Practical perspectives on IP strategy, licensing, and patent enforcement by Kai-Erik Elers. Browse the summaries by topic and follow the links to read the original posts on LinkedIn.
Becoming a Credible Patent Owner
Credible enforcement capability can strengthen a patent owner’s licensing position without requiring frequent litigation. This post explores the connection between voluntary licensing, business-driven enforcement decisions, and building the expertise and resources needed to act when justified.
Connecting Licensing and Patent Enforcement
A licensing agreement’s value can weaken if competitors expect patents to go unenforced. This post explores monitoring, decision-making, funding, and enforcement responsibilities from both parties’ perspectives, highlighting the connection between commercialization and credible patent protection.
Ex Parte Reexamination Explained
Ex parte reexamination is another U.S. route for reconsidering patentability based on specified prior art. This post introduces the paper-based process and compares its participation, cost, and strategic features with inter partes review.
Inter Partes Review: The 2025 Debate
Changes discussed in 2025 prompted debate over access to inter partes review. This post explores contrasting stakeholder perspectives on efficiency, cost, court overlap, and the consequences of stricter screening for patent challenges.
Inter Partes Review Explained
Inter partes review offers a U.S. administrative route for challenging patent claims using specified prior art. This post introduces the process and explores its potential advantages, procedural limits, and relationship with court litigation.
Responding to a Potential Infringement Claim
An infringement notice can create both uncertainty and an opportunity for commercial discussion. This post explores business involvement in negotiations and introduces declaratory judgment actions as one possible response when a U.S. patent dispute escalates.
Reverse Engineering for Patent Investigations
Reverse engineering can provide technical evidence for a patent infringement assessment. This post explores product access, specialized teardown skills, economic justification, and the close collaboration needed between engineers and patent counsel to map findings to claims.
Patent Citations as Competitive Intelligence
Later patent applications can reveal who is developing technology near your own inventions. This post explores citation monitoring as a source of competitive intelligence and potential investigation leads, while distinguishing those signals from proof of infringement.
Employees as a Source of Infringement Leads
Informed employees can recognize possible overlaps between patented inventions and competitors’ technology. This post explores awareness, factual documentation, and internal reporting practices that can turn a chance observation into a lead for professional assessment.
Litigation Funding and Settlement Opportunities
Conversations at an LES conference highlight the role of external funding in patent disputes. This post explores settlement incentives, financier risk management, and the potential commercial significance of broader European patent enforcement coverage.
Building a Culture of Patent Enforcement
A university discussion on defending IP rights prompts a wider reflection on European enforcement culture. This post explores strategic, economic, and institutional barriers and asks how organizations can become more credible patent owners.
AI as an IP Analysis Coworker
Specialized AI assistants can help review large volumes of material and develop early infringement insights. This post shares experiments with prompting, acknowledges imperfect results, and considers how access to technical literature could expand their usefulness.