The most recent issue of Intellectual Asset Management (issue 31, August/September 2008) contains a very interesting piece by Scott Bechtel (President of AmiCOUR International) and his colleague, AmiCOUR Vice-President Ray Throckmorton. The thesis of this article ("Maximum cost at minimum value") is that "One of the disincentives to drilling into a patent portfolio to search out further value-enhancing opportunities is cost. However, there are ways to save significant amounts of money – something that financial modelling will help patent owners discover".The authors discuss the initial screening ('triage') process in its traditional and more evolved forms, looking at the logic behind patent scoring systems and the balance between objective and subjective means of evaluation. The per-unit cost of determining whether a patent merits a full licensing programme is also considered, bearing in mind the realities of the business budget as well as the potential risks and rewards.
To see the full contents of this issue click here.
