Outsourcing Law & Business Journal™ – December 2012
December 21, 2012 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C.
OUTSOURCING LAW & BUSINESS JOURNAL™ : Strategies and rules for adding value and improving legal and regulation compliance through business process management techniques in strategic alliances, joint ventures, shared services and cost-effective, durable and flexible sourcing of services. www.outsourcing-law.com. Visit our blog at http://blog.outsourcing-law.com.
Insights by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. Editor. www.biercekenerson.com.
Vol. 12, No. 8, December, 2012
“Exploiting U.S. Tech Businesses Abroad: Europe, India, China”
Tuesday February 26, 2013, 12 noon-1:45 pm ET
“Exploiting Foreign-Based Tech Businesses in the U.S.”
Tuesday March 19, 2013, 12 noon-1:45 pm ET
“Personal Wealth & Tax Planning for International Tech Entrepreneurs”
Participants:
EisnerAmper LLP
Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. (Full disclosure, we are the editors of this newsletter)
The Margolis Law Firm,
Edica-Garnett Partners,
Porto Leone Consulting, LLC,
Frenkel & Company
For more information, please click here to contact Alyssa Todtman at EisnerAmper LLP
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1. Knowledge Management in Strategic Alliances and Outsourcing
2. Non-Practicing Entity Buys Kodak’s Digital Business Patent Portfolio, Licenses to Consortium
3. Humor.
4. Conferences.
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1. Knowledge Management in Strategic Alliances and Outsourcing. Knowledge management has become a key driver in the design and sustainability of competitive global enterprises today. In knowledge management (“KM”), organizations define the purpose and meaning of information for the corporate mission, create, store and share information and establish tools and rules for internal and external use (and repurposing) in commerce. KM presents structural and contractual challenges for enterprise customers and their outsourcing service providers. Knowledge management is applied in outsourcing, supply chain management (“SCM”) and business process management (“BPM”). Other applications include business continuity planning (“BCP”), disaster recovery (“DR”), audit and control for corporate governances and regulatory reporting. For more, click here.
2. Non-Practicing Entity Buys Kodak’s Digital Business Patent Portfolio, Licenses to Consortium. In mid-December 2012, Eastman Kodak Co., a bankrupt photographic supply company, agreed to sell its patent portfolio to a consortium of buyers. The portfolio includes patents for digital photography, Web-based photo applications and other technologies critical to Internet-based e-business, social media and mobile computing. The deal (which is subject to bankruptcy court approval) represents a new approach to patent litigation, patent portfolio procurement and patent licensing from bankrupt companies in the United States. To read more, click here.
3. Humor.
Knowledge Management, n. Occult meta-world giving divine meaning to an ever-expanding universe of data.
February 18-20, 2013, IAOP’s Outsourcing World Summit, Phoenix, Arizona. This annual conference brings the global community of outsourcing professionals together for an unparalleled knowledge sharing, networking and personal and business development experience.
Outsourcing is entering a new age as different opportunities—and demands—are made by companies in pursuit of improved outcomes, lower costs and higher standards in a critically competitive economic environment. Trends like rural and impact sourcing, corporate social responsibility, crowd sourcing, the cloud, technology convergence, the BRIC surge, collaborative and strategic models, and governance have all impacted the way companies do business and the level of understanding and knowledge outsourcing professionals must have to be successful. And it is clear that it takes skilled professionals – now more than ever – to harness these opportunities and meet these demands. For more information, please visit their website.
March 4-7, 2013. SSON and IQPC present its 17th Annual North American Shared Services & Outsourcing Week, Orlando, Florida. If you’re looking for what’s new in service delivery capability, and for the next steps to achieve a maximum level of value, join us at North America’s premier forum for shared services and outsourcing professionals, where you will learn how to design and execute a holistic GBS framework that encompasses shared services, outsourcing, internal business functions and Cloud computing resource; achieve global end-to-end processes across business functions, systems and geographies; learn what service levels are important to achieving your business goals; how to understand real business value from big data; understand and over-deliver what your internal and external customers want and gain insight on where you can benefit from disruptive technologies, such as Cloud, mobility and social. To get more information, click here.
April 30-May 1, 2013. American Conference Institute presents its 7th Annual Forum on Controlling Litigation Costs, Chicago, Illinois. ACI’s renowned forum returns, with a brand new faculty and novel case studies and strategies designed to help you (1) get more value from the firms you use in litigation matters OR (2) keep existing corporate clients and ensure you are at the top of the “go to” list when matters arise. This conference is for in-house counsel or legal sourcing manager and private practice litigation attorney or law firm marketing/business development specialist. For more information, please click here.
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FEEDBACK: Since 2001, Outsourcing Law & Business Journal™ has been addressing legal issues in operational excellence in business services through effective sourcing practices and service integration for global and globalizing enterprises. Covered operations include business services in IT, HR, finance and accounting, procurement, logistics, manufacturing and customer relationship management. Send us your suggestions for article topics, or report a broken link at wbierce@biercekenerson.com. The information provided herein does not necessarily constitute the opinion of Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. or any author or its clients. This newsletter is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Reproductions must include our copyright notice. For reprint permission, please contact: wbierce@biercekenerson.com. Edited by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C. Copyright (c) 2012, Outsourcing Law Global, LLC. All rights reserved. Editor-in-Chief: William Bierce of Bierce & Kenerson, P.C., located at 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2920, New York, NY 10170, 212-840-0080.
Non-Practicing Entity Buys Kodak’s Digital Business Patent Portfolio, Licenses to Consortium
December 21, 2012 by Bierce & Kenerson, P.C.
In mid-December 2012, Eastman Kodak Co., a bankrupt photographic supply company, agreed to sell its patent portfolio to a consortium of buyers. The portfolio includes patents for digital photography, Web-based photo applications and other technologies critical to Internet-based e-business, social media and mobile computing. The deal (which is subject to bankruptcy court approval) represents a new approach to patent litigation, patent portfolio procurement and patent licensing from bankrupt companies in the United States.
Deal Structure. The company’s press release did not describe the details, but provided only an overview. Under the agreements, Kodak will receive approximately $525 million, a portion of which will be paid by 12 intellectual property licensees organized by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation, with each licensee receiving rights with respect to the digital imaging patent portfolio and certain other Kodak patents. The portfolio includes about 1,100 patents. Another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which is acquiring the digital imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previously existing licenses. In essence, a non-practicing entity (“NPE”, sometimes called a “patent troll”) will be buying the residual value of the patent portfolio and can demand that third parties (who are not part of the consortium) pay royalties for uses of the patented technologies.
Business Model. The business model of this transaction validates the role of non-practicing entities in transactions to acquire and license technologies. In this case, the model shows the value of “vulture capitalism” in finding undervalued intellectual property and buying it for resale (through licenses). The transaction sets a standard for corporate users of such technologies and the financial power of NPE’s.
Litigation Settlement. The transaction also includes an agreement to settle current patent-related litigation between the participants and Kodak, which avoids additional litigation costs. The licensees include Adobe Systems Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Fujifilm Holdings, Google, HTC Corporation, Huawei Technologies (a Chinese company), Microsoft Corp., Research in Motion Ltd. (maker of Blackberry mobile phones), and Shutterfly Inc. (an online photo gallery).
Bankruptcy Exit. The deal allows Kodak to substantially pay off debt associated with its bankruptcy and pension obligations to retirees. It will continue its commercial printing operations.
Impact on E-Businesses; Prospects for Non-Licensees. The deal poses substantial barriers to entry, and operational risks, for companies that rely upon the processes covered by the patent portfolio. Such companies can expect an increase in costs due to licenses that could be forced upon them by RPX Corp. and Intellectual Ventures.