Licensing Executive Society
Ambassador
Don Jarrell of Digital Thinking Inc
Relevance to Bootstrappers
LES is the US and Canada part of an international organization (LESI) of a wide variety of people involved in creating, managing, protecting, commercializing and licensing intellectual property. That includes business people, patent attorneys, litigators, specialty service organizations and consultants. LES members come from IT-related industries (software, electronics, Internet/Web, etc), healthcare and life sciences, chemicals/energy, consumer products and University licensing offices. On its calendar, LES has several conferences during the year and special education programs in subjects such as Technology Transfer, Intellectual Asset Management, Valuation, Negotiation, etc. There are local chapters including one here in Austin that is planning some workshops for late July and in the Fall.
Bootstrappers - or more accurately all business owners - need some appreciation of intellectual property. IP includes not only patents, but copyright, trademarks and trade secrets as well. Those assets and the intellectual capital ("know how" that allows you to operate you business and compete) that is not formalized into a form of IP needs to be managed well to:
- get maximum operational and commercial value from the IC/IP
- protect it in some respects from exploitation by your competitors
- avoid the trouble and expense of infringing the IP of others
As the Bootstrap Network's Ambassador to LES, Don is negotiating arrangements with LES to re-distribute to Bootstrap members some presentations, papers and other resource material produced by its members for its conferences and local chapter activities. More information will be posted here as this is worked out.
If you want to use or know more about the resources of LES, including identifying or contacting specific members in companies with which you want to do business, or you have some general questions about IP, please feel free to contact Don Jarrell.
