|
|
🎯 IP Management Pulse #53
|
Your inbox-insider from Prof. Wurzer every two weeks
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here are the hot topics from 15. January 2026 - 28. January 2026
|
|
|
|
NEWS
|
IP protection vs the "right to repair" | Joint ventures based on intellectual property | Systematic commercialization of research results | Trademark protection challenges for celebrities
|
|
|
|
RESOURCES
|
The Smart Kit "LinkedIn Essentials to boost your Profile" | How to use the IPBA Connect Platform as an IP expert
|
|
|
|
DEEP DIVES
|
Why IP experts resist branding language and what they’re right about | AI as a Value Driver for IP Law Firms: Key Insights from the Live Interview with Johannes Ernicke | Inside the Black Box of Courts
|
|
|
|
IP MANAGEMENT LEARNINGS
|
Partnering with Giants: How Caracol Uses IP Strategy to Stay in Control with KUKA
|
|
|
|
|
|
🤗 🍵 I wish you an exciting and informative read. I look forward to your comments and our exchange on LinkedIn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IP protection vs the "right to repair"
Germany’s new draft bill on the “Right to Repair” highlights the growing tension between sustainability goals and intellectual property protection. The bill, implementing the EU "Right to Repair" Directive, strengthens consumers’ and independent repairers’ ability to repair products. At the same time, it aims to maintain the protection through patents, trademarks, and design rights, allowing manufacturers to restrict repair activities where necessary to protect IP. This reinforces the boundary between legal repair and prohibited re-manufacturing.
|
What IP experts can learn from it
|
For IP experts, the key takeaway is that IP rights are becoming a decisive factor in shaping repair and refurbishment markets. Advising manufacturers and repair shops now requires balancing repair obligations with enforceable IP boundaries and helping them identify where repair ends and infringement begins, particularly for complex, patent protected products.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Background information on the IPBA Connect platform
|
|
|
|
How Xerox and the Japanese Copier Makers Built Rival Empires on a Single Innovation on the 📑IP Management Letters
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joint ventures based on intellectual property
The Lands’ End–WHP Global joint venture shows how intellectual property can be the core business asset around which new commercial partnerships are structured. In the deal, Lands’ End is contributing its full brand-related intellectual property portfolio and its ongoing licensing contracts to a newly formed joint venture with WHP Global, with WHP paying $300 million for its 50 % stake. WHP will lead global licensing and brand expansion programs, while Lands’ End retains operational control of its B2C and B2B businesses under the licensing contract.
|
What IP experts can learn from it
|
For IP experts, the key takeaway is that intellectual property itself can be the strategic foundation of a joint venture, not just a background legal right. Structuring a JV around IP allows the brand owner to unlock upfront capital, while the partner brings in its global licensing capabilities. Advising clients in such deals requires navigating licensing terms and royalty structures so that the IP’s value is translated into both immediate commercial benefit and long-term strategic growth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Background information on the IPBA Connect platform
|
|
|
|
Joint Venture on the 🔎IP Management Glossary
|
|
|
|
|
|
Systematic commercialization of research results
The University of Texas at Austin’s Discovery to Impact 2025 Annual Report highlights the best practice of how to systematically commercialize research results by showing how academic discoveries are being purposefully translated into real-world innovation. Last year, the program supported a surge in research outputs moving beyond the laboratory, e.g. 300 invention disclosures that led to 154 new patent applications and 112 licensing agreements with industry partners. The initiative also helped launch dozens of startups and manages hundreds of technology license agreements, with reinvestment into further innovation infrastructure and entrepreneurial support. This reflects a structured ecosystem that systematically transforms university research into market success.
|
What IP experts can learn from it
|
For IP experts, the key takeaway is that effective commercialization requires institutional systems that integrate IP management, market evaluation, and the initiation of partnerships. A systematic approach to strategic patenting, licensing, and venture capital support increases the likelihood that inventions not only receive protection but also achieve economic and societal impact. Advising researches at universities goes beyond patent filings: it encompasses communicating and structuring IP as a core component of commercialization frameworks and business strategy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Background information on the IPBA Connect platform
|
|
|
|
Licensing, Transfer Pricing & IP Commercialization on the digital IP lexicon 🧭dIPlex
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trademark protection challenges for celebrities
The Beckham family trademark dispute highlights the complex challenges of trademark protection for celebrities when personal and commercial rights collide. Brooklyn Beckham publicly accused his parents, David and Victoria Beckham, of pressuring him to sign over the commercial rights to the trademark of his own name ahead of his 2022 wedding, a mark that had been registered by Victoria when he was a minor. Celebrity name trademarks for various fashion and entertainment-related classes like “Brooklyn Beckham” are common tools to control promotion deals and stop others from benefiting from celebrity fame. Disputes arise when trademark ownership and personal interests diverge, especially as celebrities develop their own brands.
|
What IP experts can learn from it
|
For IP experts, the key takeaway is that trademark protection for personal names carries unique strategic and personal dimensions in the celebrity context. Advising clients requires taking into account governance of ownership and foresight about potential conflicts between individual brand ambitions and existing larger IP portfolios. Clear IP agreements early in careers or in family brands can prevent disputes later, while understanding how personal identity interplays with trademarks is essential for managing IP risk and preserving commercial brand value.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources on the IPBA Connect platform
|
|
|
|
Trademark Infringement on Social Media and E-Commerce Platforms on the 📑IP Management Letters
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In the 🌱Resource Hub, IP experts find ready-to-use playbooks, templates and tools to enhance positioning, visibility and client conversion. This section highlights selected resources and shows how they fit into modern, strategic IP practice.
|
|
|
|
IP experts discuss the Smart Kit "LinkedIn Essentials to boost your Profile"
|
|
|
"This guide offers clear and immediately-applicable recommendations on how to strengthen LinkedIn presence for IP professionals."
|
|
Damir is a European Patent Attorney at 3Shape, a manufacturer of 3D scanners and related digital solutions. The focus of his work lies on Intellectual Property Management for the innovative software-based solutions created in the company.
|
|
|
|
|
The Smart Kit "LinkedIn Essentials to boost your Profile"
|
|
|
|
This guide supports IP experts in using LinkedIn as a business tool rather than a digital résumé, turning their profile into a professional landing page. It provides a practical starting point for building visibility, attracting clients, and sharpening overall expert positioning.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BEST PRACTISE: How to use the IPBA Connect Platform as an IP expert
|
|
|
“As a subject matter expert in AI-based patent searches and white-spot analyses, I demonstrated use cases for my tool through case studies and live demonstrations together with Hannes Burger, leveraging the channels of a powerful platform and network. This resulted in greater visibility for our brands uptoIP® and patentbutler.ai®, while also supporting the promotion of our products and services.”
|
|
As Managing Director of uptoIP® GmbH, Daniel Holzner heads a company that has been serving international clients in the fields of patent, trademark and design protection for over 40 years and develops innovative software solutions for the smart management of patent rights.
|
|
|
|
|
The campaign showcases how Hannes Burger and Daniel Holzner are turning the communication about their AI-driven tool patentbutler.ai into a systematic growth engine by combining expert branding, curated content, events, and funnel mechanics that guide IP and R&D leaders from initial interest to measurable business outcomes. By embedding valuable information and structured outreach into a repeatable customer journey, they shift the perception of their tool from “just another IP solution” to a strategic asset that drives internal advocacy and tangible impact.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Visible Council the IP Expert Branding Column
|
|
|
|
|
Why IP experts resist branding language and what they’re right about
|
|
By columnist Giulia Donato, Brand & Communication Consultant at people and brand strategies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The article argues that IP experts usually present themselves through proof of competence: practice areas, jurisdictions, track records, and technical precision. This builds credibility but leaves the human side of expert work largely invisible. As AI increasingly handles information, the human touch becomes the key differentiator. What clients value in critical moments is judgment, framing, responsibility, and the feeling of being in safe hands with an expert. In this context, expert branding should not mean self-promotion, but legibility: making clear how an expert creates value as a partner in decisions. These signals appear not only online, but also in conversations and recommendations. When this remains implicit, differentiation disappears between equally competent experts.
|
|
|
|
|
|
My Favorites from the 📝IP Business Academy Blog
|
|
|
|
|
AI as a Value Driver for IP Law Firms: Key Insights from the Live Interview with Johannes Ernicke
|
|
|
|
|
|
The article distils the key insights from the live interview with Johannes Ernicke on how artificial intelligence can become a strategic value driver for IP law firms, rather than merely a tool for efficiency gains. Ernicke explains that AI enables law firms to rethink client communication, structure complex IP knowledge more clearly, and integrate legal expertise with business development workflows. By supporting better decision-making, more transparent service offerings, and scalable internal processes, AI helps IP law firms differentiate themselves, strengthen client relationships, and create new business opportunities instead of simply reducing costs or automating routine tasks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
My Favorite from the 🎧Podcast IP Management Voice
|
|
|
|
|
#67 Inside the Black Box of Courts
|
|
|
|
|
|
The podcast episode examines how greater availability of judicial data can transform legal practice by enabling empirical analysis of “law in action” rather than relying solely on traditional text-based interpretation. It highlights that access to high-quality, complete, and reliable court data is now essential for legal predictability and AI-supported research. It also discusses Europe’s varied judicial transparency landscape and stresses the need for explainable AI to ensure verifiable and accountable legal analysis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
Partnering with Giants: How Caracol Uses IP Strategy to Stay in Control with KUKA
|
|
|
|
The case study of Caracol’s partnership with KUKA shows how a deep-tech scale-up can use IP strategy as a control and scaling mechanism in collaborations with industrial giants. The collaboration combines Caracol’s platform patents, trade secrets and process know-how with KUKA’s robotics and automation IP to create a modular, scalable additive manufacturing system, while structuring foreground and background IP through IP agreements to avoid lock-in and preserve future collaboration and licensing options.
|
|
|
|
|
|
