Bruce Berman

President, Brody Berman Associates, New York

Why IP – what drew you into the field?
I enjoy the mix of technology, business and law. Also, the leading exponents of IP are among the most interesting people I have met.

How long have you been practising IP?
Since 1989, when I was hired by Kenyon & Kenyon to provide marketing strategy. Prior to that, I had been involved in investor relations and taught film scholarship at Columbia University. Many of the challenges in deconstructing a film apply to understanding patents. It’s about context.

What’s your most memorable career event to date?
Helping a Fortune 500 firm to brand its patent portfolio among diverse audiences. Some IP Rights are like stocks. The difference between book and market value is fundamentally perception, which is comprised of impression, as well as fact.

What’s your top tip for IP networking?
Take the time to research the best assets, companies and people for IP. Convey to IP owners and advisers that you really do understand the difference between IP Rights and assets. Not that many people do.

Which professional do you think is making the biggest waves in IP at the moment?
Jim Malackowski, CEO of Ocean Tomo. The company’s public IP auctions have raised significant capital for others to invest in patent-centric companies or buy patents outright.

What is your favourite aspect of the IP profession?
The people. They are among the most astute and colourful I have met. In the US they are quintessentially American. They remind me of the pioneers of the Old West, who blazed new trails.

What is your least favourite?
The hype. If expectations are not managed, IP monetization could become the fashion of the moment, and a victim of its own promotion. Executives need to know more about IP.

Which IP-related book would you recommend to fellow professionals?
In addition to my own three books, of course, I like Jack Knight’s Patent Strategy for Researchers and Research Managers, which should be required reading at every business school.

Bruce is a leading IP marketing consultant, editor and writer, who focuses on the business of IP rights. His most recent books are Making Innovation Pay and From Ideas to Assets.


This article first appeared in IP Review, issue 18