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🎯 IP Management Pulse #49
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Your inbox-insider from Prof. Wurzer every two weeks
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Here are the hot topics from 6. - 19. November 2025
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NEWS
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Conflicts between generative AI and copyright | Protection of product functionalities | EV market trends | Increased trust in IP
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RESSOUCES
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The LinkedIn about tuner | How to use as an IP expert the IPBA Connect Platform
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DEEP DIVES
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Future-proofing your personal brand: staying relevant as the IP landscape accelerates | Trade secrets v. patents – conflict of IP protection with AI in healthcare wearable devices | IP licensing: tax, compliance, and global regulations
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IP MANAGEMENT LEARNINGS
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From metal to metrics: IP strategy behind Rolls Royce’s performance contracts | Obsolescence by innovation: Yahoo’s arc and the IP playbook for search
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🤗 🍵 I wish you an exciting and informative read. I look forward to your comments and our exchange on LinkedIn.
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Conflicts between generative AI and copyright
Recent cases — including the Munich ruling against OpenAI — show that AI providers face liability when models store and later reproduce protected works such as lyrics. Courts are drawing a line: using copyrighted data for training is not unlawful per se, but retaining it in a way that enables near-verbatim output is. Providers are now expected to licence data or ensure that stored training material cannot reappear in generated content.
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What IP experts can learn from it
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For IP experts, the message is clear: copyright governance must address how AI models store, process, and output protected works. Training data requires licences or technical safeguards that prevent stored content from resurfacing; model behaviour must be monitored for memorisation; and enterprise users need policies to avoid prompting for protected works. These rulings mark a shift toward licensed datasets, controlled storage, and proactive compliance.
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Background information on the IPBA Connect platform
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Protection of product functionalities
In a landmark verdict, a U.S. federal jury awarded Masimo $634 million after finding that Apple infringed Masimo’s patent (U.S. No. 10,433,776) covering pulse oximetry monitoring technology used in the Apple Watch’s workout mode and heart rate notifications. Despite Apple’s scale and market dominance, the decision confirms that even “big tech” must respect foundational patent rights held by smaller innovators.
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What IP experts can learn from it
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For IP experts, this ruling underlines how patents serve as a strategic equaliser in a David-vs-Goliath scenario. Small or niche players — like Masimo — can leverage a well-drafted, properly enforced patent to extract significant value from functionalities adopted by major industry players. It reinforces three principles: first, the importance of securing IP rights and credible enforcement even against far larger adversaries; second, the necessity of mapping product functionalities to patent claims early, to assess IP risk and value; third, the significance of entering partnerships and licensing discussions proactively rather than waiting for litigation.
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Background information on the IPBA Connect platform
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Inventing around with clarity of function and structure on the digital IP lexicon
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EV market trends
Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles jumped 23 % in October, reaching 1.9 million units, with China alone accounting for about 1.3 million of those sales. As China tightens its lead in electrification, the IP stakes for electric vehicle technology innovators shift dramatically. Chinese patents covering batteries, power electronics, and vehicle software solutions are becoming core strategic assets. And OEMs and suppliers from China are now moving from merely manufacturing to leading in innovation, forcing global players to rethink how they secure market shares.
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What IP experts can learn from it
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For IP experts, the EV boom underscores three key actions. First, map innovation activities to market growth: patents tied to electric vehicles are now entering licensing conversations at global scale. Second, anticipate jurisdictional shifts: with China generating the majority of patent application volume, patent filings and enforcement strategies must be China-aware. Third, prepare for ecosystem licensing: as EV platforms increasingly integrate across hardware, software and services, licensing models must cover system-level functionality, not just component patents. The global surge in EV adoption thus transforms EV patents from defensive assets into active business drivers.
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Background information on the IPBA Connect platform
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Enforcement of IP rights in China on the digital IP lexicon 🧭dIPlex by Paolo Beconcini
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Increased trust in IP
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has released the results of its 2025 Pulse survey, covering 35,500 respondents in 74 countries, which finds global awareness of intellectual property (IP) and trust in IP systems have both grown significantly since the first edition in 2023. Respondents increasingly view IP rights as playing a positive role in protecting innovation and creativity. WIPO Director-General Daren Tang noted that while the survey signals success in IP awareness building activities, awareness still varies among age groups and across types of IP.
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What IP experts can learn from it
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For IP experts, this trend underscores that the legitimacy of IP systems is strengthening, but with caveats. First, simply holding a patent or trademark is not enough: experts must actively communicate the strategic value of IP to stakeholders (innovators, creators, investors) to further raise public support. Second, disparities in awareness (such as among younger demographics or less-well-known IP rights like patents and design rights) highlight the need for tailored education efforts and internal training programmes. As IP gains broader public acceptance, IP experts have a unique window of opportunity to position IP rights not just as a protection mechanism but as strategic assets in reputation building and stakeholder engagement.
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Resources on the IPBA Connect platform
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From IP awareness building to business development on the 🌱Resource Hub
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In the 🌱Resource Hub, IP experts find ready-to-use playbooks, templates and tools to sharpen positioning, visibility and client conversion. This section highlights selected resources and shows how they fit into modern, strategic IP practice.
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IP experts discuss LinkedIn About Tuner
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"What impressed me most about the LinkedIn About Tuner is how precisely it captured my professional identity. IP work is complex, and translating it into language that resonates with researchers, founders and industry is not always easy. The tuner did that effortlessly and helped me sharpen my positioning and communicate my value with clarity. Highly recommended."
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Freddy is Head of IP services at the University of Manchester Innovation Factory and helps academics, entrepreneurs and tech transfer experts to understand the value and role of IP.
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The LinkedIn About Tuner helps IP experts turn their LinkedIn profile into a clear, compelling positioning tool. After a short questionnaire and visibility check, you receive a customised “About” section draft that matches your expertise, tone and target audience. It removes generic wording and translates your niche expertise into a narrative that highlights what you do, who you help and why it matters. For IP professionals, it strengthens credibility, improves visibility and supports expert positioning in a crowded digital market.
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BEST PRACTISE: How to use as an IP expert the IPBA Connect Platform
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“With my live interviews about licence compliance on LinkedIn and my expert page on the digital IP lexicon 🔗dIPlex, I was able to reach new target groups for my services and share my expertise. Using these fast and direct channels enabled a new way of addressing current topics in compliance and responding quickly to feedback and trends.”
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After leaving the Big 4, Tomas joined Connor to help global licensing teams boost revenue, ensure MFN and contract compliance, and build trust. He uncovers hidden royalty streams, reduces risks and supports the creation of lasting, scalable licensing compliance programs.
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The campaign with Tomas Geerkens on the IPBA Connect platform turned deep licensing compliance expertise into measurable business development. By packaging Tomas’ niche focus into consistent, multi-format assets (blog article, podcast, dIPlex page, LinkedIn Live interviews) mapped to the customer journey, the campaign drove awareness, consideration, evaluation, and conversion, creating a clear path from expert insights to projects.
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Visible Council the IP Expert Branding Column
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Future-proofing your personal brand: staying relevant as the IP landscape accelerates
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By columnist Giulia Donato, Brand & Communication Consultant at people and brand strategies
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The IP world is shifting fast: AI, new markets and changing client expectations demand that expert brands evolve without losing their core. Your positioning isn’t fixed and relevance is something you maintain. A strong personal brand balances a stable core (values, expertise, thinking) with an adaptable edge (new topics, tools, industries). By reading digital, relational and reputational signals, integrating trends intentionally and updating your narrative regularly, you stay current, credible and future-ready.
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My Favorite from the 📝IP Business Academy Blog
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Trade secrets v. patents – conflict of IP protection with AI in healthcare wearable devices
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By columnist Trishala Sanyal, Corporate Counsel at Thermo Fisher Scientific, India
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The growing use of AI in healthcare wearables (e.g., smart watches, rings, ECG monitors) raises complex IP questions: should inventions be protected by patents or kept as trade secrets? Patents offer licensing revenue but require full disclosure, while trade secrets protect algorithms and data sets without revealing details. In the digital health context both matter. Patents face hurdles (e.g., the US “Alice” test for software eligibility) and trade secrecy is challenged by global data flows and regulation. Organizations must align IP strategy with their business model: data-driven algorithms often suit secrecy, hardware-plus-software inventions may favour patents. In sum, wearable AI innovations demand hybrid protection approaches, mindful of regulatory, technological and market signals.
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My Favorite from the 🎧Podcast IP Management Voice
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#64 IP licensing: tax, compliance, and global regulations
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This episode explores how licensing contracts determine the real value of IP. Andreas Jakob explains the four pillars of control — grant, field of use, duration and territory — plus strategic choices like exclusivity and future-proofing contracts. The episode highlights risk allocation, the difference between warranties and indemnities, the need for internal licenses in global groups, and strict compliance with tax, antitrust and export rules. Strong licensing requires tailored drafting, clear control, and rigorous global governance.
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In the 📑IP Management Letter series, IP experts find case-based narratives that show how strategic IP management works in real companies and industries, with practical insights they can directly apply to their own portfolios and client work.
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From metal to metrics: IP strategy behind Rolls Royce’s performance contracts
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Discover how Rolls‑Royce shifted from selling jet engines to offering outcome-based services and why their IP strategy lies at the heart of it. From proprietary materials and algorithms to data rights and long-term service contracts: this article unpacks the transformation.
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Obsolescence by innovation: Yahoo’s arc and the IP playbook for search
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Discover how Yahoo’s shift from human-curated portals to algorithm-driven search illustrates the danger of riding the current S-curve without planning for the next. This deep dive reveals how IP strategy becomes the real battleground in disruption.
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