Rembrandts in the Attic: Unlocking the Hidden Value of Patents

A patent gives its owner the right to prevent anyone else from using the invention that is protected by the patent. In a society where new technology plays an increasingly important role, the individual or corporation may find that owning a few patents, or better yet a large portfolio of patents, may be the key to success. This is independant of whether the patent holder practices the technology of the patent.

The authors discuss patents in the light of the e-commerce revolution. They suggest the use of patents in a strategic manner. They provide illustrations and examples of successful patent strategies. Although much of what they say may be known to those who are in the race to establish business method patent portfolios, even those who think that they know what patents are all about can learn something from this book.

The book is interesting in that it is full of anecdotal stories about why patents are important. The book is written by a patent attorney and a war correspondent. Based on the quality of the text, I assume the war correspondent completed the final review of the text. For example, the book summaries patent cases and then cites to magazine articles instead of giving a legal citation to the relevant case. Some of the statements seem factually suspect such as those predicting the content of pending patent applications (which are private until issued in the United States today.) The book has many good quotes from quality sources. However, the citations for the quotes nearly always refer to magazine articles or other publicly available documents rather than statements made to the authors. Did the authors create any new insights or simply collect existing ideas into a neat pile? If you are looking for a book to convince yourself or others that patents are an important part of business, buy this book. If you are looking for solid advice about what to do after deciding patents are important, this book will not be much help.

The authors did a great job researching and elucidating a critical management issue - IP strategy - that has been and can no longer be ignored. Even small businesses like mine can benefit from their clearly outlined strategy. And special kudos to the authors for writing a business book in a very engaging style without the usual corporate jargon.

When I say 'her', I mean this book. I liked 'her' a lot!

What a timely book! Rembrandts in the Attic is filled with advice for anyone concerned with intellectual property management. Rembrandts shows how to leverage your own intellectual property for competitive advantage, how get a handle on your competitors' activities by mining available resources, and how to "patent map" your own business development strategy. I highly recommend it as a "must have" in order to thrive in today's idea economy.