On the Value of Patents in Lean IP Management
- 1 Schwarz and Baldus LLP, Munich, Germany
- 2 Munich, Germany
- 3 Eder Schieschke & Partner mbB, Munich, Germany
Abstract
This article highlights under which unique conditions value can be assigned to patents by the concept of Lean IP Management. In general, a patent can be regarded as a positive asset when it covers a product having market potential and it can be enforced as a prohibition right effectively. In particular, there exist three core criteria for monetary evaluating patents. The first and most basic criterion relates to the fact that only those patents protecting subject-matter that has market potential can be considered as positive assets. The second and the third criteria stipulate that even if the first criterion is fulfilled, the patent has to be enforceable in reality in order to be seen as a positive asset. In summary waste avoidance not only in general business operations but also in handling of IP rights is the core measure and most efficient tool for sustained growth of the enterprise. By consequently sorting out negative assets by Lean IP Management , the overall value of the patent portfolio is increased and managing of remaining IP rights can be conducted more efficiently .
- Shah, R. and Ward, P.T. (2007) Defining and Developing Measures of Lean Production. Journal of Operations Management, 25, 785-805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2007.01.019
- Charron, R., Harrington, H.J., Voehl, F. and Wiggin, H. (2014) The Lean Management Systems Handbook. CRC Press, Boca Raton, 95.
- Needles, B. and Crosson, S. (2013) Managerial Accounting. Cengage Learning, Boston, 139.
- Krafcik, J.F. (1988) Triumph of the Lean Production System. Sloan Management Review, 30, 41-52.
- Womack, J.P., Jones, D.T. and Roos, D. (1990) The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1-352.
- Bartenbach, K. and Volz, F.-E. (2013) Arbeitnehmererfindungsgesetz ArbEG, Carl Heymanns, 952.
- Mittelstaedt, A. (2016) Intellectual Property Management. Springer Gabler, Berlin, 96. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-02992-0
- Weatherall, K.G. and Webster, E. (2010) Patent Infringement in Australia: Results from a Survey. Federal Law Review, 38, 24. https://doi.org/10.22145/flr.38.1.2
- Baldus, O. and Heckmann, C. (2017) Lean IP-Management—Savings Costs for IP Management Based on a Paradigm Change in Assessing Inventions. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 7, 760-770. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2017.76054
- Gassmann, O. and Bader, M.A. (2016) Patentmanagement: Innovationen erfolgreich nutzen und schützen. Springer Verlag, Berlin, 59.
- Ensthaler, J. and Strübbe, K. (2006) Patentbewertung-Ein Praxisleitfaden zum Patentmanagement. Springer Verlag, Berlin, 113.
- Grünewald, T. and Wurzer, A.J. (2012) Monetäre Patentbewertung nach DIN 77100. Beuth Verlag, 81.
- Baldus, O. and Heckmann, C. (2016) Increasing Profits by Strategic Patenting—A Change of Perspective from Bottom-Up to Top-Down. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 6, 958-966. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2016.69093
- Baldus, O. and Heckmann, C. (2011) Horizontal Patents, Commercial Benefit, and Sophisticated Patent Strategies. Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 6, 401-408. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpr028
- Baldus, O. (2010) Patent-Based Cooperation Effects. Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 5, 111-115. https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpp216