May 16, 2018
Efrat's  Message : PresidentsMessage
 
I have just returned from the LESI (LES International) meeting in San Diego. The meeting offered an opportunity to interact with attendees from around the world, representing over 30 LESI country and regional societies from Europe, Asia and Australia. I was one of the delegates representing the USA/Canada Society (where I serve as the incoming Chair of the High-Tech Sector) to the international delegates meeting, which convened on the Sunday before the conference to discuss issues related to LESI membership, events and educational initiatives.
 
My main takeaway from the LESI meeting is seeing the critical importance of IP in growing economies like India, the Philippines and Thailand, where LES societies are increasing their level of activities and are taking great pride in bringing IP awareness to their countries. It is particularly interesting to get a dose of that optimism as the IP marketplace in the US seems to be struggling with what many believe is the erosion of the US patent system. In this newsletter, we discuss the recent Supreme Court decision in the Oil States case, and its implications on patent invalidation proceedings, patent valuations, and the direction of the USPTO under its new director, Andrei Iancu.
 
Finally, my home country of Israel has just turned 70 this month. In this newsletter, we highlight a few interesting facts about Israel's startup ecosystem which earned it the title of "Startup Nation". We also provide resources for those who want to get more involved with the Israeli innovation ecosystem.
 
Warm Regards,

   

Commentary
Oil States Energy v. Green's Energy: Implications for the Patent Market

World IP Day 2018 coincides with a highly anticipated, landmark decision by the US Supreme Court in the case of OIL STATES ENERGY SERVICES, LLC v. GREENE'S ENERGY GROUP, LLC, ET AL. which relates to the process known as inter partes review (IPR).

Foresight's Commentary on the Oil States decision

The Oil States case makes clear the power of Congress to provide the USPTO with broad post-issuance authority. In other words, the status quo remains in the US patent market . From a patent valuation perspective, IPRs have already negatively impacted the value of patents due the uncertainty coupled to these proceedings. The Oil States decision reinforces the constitutionality of IPR proceedings and may further complicate the processes by which patent owners monetize their assets and would add Oil States to the list of cases such as Alice and Mayo that reinforce the uncertainty in the market regarding the patentability of cutting edge inventions.

While the Supreme Court's Oil States decision has been largely anticipated by the IP community, one should review it in conjunction with Andrei Iancu's recent public statements, which might arguably be the more interesting development this week.  Director Iancu's statement that "human-made algorithms that are cooked up, invented as a result of human ingenuity are different from discoveries and mathematical representations of those discoveries" might signal an effort by the Director to push for changes in validity considerations that would include these algorithms that can be distinguished from mathematical representations of discoveries. This statement may signal the emergence of a market for patents claiming algorithms, a market that currently resides behind NDAs and trade secret protection.

To read more go to our full blog

** Foresight's commentary to Oil States, along with the commentary of other industry leaders was published by IPWatchdog.


IsraeliInnovation 

This year Israel is celebrating 70! This occasion offers the perfect opportunity to take a look under the hood of the country's startup ecosystem, one that earned it the title of "Startup Nation". With population of over $8 million, Israel has the highest number of startups per capita in the world, around  1 startup for every 1,400 people ( Forbes, May 2018). Just for comparison, France (0.112), Germany (0.056) and the UK (0.21) each have much lower numbers as measured by startups per 1,400 people.
 
Some of the recent notable exists involving Israeli startups include Waze, which sold to Google for $1.3 billion, and more recently Mobileye, which sold to Intel for $15.3 billion. A PwC study of Israeli exit activity in 2017 shows exits volume increasing in 2017 to $7.4 billion (as measured in $ amounts, excluding the MobilEye and NeuroDerm deals, which would have increased this total to $23.9 billion). Around 54% of these exists are in IT & Enterprise software, followed by Internet (14%) and Life Sciences (13%).



For more information on the Israeli startup ecosystem, please check the following links:

 
The Israel Innovation Authority, responsible for the country's innovation policy, is an independent public entity that operates for the benefit of the Israeli innovation ecosystem and Israeli economy as a whole. Its role is to nurture and develop Israeli innovation resources, while creating and strengthening the infrastructure and framework needed to support the entire knowledge industry.
 
The Authority's objectives and functions include:
  • Responsibility for developing the innovation infrastructure in Israel
  • Maintaining Israel's international status as the "Startup Nation"
  • Distribution of grants and financial support for innovative-technological R&D
  • Connecting the Israeli economy with the global innovation industry
  • Promoting and encouraging programs, policies, laws and government reforms, as well as promoting major moves with public and private collaboration.
 
Start-Up Nation Central is an independent, non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to help Israeli innovation to succeed, by leveraging its in-depth and expansive knowledge of the ecosystem. The organization employs a team of analysts and researchers, who scan, inspect and learn the Israeli innovation ecosystem.
 
The Start-Up Nation Finder, a free-to-use innovation discovery platform, contains detailed profiles and data for several thousand start-ups, established companies, investors, multinational corporations, angels and so forth, providing salient and up-to-date information regarding the Israeli innovation landscape.
 

Upcoming Events:  Upcoming2

   
Want to leverage your intellectual property (IP) for fundraising and exit? Intellectual property assets are frequently the most valuable assets for high-tech or life sciences startups, and other small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). Companies often struggle with how best to manage and grow their IP portfolio to adequately protect their core ideas and products, while simultaneously increase corporate value and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
 
Through hands-on examples from her silicon-valley IP valuation practice and from her Stanford MBA teaching curriculum, Efrat will present a practical approach to leveraging IP assets for fundraising, obtaining a competitive advantage, and increasing corporate value.