Author name: Jeff Lindsay

America’s Anti-Patent Revolution: Stoking the Engines of Innovation Fatigue

bioproducts, China, external fatigue, fatigue factors, government, incentives, innovation, Intellectual Assets, inventors, IP rights, North America, risk / By

My latest post here at Innovation Fatigue lamented the actions of the USPTO in their apparent war on patents involving natural products. New information makes the story even more troubling than before, indicating that more than just judicial error and bureaucratic blindness was involved. The steps taken appear much more deliberate and political than that, …

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Excluding Natural Products from Patent Protection?

entrepreneurs, external fatigue, fatigue factors, government, green innovation, incentives, innovation, IP rights, patents / By

In response to recent court cases, the USPTO has dramatically revised its approach to dealing with a wide variety of patents. Its new guidelines to patent examiners on subject matter eligibility for inventions involving natural products seem to go way beyond the legal decisions on which they are allegedly based, adding extremely high barriers to patentability. …

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Chinese Company Relies on IP to Gain Giant Loan: Lessons from Quanlin (Tralin) Paper

Asia, China, collaboration, government, investment, IP rights / By

Breaking news from the Province of Shandong in northern China: A Chinese paper company, Quanlin Paper (also called “Tralin Paper”) has successfully used its portfolio of patents and trademarks to secure a huge loan of 7.9 billion RMB (about $1.3 billion). Potentially significant story for those tracking IP and innovation in China. The story was …

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Don’t Let Mergers and Acquisitions Kill Innovation

corporate, fatigue factors / By

One of the great innovation killers in the Corporate world is the traumatic change that can come with a merger and acquisition. Through rough handling and several forms of neglect, some of the brightest would-be innovators for the transformed company can be driven out or, if they remain on board, turned from enthusiastic contributors to …

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Innovation and Potato Peelers: Beware Cheap Imitations

corporate, horn of innovation, innovation, management / By

Pictured to the left is my potato peeler/fruit peeler which I purchased in Shanghai. It is dutifully based on the design of typical peelers long sold by Western companies. But I suspect this imitation object was copied and manufactured by people unacquainted with the finer points of peeling potatoes. In peeling potatoes, one frequently encounters …

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Open Innovation and Trade Secrets

China, open innovation, tech transfer, technology, theft, trade secrets, universities / By

A culture that can protect trade secrets is vital for innovative companies. Such a culture becomes especially important in collaborative innovation efforts where failure to protect trade secrets can severely damage partners and the offending company’s reputation.  Chinese companies are increasingly recognizing the value of what the West calls “open innovation.” In fact, forms of …

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Tortoise Innovation: The Problem with Hiding in a Shell

inventors, leadership, management, open innovation, publications, publicity, universities, voice of the innovator / By

Many large companies take a tortoise approach to innovation and stay as hidden within their shells as possible, even some who advocate open innovation. Tortoise companies may have creative R&D staff, including many scientists doing good work, but they keep these inventors hidden in the shell rather than encouraging them to publish or present their …

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Prisoners of Hope: Valuable Innovation Guide from Lanny Vincent

consumer products, corporate, decision making, incentives, innovation, inventing, inventors / By

Prisoners of Hope: How engineers and Others Get Lift for Innovating by Larry Vincent is an unusual book on innovation that I found to be a refreshing guide to strengthening innovation with great practical value. Part of what makes this book unusual and, for some, perhaps highly challenging, is that it is written from the …

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Chester Carlson and the Xerox Story: Do Great Inventors Really Have to Die Early and Lonely?

discovery, inventing, inventors, patents / By

The photocopier, one of the most valuable inventions in the modern world, began with the all-consuming passion of one man, Chester Carlson, who sacrificed almost everything he had for years to realize his dream of “dry printing” using electrostatic means. In the end, he became wealthy and successful, but the years of effort required should …

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Trade Secrets: Tips Given at the Global IP and Innovation Summit, Shanghai, Sept. 4-5, 2013

China, innovation, theft, trade secrets / By

I had the privilege of speaking at the Global IP and Innovation Summit, Sept. 4-5, Shanghai, organized by Managing IP, an outstanding IP magazine. This was a terrific conference with about 300 participants, opened with a keynote from the Acting Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, Teresa Stanek Rea. I got to chat …

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