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Tighter market conditions are compelling the world’s creative and technology giants to step up their efforts to sue those who infringe their intellectual property rights. Seeming alert to the value in unique assets, nearly 40% of the largest outfits said they were more willing to earn from their IP rights during the downturn by going to court. This is the conclusion of a study by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which polled 130 corporations, worth between $500m to $5bn, trading in 11 IP jurisdictions. Obtained by CUK yesterday, the key findings show that litigation will be the main avenue that leading companies choose to generate more revenue from their IP assets. Chris Forsyth, an IP specialist at Freshfields, said the greater appetite to litigate to protect IP rights “is surprising” given the cost and the implications. “One would have thought that litigation would be a last resort during a downturn - legal proceedings are expensive and the outcome can be unpredictable.” Indicating some outfits want to avoid such risks, the survey found that 30% of them plan to exploit their IP assets by licensing, collaboration and joint ventures. And whereas once IP assets were jealously guarded, 80% of the outfits said their level of licensing activity will increase or remain steady during recessionary trading. Moreover, a quarter of these respondents said they were “confident” of an increase in licensing activity either as a licensor or licensee amid the challenging conditions. Of the total sample, a third of businesses said they were planning to devote more resources to IP generation and protection directly as a result of the downturn. Freshfields reflected. “There will be a rise in infringement activity during the downturn as businesses desperate to maintain a presence in the market resort to preying on their competitor's products, brands and technologies. “IP owning companies expect this and will be quick to take action to protect their market share.” To decide their response, IP owners must balance the tension between the importance of exclusive rights to their outfit’s success and the risks involved in enforcing those rights. “Historically, the IP sector has performed well through economic slumps as companies have sought proactively to leverage their IP rather than leave it idle,” said Mr Forsythe, adding: “Businesses are hungry to see a tangible money return on their IP portfolio.” Jun 9, 2009 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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