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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Patent

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, July 20, 2021

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will provide guidance on patents as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The panel will discuss the current trends related to NFTs representing patents, examining the benefits and challenges, and even viability of such a system. The panel will discuss ownership, transferring ownership, valuation, and other issues as well as address potential concerns related to securities laws. The panel will offer best practices for leveraging NFTs to maximize patents' value and minimize the risks.

Faculty

Fabio E. Marino
Office Managing Partner; Chair of the Intellectual Property and Technology Litigation Group
Polsinelli

Mr. Marino is an experienced intellectual property trial attorney. He tries high-stakes patent, trade secrets, and copyright cases across the United States, with an emphasis on computer-related technologies and arguing appeals at the Federal Circuit. Mr. Marino has experience in a variety of technologies, including computer networks, telecommunications, software engineering, e-commerce, internet-related technologies, computer architecture, digital circuit design, flash memory, DRAMs, parallel computing, 3-D graphics and animation, medical imaging, and artificial intelligence.

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Eric L. Sophir
Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP

Mr. Sophir counsels clients on protecting innovations, gaining market share, the risks and value associated with acquiring, licensing or otherwise commercializing a patent portfolio; resolving patent disputes and monetizing patents. His practice includes patent preparation and prosecution; infringement and validity analysis in patent litigation; licensing and selling; due diligence; clearance and landscape analysis; and post-grant proceedings. Mr. Sophir also provides advice on prosecution strategies to better protect a product or more effectively deter competitors. His practice has a particular emphasis on portfolio development, including invention harvesting and patent filing strategies. Eric's clients range from startups to Fortune 50 companies.

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Description

NFTs are the latest sensation and can represent almost any real or intangible property. Recently True Return Systems and its owner decided to auction a U.S. patent on the NFT marketplace with bidding starting at over $7 million.

Patents and other IP as NFTs offer benefits but also come with risks. For example, tokenization may allow for patents to be sold, traded, and monetized. One goal is an ability for both large and small businesses to more easily leverage the IP asset if they need additional funds. Another goal is to simplify how value is assigned to patents.

There are potential concerns with NFTs representing patents, including compliance with securities laws. NFTs are only worth what someone is willing to pay and could mean the value would be very unpredictable, as the Bitcoin market has demonstrated. Further, damage to the brand or IP may be difficult to repair.

Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys examines the current trends related to NFTs representing patents. The panel will discuss the benefits and challenges of NFTs representing patents and the related issues, including ownership, transferring ownership, valuation, and data. The panel will also address potential concerns related to securities laws. The panel will offer best practices for leveraging NFTs to maximize patents' value and minimize the risks.

Outline

  1. Current trends
    1. IBM and IPwe
    2. Patent auction
  2. Ownership and transferring of ownership/rights
  3. Valuation
  4. Securities laws
  5. Best practices for leveraging NFTs and minimizing risk

Benefits

The panel will review these and other high profile issues:

  • What IP issues are implicated when the NFT changes hands?
  • What are the potential concerns related to securities laws?
  • What steps can patent owners and their counsel take to leverage NFTs while minimizing the risks?