The Invisible Edge: Taking Your Strategy to the Next Level Using Intellectual Property

Blaxill and Eckhardt's "Invisible Edge" is a must read for every 21st century business executive, every member of Congress and their staffs, every judge that hears patent cases, and every citizen interested in the U.S. economy making a sustainable recovery from our current financial crisis and continuing to be the world's most innovative and successful economy. This book lays out the case for why every business organization, no matter how large or small, needs to have an intellectual property strategy that is consistent with its overall business strategy. As stated in the book, "a business plan without an Intellectual Property (IP) strategy is simply philanthropy".The authors set out in clear and concise terms all the reasons and approaches that a 21st century business enterprise must take with respect to creating a sustainable advantage for long run survival and success. While patents were indispensable in the industrial era, in a post-industrial, global, knowledge-based economy, patents and other IP protection are the key building blocks upon which any organization must build a strong and lasting foundation. As a founder of Aurigin Systems, Inc., creator of an early software platform for managing patents in their competitive landscapes and as a founder of IP Checkups Inc., providing competitive patent landscape and patent monitoring and alerting services, the strategies presented in this book are critical steps to building a successful company in today's world. Without strong IP protection, once a product or service is put on the market, competitors have been given a free meal ticket to feed off of your hard earned developments and inventions, all at no cost. By building a strong patent portfolio as the underpinings of a business, even if the business itself fails in the marketplace, the IP portfolio will still provide the owners a measure of realizeable value.The "Invisible Edge" makes an excellent case as to why the current efforts to "reform" the U.S. Patent System are misguided and not beneficial to the majority of companies operating in the U.S. Those involved in Patent Reform legislation should read this book to understand why Article 1, Sec. 8 of the U.S. Constitution is so fundamental to the continuing success of the U.S. economy. Further weakening of the U.S. patent system will undermine, not only innovation, but the all important investments necessary to bring innovations to the marketplace.

As a patent attorney, I do not often see books about patents that are likely to be interesting to the general public. This book is an exception. It contains some very interesting and engaging stories, and at the same time it makes a convincing case for the use of intellectual property as a central tool in gaining a competitive edge.The book starts with a Tiger Woods story on the first page. Mark O'Meara had a good but not spectacular golfing career until 1998 when at the age of 41 he won the Masters and the British Open. His sudden form improvement was attributable to a new type of golf ball. O'Meara's friend Tiger Woods started using the new type of ball, and then everyone else followed. The main ball manufacturer then started making the new type of ball, but they ran into trouble because the new ball was patented. I suspect that this story and others like it are tweaked for dramatic effect, but they certainly help to make the book interesting.The authors say that you can determine the strength of a company's patent position by the number of times that company's patents have been cited by other patents; in my view the usefulness of information derived from patent citations is marginal at best. The authors deny that there is any problem with patent trolls; in my view the purpose of the patent system, to encourage innovation which creates economic growth and ultimately benefits everyone, is not assisted by someone who buys up old patents from a bankrupt company at a bargain price and then uses them to extract unreasonable royalties from others.The book's central thrust is about the importance of intellectual property, with particular emphasis on patents. I think that this message is a vital one. Almost all economic growth over the last 200 years has been attributable to technological improvements, and future economic growth will depend on more innovation. Patents have been important in encouraging innovation. The book does not acknowledge the many failings of the current patents system, but it is still a great read.

Although highly focused on the stories surrounding the development and governance of IP in the world, there are many tangential points which reflect on the state of the economy and future trends to follow.The content is superbly organized and flows extremely well. I checked this book out from the library and it sat on my desk for a few months. Finally, two days before it was due, I pulled it out to read on a business trip. Two days later I returned the book and promptly ordered a copy through amazon.It's that good.

This is a great book. It successfully combines statistics, business examples, and historical anecdotes. The authors excel at providing both a broad perspective and specific examples of why IP management is critical to businesses and nations.

A good prediction of the future of the IP, that so impressed I even wrote a blog about this, see[...]When I say the future, in fact the change foreshadowed in this book are happening right now, in particular the monetarization of IP rights, separately to the exploitation of IP.

What a great book. Calling it "well written" is an understatement. Story after story that make the point, as well as entertaining to boot. Anyone with an interest in the business of patents, or the importance of patents, must possess this book. Crucial reading.

valuable information, and pretty well written.

It is not enough to have intellectual property... you absolutely must develop & execute a strategy to use it to build value...

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