It has been another busy quarter at LOT.  Usually our growth and activities have a particular theme that ties our news together.  But this time there is simply too much happening.  So to make best use of your time, here are some of the highlights.

1. The industrials are coming: Boeing, Archer Daniels Midland, Covestro are in LOT!

LOT continues to grow with new members from across all industries.  With the addition of companies like Boeing, Square, Nationwide Insurance, Atlassian, Bullitt Wireless, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), and many startups, LOT has grown to 228 members.  We are proud of the fact that LOT is appealing to technology companies of all sizes. We are now able to immunize our members to over 1.2 million patents in the hands of a PAE.

 

 

 

2. Free patents, Free LOT!

LOT is committed to protecting innovation.  We historically have been focused on inviting large companies to join our community in an effort to quickly grow the number of assets our members are immunized against.  We now want to do more to share that value with the startup community.  As reported as an exclusive by Bloomberg, LOT announced two new initiatives for startups this quarter.

First, because LOT is a non-profit, we don’t want cost to be a barrier that prevents a startup from joining. Thanks to our growth of large companies, we announced that LOT is now free for companies with up to $25 million in annual revenue.

Second, several of the most innovative companies in LOT have donated thousands of assets to LOT.   We have decided to share the wealth and give qualifying startups in LOT an opportunity to get a head start on building their own patent portfolio.  We are giving away 3 free patent assets to each of our qualifying startups – no strings attached.   Startups do not have to give up equity to receive the assets, and as is true with all members, the startups are free to leave LOT anytime (although we have never had anyone withdraw).  Rest assured, companies that are in LOT when the assets are transferred to the startup will receive a comprehensive license to the donated assets.  After transfer to the startup, the assets given to the startup are treated the same as any asset in LOT (e.g. the startup is free to sell, license, assert, etc.)

 

3. LOT continues to add value: Launch of Women in LOT (WiL) Organization

Women In LOT, May 2018

Because LOT works for our members, we are constantly looking for ways to add value to membership. Thanks to the help of JP Morgan Chase and Canon, we are thrilled to announce the formation of our Women in LOT (WiL) Organization.  This organization was created to provide the women professionals in our community with an opportunity to network and be mentored by the senior IP executives of our member companies.  We also hope this organization will be a vehicle by which we can educate professionals at all levels of the benefits of having a diverse organization by providing practical tools and strategies to take back to their company.

We were extremely fortunate to kick of our inaugural WiL event with a keynote presentation from Sarah Harris, General Counsel of the US Patent Office, and Diane Lettelleir, head of litigation at JC Penney.  This was then followed up with a presentation by Daryl Wooldridge on how JP Morgan Chase is embracing diversity.

We have high expectations for this organization, and would invite you to reach out to Caitlin Gardnerand April Griffithof JP Morgan Chase or Aida Sayuri of Canon to learn more and share your thoughts and support to grow this program.

 

4) LOT Network® Bridge: Google, Uber, Facebook share their patent filing plans.

On May 10thwe held our annual all members meeting: LOT Network® Bridge. It was another great event including over 110 attendees and a full day of content and networking.  General Counsels and Chief IP Counsels of our member companies presented on a variety of topics including: Blockchain and how companies are altering their IP strategy, how the auto industry is being affected by and responding to the wireless royalty stack of the smart phone industry, and update on the IP landscape in China, and lastly, Google, Facebook, and Uber discussed their patent filing plans and strategies for the upcoming year.  Thank you to all our sponsors, presenters and attendees for making it a great event!

We are already busy planning next year’s member’s meeting and are looking to host a regional event in Asia and Europe as well.  Please let us know if you would like to be involved with hosting or organizing any of these programs.

 

We would like to wish all of you a great summer!

Ken Seddon