January 25, 2021
Foresight's Message: Message

Happy New Year to our colleagues, clients and friends! We hope everyone had a good start to 2021.  We are looking ahead with hope this year, as we slowly emerge from the pandemic with new opportunities and renewed energy!

We have kicked off 2021 with a recognition by the IAM Magazine in their inaugural IAM 300 Global Leaders publication.  I am honored to be included as one of the Global Leaders with an esteemed group of peers. My profile includes an interview where I talk about running an IP valuation firm and working with startups, and the challenges of staying current in an evolving market.

One of the main themes that we will be exploring this year is Digital Intangibles, with a main focus on Data.  This month we highlight an article recently published by IAM Magazine, where we discuss the Data Monetization Playbook, and provide best practices for companies that embark on an active Data monetization program.  In the Foresight in the Media section, we also highlight other Foresight publications, including our IP predictions for 2021, and a damages analysis of the Centripetal Networks v. Cisco Systems case.

Looking forward to seeing many of you virtually (and hopefully in person) in 2021!

Warmly, 

IAM 300 Global Leaders 2021IAM300



Foresight President, Efrat Kasznik, has recently been selected for the inaugural edition of the IAM 300 Global Leaders guide.  The guide draws from the worlds of private practice, consulting and other service providers, with specialists from the major IP markets in North America, Europe and Asia. 

Efrat's interview covers all aspects of running a leading IP valuation firm in an ever evolving global market, while particularly focusing on Foresight's work startups; below are some quotes from the interview:

-  "We have developed a specialty in valuing IP portfolios for funding, which requires a unique combination of understanding the start-up business model and funding ecosystem, as well as understanding how IP assets contribute to overall corporate value."
-  "Working with clients in the IP field requires us to be extremely agile with our consulting business model in order to best align our services with our clients' budgets, the circumstances of the IP marketplace and the technology landscape, all of which are constantly evolving."
-  "IP assets are often valued for the very first time when they get to us, and clients may not understand our process or may have unrealistic expectations about the results. We are fully transparent when working with clients, which helps to get them involved and keep them engaged throughout the process."
-  "I would like to see US IP commercialization activities diversify away from patent licensing into other types of transactions, including technology licensing, start-up spin-offs and transactions involving digital assets (eg, data and tokens)."



Data Monetization PlaybookDataMonetization



 
Foresight president, Efrat Kasznik, has recently published an article titled: "Adding data to your IP monetization playbook: how to make sure your company is ready". This articles lays out Foresight's unique playbook for Data monetization, which is a cutting-edge approach developed over years of working with companies, and particularly with startups, who actively monetize data as part of their overall IP monetization strategy.

The article explains why the role of the organization as a 'steward of data' should not be misconstrued as an injunction on data monetization. On the contrary, data has the potential to enhance corporate value in significant ways, and data assets should be viewed as an integral part of the modern IP portfolio (as digital intangibles). Using the analogy of data as the new fuel, the engines of data analytics are already revving up, all that is needed is to properly address roadblocks such as privacy and security. Every tech company that wants to jump on the data monetization train should be very familiar with the types of models and platforms allowing it to leverage its data assets.

This article particularly focuses on the monetary potential of data assets and their contribution to overall corporate value. Since data is not covered by patents, its monetization is not necessarily driven by exclusionary rights, but rather by its ability to drive consumer buying decisions or improve business processes. The article identifies the monetization challenges while exploring the emerging business models for data exploitation through some prominent examples in the market today. Many of these models represent a paradigm shift from how other key intangibles (eg, patents) are being valued and monetized. 

Full article here 
 
Media
Foresight in the Media
 
IP and Innovation Predictions for 2021



Foresight president, Efrat Kasznik, has been quoted by IPWatchdog in a survey of leading IP experts providing their predictions for 2021. One of Efrat's predictions included innovations in IP services related to trade secrets:

"IP Service to watch: Trade Secrets Registries - with the proliferation of trade secrets as key intangible assets, one of the most interesting IP services to emerge is AON's trade secrets registry. It offers a simple way to identify, record and manage trade secrets on an Ethereum blockchain platform."


 




Foresight Vice President, Lynn Dudinsky, has recently published an analysis of the Centripetal Networks, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. case in The Licensing Journal (Volume 40, Issue #10).  In his article, Lynn delves into the factors impacting the damages analysis that led to $1.9 billion in past damages award, one of the largest in US history, as well as future running royalty damages.

Interestingly enough, this was one of the first paten trials to be conducted via a live video platform; Lynn describes some of the court's reasoning for opting to go forward with the trial: "The court believes that it was in the public interest to move forward with the trial rather than waiting until an unknown time when courtrooms would be open for traditional civil trials".
 

 UpcomingEvents
 
A discussion of litigation data trends in intellectual property (including federal district court and PTAB) and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. the data will be presented by Geneva Clark, Patent Legal Data Expert, Lex Machina, and moderated by Efrat Kasznik, Chair, Valuation & Pricing Committee, LES USA-Canada.


Date: January 26, 2021
Time: 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET
Register for the LES Webinar here