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COVID: Patents Being Abandoned At Triple The Normal Rate According to BlueIron Study

BlueIron, LLC

An updated analysis by BlueIron shows that the COVID crisis has dramatically affected business's IP strategy. This lack of confidence in the future has never been seen before and has severe implications. "Patents represent a company's confidence in the future and their ability to innovate. Companies get patents because they believe in their innovations and that they will be successful in the market," says Russ Krajec , CEO of BlueIron, which finances patent portfolios for innovative companies. "COVID has been shaken this confidence in ways we have never seen before." The abandonment rate has shot up since COVID started, especially for Small Entities, which are companies of less than 500 people. As reported in March , the abandonment rate nearly doubled, but in July, the trend has continued with abandonments nearly tripling. For Small Entities, the abandonment rate has gone from 11.7% to 31%. For Large Entities, the abandonment rate has doubled from about 6.5% to 13%. Abandonments are pending patent applications where the applicant has decided to quit prosecution. These data are from when the USPTO examiner has issued a rejection and the applicant has refused to respond, letting the patent go abandoned rather than invest more money in it. The average number of rejections for US patents is about 4.2 per patent. "Patents are 20 year assets and are typically are not affected by short term market swings. A similar study during the 2008 recession showed patent abandonment rate being very steady," says Krajec . "However, the COVID crisis has changed things in ways we have never seen before." "Certainly, companies are taking a very hard look at expenses and IP costs are one way to conserve cash during lean times. But cutting off the future value of your company by abandoning patents shows a completely different type of thinking than we have seen before." About BlueIron: BlueIron provides IP-related financing for companies from startups to publicly traded companies. BlueIron finances the cost of getting a patent and building patent portfolios, provides insurance for enforcement and defense of those patents, and can provide $2-5M loans using patents as collateral. You can read the BlueIron blog here. About Russ Krajec: Russ Krajec is a registered patent attorney who has been practicing for over 20 years, as well as a podcaster, blogger, and author. His book “Investing In Patents” describes the business criteria used to identify good inventions and good patents. Krajec is the host of the Patent Myths podcast, which looks at IP from a business standpoint. Contact Details Russ Krajec +1 970-776-4355 russ.krajec@blueironip.com Company Website https://blueironip.com

July 13, 2020 01:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time

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Mike Tague Rejoins Interfirst Mortgage to Lead Western Division Wholesale Production Channel

Interfirst Mortgage Company

Interfirst Mortgage Company (Interfirst and/or Company), a private equity-backed mortgage originator, announced today that Mike Tague has rejoined the Company as Vice President, Western Division Production for the wholesale channel. In his new role, Mr. Tague will focus on growing Interfirst’s wholesale channel throughout the West by adding top-performing and relationship-driven Account Executives as the Company builds its presence across the U.S. Mr. Tague brings with him 30 years of mortgage industry experience and has spent 25 years building sales teams, expanding branch operations and growing existing markets in the wholesale channel. During his career, Mr. Tague has held the position of Vice President of Wholesale at numerous lenders including The Money Source, Peoples Home Equity, Ethos Lending LLC and Finance of America Mortgage LLC. Mr. Tague first joined Interfirst in 2011, where he was instrumental in growing wholesale production to more than $1 billion per month. “We are thrilled to have Mike back at Interfirst as a key leader in our wholesale business,” said Mark Freedle, Executive Vice President, Production. “Mike has a dynamic, relationship-driven leadership approach and an unmatched track record for building a strong wholesale production team that will help Interfirst expand quickly across the Western region of the U.S.” Mr. Freedle added, “Interfirst fully supports the mortgage brokerage community with a broker-centric approach, and the technology, competitive products/pricing and service to help mortgage brokers build and grow a successful and sustainable business. We have the ability to deliver a cost-efficient process driven by our proprietary technology platform that allows mortgage brokers to better serve customers and close more quality loans quickly at the most competitive price.” “My first experience at Interfirst was one of the best in my career and I am excited to be back working with Dmitry Godin, Mark and the rest of the leadership team,” commented Mr. Tague. “The new Interfirst is focused on transforming the way consumers obtain residential mortgages – and reenters the wholesale channel without any legacy challenges. Our objective is to enable our mortgage broker partners to operate efficiently and friction free through a technology-driven model based on service, speed, competitive offerings and sustainability – and empower them to exceed their own expectations and help their clients.” Seven top-producing Account Executives, most of whom generated more than $30 million in mortgage originations per month in 2019, and previously worked at Interfirst, have already joined Mr. Tague’s team. These Account Executives, who all have over 20 years of mortgage industry experience, include Sarah Daniels in Colorado, Thomas Corvo in Hawaii, Chip Mamiya in California, Conrad Tan and Donna Browne in Northern California, Dee Morelli in Illinois, and Chris Jenkins in Utah. Interfirst is working diligently to expand its loan offering to all 50 states by the end of 2020, which will be an important milestone in the business strategy the Company initiated in January. To learn more, Mr. Tague can be reached at mtague@interfirst.com . About Interfirst Interfirst Mortgage Company is a private equity-backed mortgage originator that is transforming the way consumers obtain residential mortgages. Founded in 2001, and relaunched in 2020, Interfirst is built on a new proprietary loan origination technology platform and an expanded business model featuring a newly integrated retail and wholesale offering. With innovation at its core, Interfirst enables mortgage broker partners and loan originators the ability to operate efficiently and friction free through a technology-driven model based on service, speed, competitive products/pricing and sustainability. Interfirst is currently licensed in 13 states including Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin, with plans in place to be licensed in all 50 states. Visit Interfirst.com or contact 800.520.7087 to learn more. Contact Details Cate Cronin +1 202-738-7302 ccronin@levick.com Company Website https://www.interfirst.com/

July 13, 2020 08:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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National Bar Association - Commercial Law Section Launches Inaugural ‘Black Lawyers Matter’ Virtual Internship Program

National Bar Association - Commercial Law Section

The National Bar Association - Commercial Law Section (NBA-CLS) recently announced the launch of its NBA-CLS Black Lawyers Matter (BLM) Internship Program, designed to positively impact diversity in the legal profession. The BLM Program will be a virtual program that provides training, exposure, and opportunities to diverse students facing the challenge of securing quality employment, by partnering with corporate legal departments and law firms that are dedicated to taking more meaningful steps towards promoting diversity, equality, and inclusion. This year further highlighted unprecedented challenges to the Black community including, but not limited to, quality job opportunities being delayed, revoked, or completely eliminated—and the legal industry is not exempt. Recent events in the United States towards members in the Black community have encouraged NBA-CLS to strengthen the steps taken to further our mission of increasing the diversity of outside counsel ranks and expanding the pipeline of African Americans entering the legal profession. “As NBA-CLS focuses on closing gaps caused by the systematic racism that permeates the legal profession and our society as a whole, one immediate action that we are taking is to launch an internship program specifically for diverse students that have been disproportionately impacted by having limited access to job opportunities,” said LaTanya Langley, Chair of the NBA-CLS BLM Action Committee. The BLM Program will match law students with corporate legal departments or law firms in practice areas, including, but not limited to Commercial, Corporate, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Employment, Regulatory, Compliance, and Governance. NBA-CLS will provide $10,000 in salary per student (and a total of $40,000) to cover a full-time assignment for 8-10 weeks. The BLM Program will begin in late July 2020 with rolling start dates and will end in September 2020 (or as otherwise agreed with the host corporation or firm). According to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), racial minorities remain underrepresented in the leadership ranks of legal services organizations. People of color made up about 25% of associates but accounted for less than 8% of equity partners among all firms who participated in a 2019 NALP survey . Black attorneys accounted for less than 2% of partners among the firms surveyed by NALP, while black women accounted for less than 1%. “The first step is recognizing that the gap between the demographic makeup of the industry and that of our community reflects the presence of barriers to entry into the profession,” said Andrew Nunes, incoming NBA-CLS Chair. “To remain complacent and idle with this state of affairs, especially in light of recent events, is not only a disservice to diverse lawyers but our industry and society as a whole. As a result, we are eager to launch our BLM Internship Program to increase opportunities for racialized law students and to help cultivate an industry that is more demographically representative of the population.” If your firm or corporation is interested in partnering with NBA-CLS by providing or sponsoring an opportunity for a student in the BLM Program, please contact LaTanya Langley at info@nbacls.com for more information. If you are a law student and you are interested in the BLM Program, please submit your resume and cover letter no later than July 17, 2020, to info@nbacls.com . About National Bar Association - Commercial Law Section The mission of the NBA Commercial Law Section is to bring its outside counsel members together with in-house counsel who seek to increase the diversity of their outside counsel ranks and to provide networking and education forums to address the interests of NBA members practicing in the area of commercial law. The NBA Commercial Law Section is also committed to serving the community and expanding the pipeline of African Americans entering the legal profession. For more information visit www.nbacls.com. Contact Details Andrew Nunes +1 416-865-4510 anunes@fasken.com Company Website https://nbacls.com/

July 10, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University Hosts Diversity & Inclusion Webinar

LEVICK

Wake Forest University’s Center for the Study of Capitalism will host a July 15 webinar titled, “Doing the Right Thing: How Companies Lead in the New Age of Diversity & Inclusion.” The event will focus on potential diversity and inclusion initiatives for businesses currently rethinking their policies and communications tactics. The panel’s evolution was prompted by the recent focus on the Black Lives Matter protests that have generated far more conversation than all other social issues – abortion, immigration, gun control, #MeToo – combined . The panel will be hosted by the Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University, a research and teaching center and a trusted source of information about well-functioning democratic capitalism. The panel will be hosted by Richard Levick, Chairman and CEO of LEVICK and Executive Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Capitalism. Webinar panelists include: Neil Foote, Foote Communications Kurt Bardella, LEVICK William Ide, Akerman Chris Jackson, Ipsos Derede McAlpin, LEVICK “Since the murder of George Floyd and the Battle of Lafayette Square, diversity and inclusion have dominated our society’s debate in ways they haven’t since the great Civil Rights movement of the 1960s,” Levick said. “All the CEOs, general counsels and board members we have spoken with recognize this historic nature of this moment and tell us ‘We want to do the right thing, but we don’t fully know what or how.’ This webinar is designed to provide the pathway.” While some companies have made significant changes to their policies policy to respond to the Black Lives Matter movement and the public’s outcry for corporate action, many are still asking how and what to do while others are unnecessarily immobilized by past actions or inactions. The webinar will include communications and legal experts who will examine the internal and external changes that companies need to adopt given societal upheaval. For more information on the webinar, visit https://capitalism.wfu.edu/events/doing-the-right-thing-how-companies-lead-in-the-new-age-of-diversity-inclusion/ About the Center for the Study of Capitalism The Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University is a research and teaching center and a trusted source of information about well-functioning democratic capitalism. Contact Details Maria Stagliano +1 404-245-0899 mstagliano@levick.com Company Website https://www.levick.com

July 10, 2020 09:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Current Patent Litigation Costs Are Between $2.3 to $4M - from the BlueIron blog

BlueIron, LLC

Patent litigation in the US has two major stages: claim construction (sometimes called a Markman hearing) and a trial for infringement and damages. In a vast majority of cases, once the claim construction is done, the writing is on the wall and a settlement happens. "With the cost of litigation at an all-time high, patent enforcement and defense insurance makes sure you have the ability to survive," says Russ Krajec of BlueIron, a patent-finance company. The American Intellectual Property Lawyer’s Association (AIPLA) issues a bi-annual survey of IP-related costs . In the latest survey, the claim construction portion of a patent litigation ranges from $250,000 for less than $1M at risk to $2.375M for cases where $25M or more is at risk. For the entire trial, the AIPLA says that for less than $1M at risk, the trial will cost $700,000, while the very high value cases will cost $4M or more. “The AIPLA data says that with less than a million dollars at stake, both parties will have to spend $700K – or a total of $1.4 million dollars to fight a patent lawsuit,” says Krajec. “That is crazy that the expenses are so high.” “Startup companies are always cash-constrained,” continues Krajec. “No startup has the cash reserves required to go up against a Big Tech company that decides they want to use the startup’s technology. Not only does this happen in technology-based companies, but it is standard practice with the life sciences space. Certain big companies find it cheaper to blatantly infringe a startup’s patents and just dare them to sue.” Patent enforcement and defense insurance gives a startup the means to survive patent litigation, yet few startups bother to get these policies. “Most angel investors who are board members require a startup to have director’s and officer’s insurance. Over the last decade there were fourteen patent lawsuits for every individual D&O claim,” says Krajec. BlueIron is a broker for patent enforcement and defense insurance policies, including policies written by Intellectual Property Insurance Services Corporation in Louisville, Kentucky. “IP insurance is the only insurance we sell, as part of our whole patent-based financing options for companies from startups to publicly traded companies.” Schedule a call with BlueIron and see if Intellectual Property Insurance is right for your company. Learn more about Patent Litigation here on the BlueIron blog. Learn more about BlueIron's IP insurance here. The PatentMyth Podcast has an episode on patent insurance. About BlueIron: BlueIron provides IP-related financing for companies from startups to publicly traded companies. BlueIron finances the cost of getting a patent and building patent portfolios, provides insurance for enforcement and defense of those patents, and can provide $2-5M loans using patents as collateral. You can read the BlueIron blog here. About Russ Krajec: Russ Krajec is a registered patent attorney who has been practicing for over 20 years, as well as a podcaster, blogger, and author. His book “Investing In Patents” describes the business criteria used to identify good inventions and good patents. Krajec is the host of the Patent Myths podcast, which looks at IP from a business standpoint. Contact Details Russ Krajec +1 970-776-4355 russ.krajec@blueironip.com Company Website https://blueironip.com

July 10, 2020 08:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Transforming Business Development

Intapp

Contact Details Natalie Papaj +1 703-586-0048 natalie.papaj@intapp.com Company Website http://www.intapp.com

July 09, 2020 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

EOS Labs Launches to Help Building Managers Optimize Utility Efficiency

EOS Labs

As a typical facility can waste 30 percent of the energy it consumes or more due to lack of optimization, EOS Labs , a leading utility financial intelligence and technology company, launched today to help building managers ensure facilities are operating at optimum levels. The demand for determining where buildings can cut energy costs has increased dramatically in recent months, due to the COVID-19 crisis and resulting financial downturn— and a spotlight has been placed on this issue as buildings were left partially empty for months and were not energy optimized. EOS Labs is uniquely positioned to solve this challenge and assist facility managers in delivering both immediate and long-term cost savings strategies. In addition to automating and centralizing utility data, EOS Labs’ Utility Financial Intelligence ( ) platform uses AI and advanced analytics to further analyze smart meter and interval utility data, define anomalies wasting energy and deliver actionable insights to support decisive action for facility managers across vertical industries. These financial insights are adjusted for weather, occupancy and specific building consumption variables, helping organizations to eliminate energy waste without costly building upgrades, as well as increase savings. The platform’s added value is providing intelligence powered decision center that host all data related to utilities and energy; such as, billing itemized data, weather, building and business operational data, and more. “Today, building managers across vertical markets are inundated with data and many technology tools available actually hurt operational efficiencies by raising unnecessary alarms that slow cost-saving decisions,” said Sal Alhelo, Founder and CEO. “Currently, when building managers receive an alarm or alert from their BMS or utility management software, those alarms are treated at the same level of urgency, which doesn’t allow for focusing on the alarms that have the most impact on an organization’s bottom line. This is a continual challenge for facilities managers and one we are looking forward to helping them solve.” How it Works With a focus on increasing efficiencies for facilities across Education, Healthcare, Banking, Hospitality, Retail, Fitness and other markets, EOS Labs takes the data points that directly impact a company’s bottom line and prioritizes those data points to determine which alarms require immediate action. Data collected by EOS Labs is presented to building facility managers via dashboards containing simplified and actionable financial insights and custom alerts. EOS Labs automates the majority of the analysis as well as the review process, providing customers with easy to digest insights built on the customer s’ priorities and goals. EOS Labs presents any alarming data enabling immediate action, providing how long an issue has been in effect and the associated costs. For buildings with existing IoT-enabled building management systems (BMS), UFIQ provides an added element of financial intelligence. To elevate the existing platform, UFIQ eliminates the critical and costly blind spot in energy management that typical fault detection algorithms might miss. “During emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to be able to quickly manage utilities effectively and oversee usage across facilities,” added Alhelo. “The extra layer of visibility ensures building managers can minimize energy consumption of assets.” UFIQ provides that visibility to the entire building's energy financial performance in alignment with the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) and equips managers with the financially sound guidance they need to operate and adjust BMS to achieve optimal energy savings. Based in McKinney, Texas, EOS Labs’ Founder and CEO, Sal Alhelo, has nearly 15 years of experience in energy management, engineering, construction and building operations. He has significantly contributed to the design of multi-billion-dollar hotels and casinos in Las Vegas and several healthcare facilities in Texas, as well as managed facilities programs for a Fortune 500 company for more than six years. For more detail, please visit https://energyeos.com . EOS Labs is the utility financial intelligence and technology company behind UFIQTM – a platform that provides the financial intelligence necessary to ensure your building is operating at an optimal efficiency level. The company leverages proprietary AI and advanced analytics to analyze smart meter and interval data, define the anomalies wasting energy and deliver actionable insights to support decisive action for facility managers across vertical industries. The platform’s added value is providing an intelligence-powered decision center that hosts all data related to utilities and energy; such as, billing itemized data, weather, building and business operational data, and more. Contact Details Jennifer Mirabile +1 724-493-3027 eoslabs@trustrelations.agency Company Website http://energyeos.com/

July 08, 2020 08:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Law Firm Major, Lindsey & Africa Shares Diversity & Inclusion Insights on LEVICK Podcast "In House Warrior"

LEVICK

In LEVICK's new podcast for general counsels, In House Warrior , Major Lindsey & Africa Transform Advisory Services, one of the world’s leading consultants to law firms and legal departments, provides insights into diversity, inclusion and leadership during a period of civil unrest, greater awareness and a thirst by hundreds of law firms and legal departments to provide leadership. Listen here About In House Warrior In partnership with the Corporate Counsel Business Journal , LEVICK distributes its daily five-minute podcast In House Warrior to CCBJ’s readership of 40,000 in-house legal professionals. On each episode, host Richard Levick, Chairman & CEO of the global crisis and litigation communications firm LEVICK, explores some of the challenges facing professionals in the office of General Counsel. House Warrior is carried on all major podcast channels, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. In addition to daily distribution via the Corporate Counsel Business Journal, In House Warrior is hosted on www.levick.com , and is distributed via Today , LEVICK’s weekly e-newsletter with a circulation of over 30,000 corporate, legal and insurance executives. Subscribe here Contact Details Maria Stagliano +1 404-245-0899 mstagliano@levick.com Company Website https://www.levick.com

July 07, 2020 02:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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National Family Support Finds Help with BlueIron

Family Support of South Carolina, Inc

National Family Support, Inc announced today that it has filed its first patent, filed through BlueIron . National Family Support is rolling out a suite of services for managing child support payments. National Family Support's program separates a non-custodial parent's responsibility of child support payments with the custodial parent's need for reliability and consistency. A parent who is required to pay child support can apply for a loan for delinquent payments, which is immediately paid to the custodial parent. Going forward, the custodial parent's payments are guaranteed. "With billions of dollars of delinquent child support payments nationally, we will arrange loans to parents who are behind and will guarantee all future payments. This means money goes right to the children it needs to help," says Dee Benedict, President of Family Support of South Carolina, Inc., that is implementing the first in the nation program in South Carolina. "Our IP portfolio lets us grow nationwide to address the child support crisis," says Frank Kristan, President of National Family Support, Inc., "It is all about the children - and BlueIron makes this possible." "Financial technology or 'fintech' is a difficult field to get valuable patents," says Russ Krajec, CEO of BlueIron. "Our investment came after a lot of due diligence and study of the marketplace and existing IP. National Family Support's innovation solves a huge problem in a very creative and protectable way." About Family Support: Family Support of South Carolina, Inc., is a private service company organized to assist in the financing of child support payments. National Family Support, Inc. is its parent company. Information is at http://www.familysupportofsc.com and e-mail: info@familysupportofsc.com. About BlueIron: BlueIron provides patent-related financing for companies ranging from startups to publicly traded companies. BlueIron finances the cost to create IP portfolios, insures those portfolios for enforcement and defense, and can provide $2-5M loans using IP as collateral. Information is at https://blueironip.com and email: russ.krajec@blueironip.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Contact Details Frank Kristan +1 843-801-6384 info@familysupportofsc.com Company Website https://familysupportofsc.com

July 07, 2020 11:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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