La dernière version du « Bulletin d’information PME » comprend un article intéressant sur les 10 erreurs en PI les plus souvent relevées dans les revues diligentes des capitaux de risque (en anglais).

 Selon cet article, ces erreurs seraient:

1. TOO LATE TO START FILING US AND INTERNATIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
2. TOO NARROW LEGAL SCOPE OF CLAIMING PATENTABLE INVENTIONS
3. INTERNALLY MISMANAGED PATENT INFRINGEMENT « WILFULNESS » EXPOSURE
4. RELYING SOLELY ON COPYRIGHTS FOR SOFTWARE PROTECTION
5. INADVERTANTLY TAINTING I.P.R. WITH 3RD-PARTY CO-OWNERSHIP RIGHTS.
6. IGNORING THE IMPACT OF NEW « FESTO » U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING RE: PATENT AMENDMENTS.
7. UNDERESTIMATING THE IMPORTANCE OF TRADE SECRETS AND CONFIDENTIALITY.
8. OVERLOOKING LEGITIMATE OPPORTUNITY TO SET-UP OFFSHORE LICENSING TAX SHELTERS.
9. RESPONDING SLOWLY TO U.S.P.T.O. OFFICE ACTIONS.
10. OVER/UNDER-SPENDING ON LEGAL FEES TO PROSECUTE PATENT APPLICATIONS

Le site IPFrontline.com a publié un article (en anglais) de Kingsley L. Taft and Laurie A. Burlingame sur les 10 points les plus importants à considérer lorsqu’une société considère licencier une technologie d’une université.

Les voici (en anglais):

1. Make sure the license grant contains all the university rights needed to commercialize the licensed technology.
2. Consider broadening the license grant to include improvement inventions.
3. Consider the scope of the university’s retained rights.
4. Obtain commercially useful sublicensing rights.
5. Structure reasonable royalty provisions given the proposed business.
6. Review closely the payment obligations.
7. Develop commercially reasonable performance milestones.
8. Managing patent prosecution and dealing with regulatory agencies.
9. Make sure the termination provisions work for the business.
10. Carefully review all sections of the agreement, even the seemingly routine.