ATG Book of The Week: Intellectual Property Strategy

Title: Intellectual Property Strategy

Author: John Palfrey

ISBN: Softcover: 978-0-262-51679-2;
Price:Softcover: $11.95/£9.95

Imprint: Cambridge: MIT Press, 2011

“In this book, intellectual property expert and Harvard Law School professor John Palfrey offers a short briefing on intellectual property strategy for corporate managers and nonprofit administrators. Palfrey argues for strategies that go beyond the traditional highly restrictive “sword and shield” approach, suggesting that flexibility and creativity are essential to a profitable long-term intellectual property strategy–especially in an era of changing attitudes about media.

Intellectual property, writes Palfrey, should be considered a key strategic asset class. Almost every organization has an intellectual property portfolio of some value and therefore the need for an intellectual property strategy…  Palfrey identifies the essential areas of intellectual property–patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret–and describes strategic approaches to each in a variety of organizational contexts, based on four basic steps.”

“Palfrey backs up each point in this clear and well-written work with specific examples…Recommended for specialized collections.”
—Library Journal

Palfrey emphasizes intellectual property strategies that focus on openness and connectedness rather than an exclusive ‘sword and shield’ approach (an offensive weapon for attacking a competitor that violates your rights or defending against competitors’ attacks). An excellent handbook for academic pursuits, including business seminars, though limited by its complexity to a small number of public-library patrons.”
—Mary Whaley, Booklist