During development, IP Street was very fortunate and grateful to have early partners that signed on to use our tools, often in beta form. Through timely and constructive feedback, our partners were instrumental in helping us develop features that evolved from "interesting and cool" to "nice to have" to "got to have". Below is a sampling of some of the enterprise partners who understood our vision very early on. They became annual subscribers and were afforded the benefits of having direct access to our development team, enabling us to design more relevant tools and allowing them to enjoy influence in design priorities. They include: Alibaba, Amazon, Lee & Hayes, PAML, T-Mobile. Thank you to all of our enterprise partners.
In order to be SOX compliant, it is imperative that you keep track of your patent portfolio. A thorough IP audit requires organization. Ironically, companies will pay more for the procurement of patents than they will for organizing and managing IP portfolios. With IP Street, we can help you navigate your own IP landscape and quickly organize your portfolios. With our promise of ongoing innovation, we can further develop tools you need to make this organization possible.
Myopia is generally what happens when unprecedented opportunities are placed before them. Those in the know generally do better than those in the worry. Consider Cetus, a startup biotech with a focus on a liver drug. The FDA delayed the approval of the drug, and a major funding crisis ensued. Chiron offered to take over the liabilities contingent on the sale of two patents (# 4,683,202 and # 4,683,195) to a third party, Roche Molecule for $300M (in 1993). This sale was stalled because DuPont challenged the validity of the patents, based on the formal claims written by the inventor (not a patent attorney), Kary Mullis. In the end, the soap opera turned out well for the investors with weak constitutions. For $300M, they sold the two patents to Roche, turned the company over to Chiron, and walked away. Kary Mullis won the Nobel prize for his invention embedded in these two patents, known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which allows DNA to be cloned. Over 4000 patents in biotech cite these original two patents. In our estimation, $300M represents "pennies on the dollar" valuation of these patents. The shareholders got a payday, and left the game. Roche on the other hand is thriving based on its intangible assets. Let IPstreet.com assist you.
Although, the length of utility and plant patent protection (patent term) was previously seventeen years from the date of patent grant, utility and plant patents filed after June 8, 1995 now have a patent term of up to twenty years from the date of filing of the earliest related patent application. Utility and plant patents which were applied for prior to June 8, 1995, and which were or will be in force after June 8, 1995, now have a patent term of seventeen years from the date of patent grant or twenty years from the date of filing of the earliest related patent application, whichever is longer. Utility patents are subject to the payment of periodic maintenance fees to keep the patent in force. Patent terms can be extended under some specific circumstances. See the U.S. Code Title 35 - Patents for a full description of patent laws. Understanding patent duration is important and here at IPStreet.com, we care about your patent duration, threats of patent infringement and the value of patent business intelligence.
Lee is IP Street's CEO. Art Coffey, a business strategist who took RLH public on the NYSE as its CFO, best known for his leadership as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Lion Hotels Corporation from 2003 to 2008, is COO & CFO. Tammy Krieger, Director of Product Management, was formerly in a leading role with Microsoft's patent group and brings expertise in data management, patent analysis and process optimization. John Vogel, Vice President of Engineering, leads the software development team, formerly co-founded and developed Saas companies such as Four Creeks. The team is backed by a board of directors that include Stacey Cowles (Cowles Company), Dennis Hopton (York Trade Limited of Hong Kong), George Nethercutt (former U.S. Representative), and Lee and Coffey. IP Street's advisory board includes Roger Cheng (Alibaba), Scott Hayden (Amazon), Shawn Clark (Microsoft), Dan Crouse (Lee & Hayes), John Murphy (T-Mobile), and Joseph Schappert, MD (PAML). The company is privately funded.