Intellectual Property: The Tough New Realities That Could Make or Break Your Business

by Paul Goldstein

Arguing that few truly original ideas exist and that most businesses borrow the innovations of their competitors, an analysis of where the line should be drawn regarding property rights shares case... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591841771
• ISBN13: 9781591841777
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Portfolio
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

An engaging perspective regarding pros and cons of IP law

The phrase "Catch 22" was coined from the book of the same title that was published in the early 1960's, where fighter pilots were forced to fly deadly missions. The only way to get out of those missions was to be certified as crazy and ask to stop flying; however, the act of asking to stop flying showed rational self-preservation - hence the asker wasn't crazy and had to keep flying. A similar sort of legal circular reasoning is disected in a book titled Intellectual Property. In it, author Paul Goldstein discusses the four main types of U.S. intellectual property (IP): patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. Obviously these assets have value, but the question is how to protect these assets. It's this effort to preserve the value of intangibles that drives the "IP paradox" or "Catch 22" -- where property rights are given to IP owners, while harming those who can't pay for access to the assets but helping those who can pay -- Goldstein notes this inconsistency tends to vary further, country-by-country. Soundview recommends this book because the author deftly navigates this "Catch 22" hodge-podge of legal landmines to help illuminate the path to intellectual property protection and utilization.

Lucid, lively, unlawyerly look at intellectual property

While it may sound evanescent, intellectual property is the bedrock of many contemporary companies. Some analysts believe that intellectual property (called "IP" by the initiated) represents 76% of the Fortune 100s' market cap. Similarly, some 80% of the S & P 500s' value comes from IP and other intangibles. What is this exotic, but valuable, commodity? IP is made up of four main kinds of government-granted property rights: patents (for inventions like a better mousetrap), copyrights (for works of expression like books), trademarks (such as "Coke" and "Pepsi") and trade secrets (such as the Coca-Cola recipe). In this slim, lively book, Paul Goldstein, a leading expert on IP, brings this ethereal topic down to earth. Best of all, he describes the principles behind the legal rules, allowing you to understand where IP laws might be going and why. Whatever industry you are in, getAbstract suggests that it could be wise to learn about IP, particularly given this painless introduction.

How to manage the risks and rewards of intellectual assets

I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard a C-level executive say something to the effect that her or his organization's "most valuable assets walk out the door at the end of each day." Indeed they do. How effectively are they managed? In turn, how effectively do they manage the intellectual property entrusted to their care, especially now when organizations have become so "transparent" as they struggle to "navigate the tricky passages where the law and business of intellect assets converge? What we have in this volume is a wealth of information, observations, insights, and suggestions that can be of incalculable value to decision-makers as they make their way during that perilous journey. Paul Goldstein carefully organizes and then presents his material within seven chapters, followed by a "Sources" section (Pages 209-231) for those who wish to obtain additional information about one or more issues addressed in a given chapter. As Goldstein points out, "In this book I will examine the most important forms of intellectual property, using legal studies to illustrate routes to success and failure in managing legal risk and extracting value from these assets. I will also shine a light on the underlying forces of change that make intellectual property so challenging as a business asset." Goldstein is a professor at Stanford Law School and counsel to the Morrison & Foerster firm for which he works on intellectual property litigation and transactions for corporate clients throughout the world. Of special interest to me is his explanation of how and why technological change as well as shifting social and economic currents regularly disrupt the patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets that protect intellectual assets. Therein lies what he perceives to be a paradox: "without property rights these assets will be underproduced, but with property rights they will be underused" and thus deprive legislators and judges of "steady compass points" to guide their lawmaking. He addresses questions such as these: What are the most important forms of intellectual property? Which "routes to success and failure in managing legal risk" should be carefully considered? How to extract value from IP assets? What are the underlying forces of change that make IP so challenging as a business asset? Why are the risks and rewards of intellectual assets no less manageable than those of other business activities? Which management tools can be most helpful to managing intellectual assets? As Goldstein explains in his Introduction, "The central lesson of this book is that every decision involving intellectual assets is ultimately a legal decision, and that every legal decision is at bottom a business decision. If intellectual property is economically too important to be left to lawyers, it is also too legally charged to be left to managers." They must work effectively together to ensure that all business decisions are legally sound and that all legal deci

The impact of the Internet on IP law has been to exaggerate legal trends. Get this book to understan

I liked this book. I thought it was very informative. I've been familiar with intellectual property law since my days at law school. And I've known and understood much of what was presented in this book. I believe that just about any entrepreneur will get something out of this book. And I certainly recommend that entrepreneurs, and upper level executives at mid to large companies, set a little time aside to read this book to help them in income earning endeavors. The book has an introduction and 7 chapters: 0. Introduction 1. The intellectual property paradox 2. Patents 3. Copyrights 4. Trademarks 5. Trade secrets 6. Intellectual assets on the Internet 7. Intellectual assets in International Markets I think I would have liked the book better if there had been a chapter inserted after the introduction that gave an overview of intellectual property law. An explanation of intellectual property in general terms would have been good. And an explanation how the law of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets all interrelated would have been great! Unfortunately, we had to read about this in piecemeal as we read chapters 2-5. I also would have liked the book better if there had been a chapter on IP licensing. Apparently few IP cases go to trial, or at least litigation doesn't conclude in a judgment by court or jury. Settlement involves some sort of licensing agreement or agreements. The book mentions licensing quite a bit, but never really explains it. I think the subject is important enough to warrant a chapter being devoted to it. The intended audience for this book is business people - not lawyers. As such, I think the author wrote the text using too much "lawyer talk." For example, What is discovery? I doubt your average businessperson knows. And why are specific court cases important to mention? Also, I think the book would have been so much better if chapters had been more structured and better outlined. The way they were written I got the feeling while I was reading them that I was a law school professor reading final exam essays submitted by law students. The content is certainly there. But it could have been laid out more clearly. Stick to the points rather than get caught up in the intricacies of a court matter. 4 stars!