Articles by Levick Experts
In today’s economy, threats to intellectual property portfolios can torpedo stock value with dizzying effect. Ask memory chip designer RAMBUS.
When a Delaware federal judge ruled in January 2009 that RAMBUS could not enforce patents against competitor Micron Technology Inc., RAMBUS shares fell almost 40 percent – from $18.50 per share to $11.75.
It’s not just adverse patent litigation rulings that cause stocks to tumble. A reexamination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office or a case before the International Trade Commission can also take a heavy toll. General counsels and communications professionals both know that multi-part, multi-year patent litigation and re-exams can ignite protracted public firestorms.
Meanwhile, corporate counselors are learning from experience and developing best practices to protect against, or at least minimize adverse Wall Street reactions to IP controversies…
Embrace the media: Instead of hiding from reporters, get to them early and tell your story, properly contextualizing events so reporters can file balanced, accurate stories. Don’t cede the field to your opponents and competitors. It is the era of transparency; you cannot hide.
Be an educator, not a target: Patent law is complicated. Help inform reporters and investors so that they better understand the re-exam process. Don’t over-react to small decisions that are part of a longer process. Patience in the early stages will pay dividends as the story evolves.
Stay in front of the news: Prepare statements and news releases for each possible court decision before the ruling so that you can communicate your position immediately and not be delayed by internal approval processes and back-and-forth wordsmithing.
Use your friends: Enlist third-party allies to help tell your story, validate your strengths, or help the public navigate the complex details of patent law. Such disinterested advocates provide a necessary credibility to your position.
Give investors the information they want: What are the next steps in the litigation? What are the settlement prospects? What is your fallback position if things don’t go the way you want? Investors expect answers and may well jump ship if they don’t get them.
Make the most of digital media. Monitoring the blogosphere, Twitter, and other digital media provides vital intelligence into industry trends – often at the earliest possible point, well before traditional media outlets pick up a story. Are competitors building relationships with your allies? Are they pursuing litigation against others within the industry? Knowing the answers to these questions will help keep a company ahead of the curve and ready to respond to emerging IP threats the moment they appear.
Finally, talk about more than just the litigation. In the midst of patent litigation, the bigger picture is all the more relevant. Know what story you want to tell beyond the patent litigation. What image of the company do you want to reinforce? Directly or indirectly underscore that image in all communications so that you always have something to talk about beside the legal process and the problem that instigated it.
Every public utterance is potentially a marketing opportunity. What contributions has the company made, and will make, to technological innovation? How do your products and services help other companies create their own products and services?
In other words, remind investors, employees, consumers, and the media why your company was such a success in the first place.
