Miami, FL - Interview with: Kenneth Collier, Principal Counsel and Senior Director of IP, Medtronic Inc.
It could be the most creative and innovative idea in the world or a tiny detail to a product that could storm the markets, but if the technology is not properly protected, the business may not be able to commercialize the product. Obtaining and enforcing intellectual property (IP) (patents, trademarks and copyrights) is often critical to maximizing the value of assets for the organization and often critical to ensuring continuity of the product in a competitive marketplace. But things are not always so simple for IP Officers in today’s dynamic business environment. In an era of partnerships, collaborations, mergers, acquisitions, global trade and unlimited technological capabilities, IP Counsels have to vigilantly and wisely safeguard internal and external investments. A speaker at the marcus evans IP Law Summit 2010, taking place in Florida, March 25-27, Kenneth Collier, Principal Counsel and Senior Director of IP at Medtronic Inc. shares his thoughts on IP protection strategies and his projections for the year.
What are the most critical issues challenging IP Counsels in North America at the moment, and what solutions would you recommend?
Kenneth Collier: Portfolio management is probably the largest challenge right now in our IP department and throughout the company. It is very easy for an IP Counsel to balance portfolios when there is a lot of money to use, but in difficult times, one has to make a lot of difficult choices. However, having to make these choices is potentially beneficial for companies. These choices, when made properly, allow companies and IP departments to focus on what is really important. Identifying the important work that should get done (versus what can get done) and what is at risk in our program planning is the number one challenge and critical issue for our company. On top of budgetary constraints, there are a lot of additional factors influencing portfolios – the upcoming decision on KSR and a potential Biosimilars Bill in Congress are two things to follow this coming year. The outcome of these decisions will impact portfolio management decisions.
Legal officers really have to keep an eye on where their business is going and be a clear participant. One clear imperative for companies is the need to have the proper business forums, where cross functional committees in the business participate in the management and selection of the portfolio, in order to make the best choices that align with the business direction.
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