Intellectual property

Should companies control all the ways people experience art?

It’s a political talking point, so let’s look at the data.

New research suggests an effective way to address it.

Free distribution over the Internet will revolutionize not just the music industry but all of publishing. Bad news? Maybe not—the end result could actually be more revenue, not less, for companies with the courage to focus on developing talent rather than on pushing units.

Congress needs to make it easier to enforce IP protections.

People aren’t getting dumber, but they’re often treated that way. Politicians, educators, and the media assume the public is uncomfortable with nuance and grateful for prescribed solutions. Business, too, is being progressively dumbed down, not only by book authors who teach management by parable but also by managers themselves. Ironically, the infantilization of work is […]

Biotech has not delivered on its promise because the industry’s structure—much of it borrowed from Silicon Valley—is flawed. Businesses engaged in advancing basic science as a core activity need a new design.

Cyberspace is evolving in ways that threaten privacy and other constitutional rights. But before we get the government involved in setting the architecture of the Internet, let’s give companies and consumers themselves the chance to protect individual freedoms.

By placing a premium on predictability in their product development efforts, companies create a technology landscape that’s easier to navigate—but one that may produce fewer true breakthroughs.

Open innovation platforms are making it easier.

Corporations battle intellectual property theft in courtrooms, through international agencies, and with embedded technologies. But while these organizations turn a fierce antipiracy face to the world, many of their employees are blithely downloading or swapping files illegally—and doing it at work. Tolerance of that behavior sends a mixed message about the organization’s commitment to intellectual […]

The short answer is no, says the head of the U.S. patent office, but you can patent specific ways of doing business. And that, he contends, is a good thing for innovation.

Our annual survey of emerging ideas considers the single most important trait of future leaders, the marketing potential of digitally split personalities, a challenge tougher than managing risk, and the best hope for oil-importing countries.

Fears of forced technology transfer are overblown.

The story of Disney and Pixar.

Twelve ways to make yourself a harder target.

Most executives think they’re security conscious—they change their passwords and shred important documents and so forth. But what rarely crosses their minds, says espionage expert H. Keith Melton, is that cloak-and-dagger types really are after their valuables. Just because you’re not paranoid, he observes, doesn’t mean they’re not following you. Melton, the author of Ultimate […]

No investment destination better illustrates the importance of managing political risk than China. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese Communist Party’s economic reforms have opened the gates to vast flows of foreign investment, generated almost miraculous growth, lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and propelled Chinese companies onto the global stage. […]

Last week, I wrote about the dangers of overly relying on quantitative market research when developing innovation opportunities. A tendency to seek "safety...

Movie studios and record companies should take note.

Gokhan Hotamisligil is a star researcher at Harvard School of Public Health who has made groundbreaking discoveries linking fat cells, inflammation, and...

In late 2013, Rajeev Kulkarni needed to decide how best to facilitate the emergence of a broad base of users and content to promote the sale of 3D Systems's...

EURid considers possible market mechanisms to allocate initial domain names within the Internet's newly-created "dot EU." European Union regulations and...

This is Case C in a three-case series. In December 2015, the managing director and chief executive officer of Sunitha Nath Boutiques in Bengaluru, discovered...

Black Duck Software involves a venture-backed start-up that converted software developers' concerns about violating copyright licensing agreements or...

Students must suggest ways to value intangible assets, including trademarks, acquired by Cisco in the Linksys acquisition.

This case is set in mid-2019, when Qualcomm was struggling with unwanted take-over battles, fights with Apple and the Chinese government, and internal...

Delta Electronics, the world's largest manufacturer of switching power supplies, hoped to enter the market for gasoline-electric hybrid power trains for...

During the past five to 10 years, several different intermediation business models have emerged for the intellectual property (IP) market. This note describes...

Two-team, six-party, four-issue negotiation between representatives of two corporations setting up a simultaneous high-tech joint venture and purchasing...

Analyzes the 1991 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the seminal New Economy antitrust case United States vs....

Supplements the (A) case. Describes the implementation of the CEO's decision.

Foro Energy developed proprietary and patent-pending fiber-laser technologies that could disrupt existing processes and services for the exploration and...

North Sails is the world's leading sailmaker. The company commands a global market share of more than 50% and is largely responsible for the rapid technological...

After raising $6 billion and buying 60,000 patents, Intellectual Venture was confronted with a changing legal environment. A number of important legal...

Pokemon, the colloquial name given to a collection of 150 fantastic, animal-inspired creatures with organic powers and the capacity to evolve, are the...

The Caesan Cheese Cooperative is considering introducing a new high-quality, high-margin artisan whiskey cheddar cheese. Deidra Kelly, vice president...

In April 2005, Alexandra was the owner of an Australian farm that produced olives, including Kalamata table olives. Alexandra had invested in the expansion...

This is Case B in a three case series. In December 2015, the managing director and chief executive officer of Sunitha Nath Boutiques in Bengaluru, discovered...

Supplement to case 396156. Presents a series of multiple choice options to be distributed and discussed in class.

Gokhan Hotamisligil is a star researcher at Harvard School of Public Health who has made groundbreaking discoveries linking fat cells, inflammation, and...

In late 2013, Rajeev Kulkarni needed to decide how best to facilitate the emergence of a broad base of users and content to promote the sale of 3D Systems's...

EURid considers possible market mechanisms to allocate initial domain names within the Internet's newly-created "dot EU." European Union regulations and...

To innovate today, there's no escaping the fact that firms will have to learn how to locate and extract valuable knowledge from beyond the boundaries...

This is Case C in a three-case series. In December 2015, the managing director and chief executive officer of Sunitha Nath Boutiques in Bengaluru, discovered...

Black Duck Software involves a venture-backed start-up that converted software developers' concerns about violating copyright licensing agreements or...

Should companies control all the ways people experience art?

It’s a political talking point, so let’s look at the data.

New research suggests an effective way to address it.

Free distribution over the Internet will revolutionize not just the music industry but all of publishing. Bad news? Maybe not—the end result could actually be more revenue, not less, for companies with the courage to focus on developing talent rather than on pushing units.