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PERCEPTION PARTNERS SPONSORS FIRST ANNUAL CORPORATE IP INSTITUTE
Published October, 2007

PERCEPTION PARTNERS ANNOUNCES 2007 SPEAKING SCHEDULE
Published January, 2007

PERCEPTION PARTNERS PREDICTS PIVOTAL VERDICT 
IN KINETIC CONCEPTS VS. BLUESKY
Published August, 2006

PERCEPTION PARTNERS FOUNDER DISCUSSES BRAND LICENSING
Published May, 2006

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SURVIVES HURRICANE KATRINA
Published September, 2005


PERCEPTION PARTNERS DONATES SERVICES ON WORLD IP DAY 2005
Published April, 2005

KEEPING TABS ON COKE
Published January, 2005

CUSTODIAN OF WORLD'S MOST VALUABLE IP PORTFOLIO JOINS PERCEPTION PARTNERS
Published October, 2004

GOOGLE - IP IS MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF IPO
Published May, 2004

IS YOUR BUSINESS METHOD PATENT PENDING?
Published January, 2004

Intellectual Property Survives Hurricane Katrina

By Barry Brager

On Labor Day 2005, I accompanied my family to an art show at a local Atlanta park. We looked forward to sharing time together and briefly escaping the horror that Hurricane Katrina had projected into our home. Instead, we experienced the deep effect of this tragedy even within the sunlit stalls of hopeful merchants.

While roaming I met Richard, a gifted watercolor painter. His translucent scenes of wines, matchbooks, billiards and poker seemed right for our growing art licensing division. Curious, I approached him. “Have you ever considered licensing your work through an agency?” I asked. “You could have an experienced team working to rent your image rights in hundreds of product categories and still profit from the sale of the fine art originals.”

Richard responded slowly. “I never thought of it – I always sold my own work. But it’s funny that you ask.” He pointed to the temporary fabric walls dotted with colorful reproductions. “These prints are all that’s left of my business. My home, my inventory, my studio – all in Mississippi – have been destroyed. What you see is all I have.”

As the magnitude of his remarks sank in, I tried to respond positively. “Richard, you have more than you might think. You could at least collect royalties by licensing the beautiful images I see right here.”

It was then that it occurred to me that intellectual property – copyrighted artwork, patented inventions, computer code, brand names – may be all that remains of thousands of innovative businesses in the New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi, Mobile and other Gulf coast areas. In certain other institutions – hospitals and universities, for example – intellectual property licensing may in fact be the primary way to collect new revenues for some time to come.

As an entrepreneur, I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose the business I had built. I empathize with fellow professionals who have seen their dreams evaporate in Katrina’s wrath. Even if equipment and facilities are insured for replacement costs, the most significant corporate property losses may be irreplaceable customer lists, databases, manuscripts, recipes, artwork, process documents, journals and more.

I’d like to present an optimistic perspective. Protected intellectual property assets may still be intact for many otherwise damaged Gulf Coast businesses. Intangibles such as patent portfolios, artistic images or trademarked names may still generate revenues even if not used within the entities that created the assets.

Over the past five years, the global intellectual property licensing market has grown to exceed $100 billion annually. Due to the value of activity in this sector, efficient channels for intellectual asset transfer have emerged. For example, many consultancies and even law firms now offer licensing services – often on contingency. Patent and technology transfer websites publish extensive listings of intangible assets for license or sale. Organizations have developed strategies to efficiently identify and incorporate externally developed innovations into their product pipelines. For displaced owners of defensible, unique intellectual property, licensing may represent a welcome opportunity.

To illustrate, I ran a search using Delphion.com of all U.S. patents filed since 1990 with assignees in New Orleans and with inventors in New Orleans (my assumption being that these would be patents with a few years until expiration, belonging to businesses headquartered in New Orleans). I turned up more than 190 unexpired patents, representing more than 75 enterprises, universities and hospitals. The number of companies indicated by the patent data is small compared to the number of enterprises injured in Katrina’s wake. However, New Orleans institutions have developed a number of important biotechnology and medical device technologies. In addition, there are more than 317 applications pending with New Orleans inventors, many also for drug-related, surgical or chemical innovations. Fortunately, patent transactions in biotech and pharmaceuticals are often associated with high valuations. If patent licensing is indeed an option for a business forced to change due to Katrina, perhaps patents may provide a clear path to attractive revenues.

As regards trademarks, there may be significantly more opportunities. On the USPTO website, I could identify more than 278,000 live trademarks owned by entities with New Orleans addresses. It is highly likely that the majority of these trademarks will lose their value if their goodwill is not maintained by continued use in commerce. This is a disconcerting thought, since many great trademarks in the food, hospitality and entertainment industries belong to enterprises affected by Katrina. In dire circumstances, licensing these marks may be the only way to maintain their equity.

And of course, there are copyrights. In Richard’s case, he will need to collect any existing digital image files and photograph other reproductions to digitize the surviving images of his watercolor paintings. He will then need to market the image licensing rights in a variety of categories. If he opts to license, a talented artist such as Richard should be able to leverage much of the work that Katrina left untouched.

Among many lessons, the impact of Hurricane Katrina highlights this: intangible and intellectual property assets have real value even when there is nothing else to be found in a business. If your company depends on innovation or if you make strategic decisions on behalf of your enterprise, it may be a good idea to formalize the way you identify, protect, manage and leverage intellectual property. It could be the most important advantage you create.