Author Archives: Jackie Hutter
After many years of counseling small companies on how to license their technology to large companies as an IP attorney, the tables are now turned. My new role is as CEO of a startup company with breakthrough battery charging technology available for licensing. I am finding that many of the things I knew to be true as an expert, really aren’t true at all now that I am an entrepreneur. This is the second post in what I hope will be an ongoing narrative that tells of my journey through the world of Open Innovation as we attempt to find one or more licensing partners for our company’s breakthrough battery fast charging technology. (The first post is here.) One piece of advice that I knew even before embarking on this entrepreneurial journey that was absolutely not true was”build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your … Continue reading
Part One – A Startup Company’s Experiences with Open Innovation by Jackie Hutter For the past several months, I have been at the helm of Evgentech, a startup company with game-changing battery charging methodology. Our technology was developed by young men who did not come from a traditional engineering background and, even then, their discovery was a serendipitous result of the co-founders’ recognition of a new principle stemming from investigations initially directed toward something wholly different from battery charging. Put simply, Evgentech’s technology would not have been found if anyone–outsider or not–would have been looking for it. We are now bringing to market the first truly new battery charging paradigm in over 100 years. To put things in perspective, with Evgentech’s technology, you will be able to charge your batteries in a fraction of the time possible with existing battery charging methodologies, which means you can charge your …
In a recent post here, Open Innovation guru Stefan Lindegaard presented the ostensibly nonsensical hypothesis: R & D leaders are often a “threat” to innovation. Stefan’s post resulted from an interaction he had with a senior R & D person at a mid-sized tech company, who apparently adhered to the outdated notion that he and his scientists and engineers know more about the company’s business than anyone else could possibly even try to know. As a result, this R & D leader believes that they cannot maximize (or even create) value for their organization by looking outside the confines of their existing R & D infrastructure to solve the company’s pressing business problems. Reading this, R & D professionals might likely think: “What’s this guy smoking? How can R & D be a threat to innovation?! We’re the reason this company has any innovation …
5 Biggest IP Legal Mistakes Small Companies Make When Working with Large Companies by Jackie Hutter Small companies CAN effectively partner with large companies in Open Innovation… Open Innovation guru Stefan Lindegaard recently asked me what the biggest IP legal mistakes small companies make when they are working with large companies. This is a subject very near and dear to my heart, as I am currently “moonlighting” as GC of a start up energy company that is moving toward licensing our technology into large companies. Also, as a senior IP lawyer at a multi-national consumer products company, I was on the other side of such deals on more occasions than I can count. Prior to that, I was a law firm partner representing large and small corporations in patents and licensing issues, and in doing so, I now realize that I killed more deals than I ever facilitated, a …
We’re Measuring the Wrong Things by Jackie Hutter Few things infuriate me more than supposed experts who make statements along the lines of “patents are critical to innovation.” I have avoided stating my views widely in this forum because I didn’t want to get into a contest of one upmanship with my patent lawyer peers. However, in the last couple of weeks, several pieces of information have hit my radar screen that make this seem like the right time to go public with my views. Let my position be very clear: we create a false dichotomy when saying “innovation is not possible without patents.” The issue is much more complex and nuanced than this: in a particular instance, patents may be critical to innovation, but they might also be only slightly important or–likely in the majority of situations–they might be wholly irrelevant to innovation. (I talk more …
Interview – Jackie Hutter – The Hutter GroupI had the opportunity to interview Jackie Hutter, Chief IP Strategist and Founder of The Hutter Group about the intellectual property and innovation. The Hutter Group is an IP business strategy consultancy that assists innovation-driven organizations, entrepreneurs and investment professionals in identifying opportunities to identify, capture and maximize value from intellectual property and other intangible assets. Jackie, who calls herself “a recovering patent attorney,” has over 15 years of multi-faceted IP and business experience in both law firm and corporate settings.Here is the text from the interview:1. When it comes to open innovation, what is the biggest challenge that you see organizations facing?From the perspective of an intellectual property (“IP”) lawyer with both law firm and large corporate experience, I believe that an organization’s legal team can be a major impediment to successful implementation of open innovation. For lawyers, IP or otherwise, uncertainty … Continue reading
