Without the willingness and wherewithal to defend IP rights, they are worth very little

Earlier this month, Richard Taylor wrote in The Telegraph of an inventor who burned the patent to his invention in front of Parliament in London protesting of the cost of defending the IP.

Michael Wilcox from Pembroke, Wales, had a patent for new color printing technology, and, as is the system, he set about asking larger companies to respect his rights and license the technology.

Instead, companies allegedly copied the technology, in effect saying, “Sue us.” After spending nearly a quarter-million dollars on development, there was no money left for going after the infringers.

Valuation analysts understand this part of the equation. Without the willingness and wherewithal to defend IP rights, they are worth very little. Here’s a link to the story; it’s an instructive one to save for those conversations with IP owners when value is being so impacted. (A tip of the hat goes to Bruce Berman at IPCloseUp for calling attention to this story.)