Interview with an IP Monetization Wizard

The interviewer calls Ozer M. N. Teitelbaum the “nicest person in patent monetization and intellectual property strategy.” He currently has “a myriad of early stage ventures and many collaborators,” but operates predominantly from the law firm Sutton Magidoff. Here are some of his insights: US jurisprudence with respect to patents has become less predictable, which is unfortunate given that the US is the biggest single market and patent damages are the only real remedy available to US owners; The two biggest challenges facing patent owners seeking to monetize their patents today are 1) patents in the US are viewed increasingly as a commodity for purposes other than enforcement and 2) the uncertainty in American courts makes whether to infringe or take a license a financial decision, which stifles innovation and research;  Patents are the best way to protect detectable inventions, but if an invention is deeply buried in code and difficult to detect, the Defend Trade Secret Act might be the optimal choice. He also has some predictions about China.