Innovation and “The Adjacent Possible”: Open Innovation Models vs. Intellectual Property

September 30th, 2010
Patents/IP

INNOVATION AND “THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE”:   OPEN INNOVATION MODELS VS. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Book alert and essay by John R. Harris

September 29, 2010

Practice tip:  Prospective investors in technology ventures must carefully consider the intellectual property ramifications of companies with products developed in open, collaborative models vs. proprietary models that require strong intellectual property protections.

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Steven Berlin Johnson’s forthcoming new book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, discusses the idea of the “adjacent possible.” Based on excerpts from the book, I think this means that many inventions and innovations (not the same thing) seem to occur incrementally

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Yates Perspectives: Board Room Leadership for Entrepreneurs

YATES PERSPECTIVES

Board Room Leadership for Entrepreneurs – Checklist

The Boardroom is the key forum for entrepreneurs to impress their investors.   Entrepreneurs need a checklist of important steps to keep in mind when interacting with their Directors.

Too often entrepreneurs are ill prepared for Board meetings and disappoint outside Directors.  Venture investors on a Board have certain expectations of management with regard to information to be conveyed in the short time allotted for the Board meeting.

Senior leadership at a tech company must educate the management team on being effective presenters of key company metrics.  Keep in mind that every Board meeting

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New M&A Holdback Escrow Study

September 27th, 2010
M & A

J.P. Morgan’s trust group issued its annual study on escrow holdbacks in M&A transactions.  The study provides useful statistical information on escrows, including size, duration and claims made.

[gview file=”http://www.www.mmmtechlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010-MA-Holdback-Escrow-Report2.pdf-Adobe-Acrobat-Professional2.pdf”]

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