Intellectual Property

  Scholarly publications have always been the first choice for keeping track of ground-breaking research in academia. These kinds of sources such as scientific journals are generally labeled as non-patent literature (NPL) in the context of IP. NPL is used as a valuable source for competitive intelligence and prior art for invalidity or novelty searches. Any NPL that is closely related to the subject matter covered in a patent application is cited within the document by the inventor or examiner. For example, the inventor or examiner cites any NPL that is closely linked to the subject matter in a patent application. Several competitive intelligence workflows also use NPL citations to gain insights on the extent of a patenting entity’s research. Kinds of NPL and their sources NPL can be broadly categorised into non-journal references and journal references. Non-journal references Reference books, magazines, social media, YouTube, blogs, announcements, co...

The term Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs) is used for individual inventors, universities and patent aggregators whose primary purpose is to enforce their patents through licences or litigation. In the past, NPEs were known as “patent trolls” or “patent assertion entities” (PAEs). Some NPEs license patents or sue organizations for patent infringement. However, not all NPEs do this. In fact, many of them help to enforce patents in order to protect legitimate patent holders from violations by infringers and pirates. Sometimes they can help inventors protect their rights and monetize their inventions by licensing them to other companies in exchange for royalty payments. Types of NPEs A. Holding companies These NPEs buy and aggregate patents under one or more holding companies. They build patent portfolios against a popular or futuristic technology and then look at enforcing or licensing it to third parties. Prominent NPEs of this type include: ·       ...