Talkingpoint: Dealing with Intellectual Property Disputes

J. Michael Jakes, partner at Finnegan, along with two others, participated in a discussion lead by Financier Worldwide regarding intellectual property disputes. The three men discussed the rise in IP disputes, what they believe the sources of these disputes are, and also offered their advice to companies on how to effectively protect their IP. “Most technology companies today know the importance of intellectual property to their businesses,” said Jakes. “But there are different strategies for using that intellectual property.” Jakes adds that while an established company may want to protect it’s IP for their investments in research and development, start-up companies will use these patents to attract funding. “Effective IP protection has to be built from the ground up.”