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November 6, 2017
Efrat's  Message : MessageFromPresident

Happy Fall! It was great to see many of you at the Licensing Executives Society (LES) USA-Canada's Annual Meeting in Chicago (Oct. 22-25). It was a busy meeting for me, having just assumed the role of President-Elect of the High-Tech Sector (HTS), attending many workshops and meetings of our sector as well as other LES sectors.  I have also been tapped to lead the LES standards initiative related to startups and new ventures, an initiative that brings together a lot of the work we do here at Foresight, on the crossroad of IP best practices and startups.

One of the highlights of the meeting was recognizing the High-Tech Sector's 2017 Deal of Distinction Award for AT&T's patent sale to Uber. These awards are presented annually to promote creative and innovative solutions and recognize the most exceptional IP business deals of the year.  This ground-breaking deal represents a major acquisition of 87 issued patents and 5 patent applications by Uber from AT&T. The AT&T acquisition gives Uber a portfolio of patents having priority dates pre-dating Uber's formation in 2009, as well as most of the ridesharing industry in general. The IP covers various technologies related to messaging, call handling, routing network traffic, VoIP, and billing. Five of the AT&T patents are specifically related to ridesharing.

I had the honor of presenting the award to representatives of AT&T (Dave Kaufman, Director, Intellectual Property) and Uber (Kurt Brasch, Head of Patent Transactions, and Matt Kuipers, Patent Counsel) at the award lunch ceremony; I have also had the pleasure of hosting a Fireside Chat discussion of the deal and the key takeaways for LES members.   
         
LES 2017 Awards
HTS Awards Ceremony (from left to right):
Kurt Brasch (Uber), Matt Kuipers (Uber), 
       Dave Kaufman (AT&T), Efrat Kasznik (Foresight)

Also in this newsletter, we are happy to be re-launching our media & events page, with an improved user interface that allows easy access to our content library.  We have highlighted some of the selections for you to review, and please feel free to explore the site and send us any comments or suggestions.

Finally, one upcoming event that we are really excited about is a panel that I will be speaking on, hosted at the USPTO Silicon Valley office by Director John Cabeca.  This event is only 2 DAYS Away (November 8th) so if you are in the Bay Area, please make plans to attend!

  Warm Regards,
 

 
Re-launch of our Media & Events Page: Relaunch

Please check out our newly redesigned  media & events page . We've made it easier to navigate our collection of content and events. Below are a few highlights from our content library:

The article showcases how our Startup IP Valuation Model, developed in-house, is helping to  improve the IP valuation understanding and communications between startups and their investors. 

2.  Patent Strategies for New Entrants in Old Spaces and Old Entrants in New Spaces ( Insights 2017 Conference Workshop). In this workshop, held during the Innography user conference, Efrat moderated an expert panel discussing best practices and strategic considerations for creating and leveraging strong IP positions for both market entrants and incumbents, looking to gain or control freedom to operate (FTO) in a new market.

3. Webinar on Understanding the Financial Value of IP Assets. In this webinar, Efrat covers topics including "Why IP Valuation is So Challenging?", "When are IP Assets Valued?", "What is the IP Valuation Context?", and "How Do We Value IP Assets?".

Upcoming Events: UpcomingEvents
 
November 8th:  Fundamentals for Startups and SMEs: Optimize Protection and Grow Corporate value

Please mark your calendars for November 8th, when Foresight will be co-presenting at the USPTO Silicon Valley Office in San Jose!  The two-part event, hosted by Director John Cabeca, will explore the intersection between IP protection and corporate value, presenting best practices and case studies that highlight both protection and valuation aspects of managing IP for success. This is the one IP event you don't want to miss if you are in the Bay Area.

USPTO Silicon Valley address:
26 S. Fourth Street
San Jose, CA 95113

More info can be found  here.