Can you explain how your Patents and IP support your Competitive Advantage?

At its core, strategy is all about competitive advantage. Strategy is fundamentally about how to gain and sustain an advantage over direct and indirect competitors. Competitors, of course, include anyone seeking or drawing revenue (or attention) from the same market segments you are pursuing.

So then, why is your IP Strategy so disconnected from competitive advantage?

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Nine Ways Intellectual Property will be Impacted by COVID-19

Here are some ways I predict the IP landscape will be impacted by the devastating impacts of COVID-19. You’ll notice I only listed eight below–I saved the ninth way for you. What is the other way you think IP will change?

  • IP Litigation. Litigation inevitably increases after economic downturn. IP litigation will continue or increase as market scarcity increases and, consequently, competition for the same market segment rises.
  • IP Strategy. Businesses that lack strategic direction will seek strategic counsel and insight. The top priorities of IP owners will be 1) make sure legal teams understand business strategy and objectives, and 2) find ways to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate, implement, and report on alignment of IP Strategy with business strategy and objectives.
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Use these 3 Perspectives to Think about your Startup?

You can take an idea and turn it into a business in numerous ways. Most businesses, however, can be viewed from 3 separate perspectives:

  • What is the product or service you offer?
  • Who is your target market, and how do you sell your product/service to them?
  • Have you minimized risks to allow you “freedom to operate” your business?
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Use these Four Factors to Assess Your Business Strategy Profile

Every business exists for a purpose. Usually, that purpose is to make money. However, making money is not a business strategy. Selling products or services is not a strategy, either. It is entirely possible to run a business by selling products or services to make money, without having a strategy in place. It is possible, but it is dangerous because the business will be reactive to customers, competitors, and other market forces, instead of proactively driving toward a specific posture within the competitive landscape.

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Are You a RACE Inventor? Four Characteristics of Successful Inventors

[This post was originally published August 19, 2018, on LinkedIn by Jeff Holman.]

Inventors, like inventions, come in all shapes and sizes. Over the years, working with thousands of inventors has given me a lot of time to refine my thoughts about inventors.

Early on, I thought I could easily pick out the “crazy inventors.” Maybe I could, but over time I realized some of the craziest inventors were the most likely to be successful. Others were simply crazy.

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