If you follow the headlines from Silicon Valley you might have encountered the stories reciting the chronic shortage in CFOs, particularly for late-stage VC backed startups who are looking to get ready for exit (IPO or acquisition). I find these stories particularly troublesome, as one of the key assignments of a CFO in a startup […]
The Annual Intellectual Property Report to Congress: Risking 40% of GDP to Recoup 3%
| Posted in Blog | No commentThe Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) issued its Annual Intellectual Property Report to Congress this month (“Annual IP Report”). The Annual IP Report details the coordinated efforts of the White House, the Departments of Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture, the Office of the U.S. […]
Carrots and Coins: The 2018 IP Valuation Year in Review:
| Posted in Blog | No commentA lot has been written on the impact of the new leadership at the USPTO on the value of patents. Since his appointment in early 2018, Director Andrei Iancu has managed to introduce new initiatives that increase transparency and uniformity in how the USPTO and the courts interpret patent claims and validity challenges, reforms that […]
Helsinn v. Teva Decision: Secret Sales Qualify as Prior Art under the AIA
| Posted in Blog | No commentThe Supreme Court issued its decision on Helsinn Healthcare S. A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. on January 22, 2019, upholding and applying the pre-AIA on-sale precedent to post-AIA matters. This holding establishes that a sale or offer to sell, including secret sales and sales that do not publicly disclose the details of the invention, […]
