Technology Patent Pools - High Tech Titans Are Banding Together to Fight Trolls

When a company called Allied Security Trust came out of his hiding place in late June, they caused a new light on the growing popularity of patent pools with high-tech titans are cast. It is to be less than clear whether these pools are benign defensive organizations or curb the trade-innovation-killer.

Allied Security Trust is just the latest consortium of major technology company formed to acquire and pool key patents. The idea of a patent pool is simple:Companies do not coordinate their efforts of intellectual property through the purchase of important patents, and granting of all members of the consortium-exclusive licensing rights to them. First used in the 1800s, patent pools to minimize risks and costs for participating firms by avoiding costly litigation.

In recent years, the technology companies are increasingly dealing with patent pools just that. In addition to the Allies, whose members include Verizon, Google, Cisco and others, there are a number of otherTechnology patent pools, each with a slightly different strategy and roster of players. Open Innovation Network, a pro-Linux group include Novell, IBM and others as members, was organized in 2005. Intellectual Ventures is to be supported by Microsoft and Intel, was the acquisition of patent portfolios since 2003.

Fight against trolls

Companies involved in these organizations say they are purely defensive, fighting to buy from other companies whose sole activity is to intellectual property and hold it hostage. This so-called trolls are both feared and loathed because litigation can be expensive, time consuming and distracting. Significantly cheaper than PLECS, patents, patent licensing and enforcement companies, these trolls patrol looking for the intellectual property landscape overlook the far-reaching application of the technology world. Once they intellectual property, which they consider themselves to be violated, they contact the users of the patented> Technology and demand payment. In a friendly transaction, the PLEC licenses the technology to other companies. Takes place in an adversarial situation, litigation.

The most lucrative situations for the PLECS are those in which the infringing company has deep pockets and there are many companies hurt. It is precisely these situations that patent pools are designed to prevent weapons. By avoiding essentially of investigating or outside the pipe, the trolls, patent pools, litigation and / or licensingCosts.

Fortification

The critics of modern technology patent pools say they are anticompetitive. With the purchase of intellectual property, these groups are only one degree away from the trolls, say opponents. Charged in the case of the Allies, to become a member a company must be a reported $ 250,000 to join and buy put up another $ 5 million in escrow to patents. The members then grant themselves non-exclusive license rights.

At Allied, CEO Brian HinmanClaims it will then sell the patents back on the market. "It is a catch-and-release formula to an opt-in managed basis, he told EE Times in June 2008.

Critics argue that this allows the trolls simply join the hunt for smaller companies who do not ante up the funds to the exclusive patent pools. The result, they say, is that the tech giant to strengthen its dominant position in the market.

Other patent pools, but are not obviously about building intellectual propertyFortresses, where only the elite reside. Open Innovation Network makes its patents available without charge to anyone who agrees not to sue members. Currently, these types of pools seem to be more benign, instead of restricting the promotion of innovation.

Compassionate oligopolies or entities?

Some observers fear that lead to proliferation of these patent pools in oligopolies. The trade of the main intellectual property rights among these groups is seen by some as akin Nationsthis to their own advantage. It is quite possible that different groups could work together on the strategy or even participate in formal or informal contracts.

Actions like these could easily be understood as anti-competitive. Currently, the players in patent pools are limiting their moves to defensive measures. But his intellectual property, what is the most important tech companies to participate in these organizations can not remain gracious.

Technology Can Bring Us Together - And Increase Sales

Too often companies look at using technology as a way of transcending the barriers between customers and employees. In fact, concepts such as call buying often avoidance as a justification for the information technology systems which are designed to customer information is done to a live, expensive call to a person not be guaranteed.

This approach lacks a crucial factor in today's hyper-competitive market: repeat business is king. With more and more competitive struggle for scarceCustomer business, the cost of customer acquisition. Think of customer acquisition costs as the amount of money it takes to marketing and sales, the prospect that the first purchase will receive. With increasing competition, increasing that amount as it takes more effort to distinguish themselves in the crowd.

In fact, in many industries, companies accept that they will lose money for the first purchase, in the hope that you make it on repeat business. This is possible becauseusually much cheaper to make a sale with a current customer than with a new perspective. In fact, investing some very successful businesses in the customer acquisition and do not expect a profit for a customer only after several purchases to make.

So, what is the lesson? The first interaction is crucial - it is the key to the follow-ups. And support in this day of online sales and self-service customers, there is a risk that your customer is not happy and you will not even knowit.

We can arrange a lesson by Tony Hseil, CEO of online retailer Zappos.com. He has rapidly grown the company to over $ 1 billion sales by exceptional customer service. While other retailers give practical strategies to avoid the 1-800 number on the Zappos is on top of each page and customer service agents are not measured, how many calls they handle per hour. Viewed Every interaction with customers as a way to encourage loyalty to repeat - that means more sales and profits.

MaybeYou are a seller of a company without charges to implement major technology products, or you are a small business owner who does not have in reality, the budget for hundreds of customer service reps like Zappos (at least not yet!). Regardless of your location, size or location, technology can help by providing tools to make you closer to the customers but not too hard on your budget and time.

In the last few years, here at Engage, we haveimplemented several Internet technologies that have helped to get closer to our customers. They were not particularly expensive or difficult to implement. And in all cases - they helped us win new customers and keep current customers loyal.

Live Chat

Can you imagine going to buy into a traditional business, find something and it is absolutely nobody there to interest you? That is what the outlook will make when they go to a website. With live chat, the visitorproactively offered the opportunity to work with a real person in a pop-up chat window that works like your favorite instant messenger software.

Whether it is answering a question about the offer, or simply a sales pitch that translated pro-active role at any site visitors directly into sales and satisfied customers in our business.

Web Conferencing

Many of us are using telephone conference calls with our prospects and customers. WebConferencing takes interaction to a higher level, allowing participants to see you, including slide shows and video. People are simply more interested if they can hear, see and read your key messages.

What makes this option particularly attractive offer for all companies is a significant reduction in the cost of using these services in the last few years. This makes it very affordable to more intimate interaction with each call to offer. Or even better: Web Conferencingcan be implemented enterprise-wide or just for themselves.

Ask

This may seem like a clear and simple, but how well you know your prospects? Many organizations offer their site visitors the opportunity to sign up for a newsletter or report for free. Name and e-mail address will be recorded, but usually that's it. With the expansion of this interaction with a few more questions - such as job title and the largest business-Pain - You now have information thatsignificantly increase the effectiveness of your current marketing and sales efforts.

The adjustment is the follow-on, the personalization of the interaction for the prospect - a safe way to increase effectiveness. And here's a tip: Ask these questions on a second screen after recording the first known contact info - it will maximize your application rate.

Autoresponder

It is an industry standard metric for each month you are not in contact with your prospect base, you lose 10% of thethem forever. Keep regular contact these prospects so warm when they are ready to buy - you will be there. And regular contacts will allow you to existing customers will be encouraged to ensure that they are happy and not with the subjects to be treated.

You probably do not have the time to craft individual e-mails and letters to all prospective clients each month. That's where an autoresponder into the game, you can even design personalized correspondence in advance and have it automaticallyGo to the whole database on a predetermined schedule or in response to specific actions (eg, purchase the product). Keep the communication going, which translates into sales and customer satisfaction.

These are only focused on a sample of Internet tools. There are many more out there for all parts of your business. The key lies in your thinking and look at these tools as a way to change closer to your customers. They are more sales, more customers will be rewardedLoyalty and profits that will pay more than your investment.

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