“How to Jump-Start Entrepreneurship” by Philip Delves Broughton is an op-ed piece in the Dec. 26 Wall Street Journal that wisely notes how complex the recipe for entrepreneurial success is. But the real magic sauce, he argues, is connectivity. Start-ups and innovators need to be connected to those who know how to solve the many …
At Tissue World 2012 in Shanghai this week, a conference related to the booming business of producing tissue paper, I had a sobering conversation with a former employee from one of the world’s great equipment companies. I overheard a current employee at this company state that things were slow, in spite of the global surge …
Even Mature, Basic Industries Must Remember This: It’s an iTunes World Read More »
One of my favorite conferences dealing with the details of successful open innovation and technology transfer strategy is CoDev, the annual conference sponsored by the Management Roundtable and now chaired by Cheryl Perkins of Innovationedge. I think I’ve been there four times and it was always worthwhile and extremely helpful. I’m pleasantly surprised that CoDev …
CoDev, the Open Innovation Forum, Is Coming to Shanghai Read More »
One of the most serious factors contributing to innovation fatigue in the U.S. and many other nations can be the failure of government to protect and enforce property rights, including intellectual property rights. When the fruits of invention can be plucked by anyone without benefit to the inventor, when the risks and costs of innovation …
Now the Fed Joins the Attack on Intellectual Property Rights Read More »
The new intellectual property book by Nick Nssing, Patents and Strategic Inventing: The Corporate Inventor’s Guide to Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage (McGraw-Hill, 2013) is a refreshing guide to help inventors and leaders in corporations. It is a collaborative work with a variety of contributors (myself included) providing a few chapters in addition to the excellent …
One of the great innovation fatigue factors in many nations is the lack of an effective patent system to protect intellectual property rights. When IP rights are weak or nonexistent, there is little incentive for innovation and economies can lag far behind their potential. China has recognized the need to do more than just low-cost …
As China’s IP engine continues to power up, the West remains blind to what is happening here. China now leads the worlds in patents. China’s companies aren’t just doing junk patents filed as unexamined, low-cost utility model applications in China. Two of the top five international patent filers, filing expensive, examined, international patent applications, are …
Innovators need to recognize that there are numerous IP risks that their new products and services may face. Sometimes a little attention to your supply chain, packaging, and business model can greatly reduce those risks. An excellent resource on this topic, from which I have drawn a couple of suggestions, is “IP risk assessments – …
One of the great ironies of politics is that measures intended to solve problems often intensify them. The North American Free Trade Agreement, for example, was touted as a means to promote “free trade” and make it easier on companies to do business in North America. The reality is not always that way. NAFTA, like …
Surprising NAFTA-Based Burdens for US Textile Firms Read More »
So often I hear Westerners complain about innovation in China or about innovation from Chinese employees. There is a perception that Chinese people are great at following directions and working hard but poor at creativity and innovation. Yes, there is a cultural emphasis on respecting authority, following instructions, and sticking to one’s duties. There is …