safety of our families, our citizens, the economy, and even global stability. In the past few weeks, IBM has collaborated with many of our government clients and is driving action across three critical phases of response.
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