Interview with: Dr. Ilan Cohn, Partner, Patent Attorney

Cohn, de Vries, Stadler & Co., a member of the CDS-LUTHI Intellectual Property Group, is entering its fourth year and has already secured its place as a leading firm in Israel. As noted by Dr. Ilan Cohn, Senior and Founding Partner, the firm, which is the IP procurement arm of the Group, assists clients throughout the entire technology life cycle by devising and implementing value-generating IP strategies that are tailored to a venture’s development stage, the market in which it operates, business development goals and growth projections, and budget.

 

1) What do you see as the main points that differentiates Cohn, de Vries, Stadler & Co. from your competitors?

There are a few differentiating factors. To begin with, the Firm’s partners are all leading individuals in the country, and many have also an international renown that is second to none. The firm has been built with the declared mission to assist clients throughout all stages of innovations, from early conception stages through the establishment of significant market presence to the utilization of seemingly obsolete IP assets for revenues and non-dilutive capital. Given the span of activity, the Firm’s partners are not mere providers of professional IP services but rather serve as trusted advisors for many of the Firm’s clients being deeply involved in guiding clients and assisting in the clients’ decision making in a wide range of topics on a routine level.

The partnership with Luthi & Co. and the formation of the CDS-LUTHI Intellectual Property Group, and the very close collaboration between patent attorneys and IP litigators that ensued, dramatically broadened the scope of service available to our clients and gave a new dimension to our wholistic approach to IP services.

 

2) Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?

There are several areas in which the Firm expects to grow over the next 12 months, including:

• IP strategy advice, including devising and implementing value-generating IP strategies
• Portfolio management
• IP due diligence
• IP audit
• Transaction-related professional IP services
• Patent monetization

The main driver is the growing demand for high-quality, trusted, and ethical professional services, coupled with a critical understanding of the necessity for such services to build and maintain value in innovations. This growth is further complemented by a dramatic increase in our brand recognition.

 

3) What’s the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?

Some changes that we have implemented, include:

• Streamlining of our internal work processes.
• Implementing concise and clear communications with our clients that permit even lay individuals to understand the status and the required decisions relating to their IP portfolio.
• Improvements in our file-management software that among others permits clients to view their portfolio online.
• Full transparency in our billing practice.

 

4) Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?

Yes, is does. Here are some examples:

• Complete paperless work environment
• Sophisticated document management and retrieval system
• Clients’ ability to online access all information relating to their technology

 

5) Can you give us a practical example of how you have helped a client to add value to their business?

While I cannot divulge the clients’ identity, I am pleased to provide concrete practical examples, two companies I will not identify by name but will refer to them as “CoX” and “CoY”.

CoX is a company with highly sophisticated technology in the medical device space. Company X conceived a technology that is outside its line of development that could greatly benefit a multinational corporation Z (“CorpZ”). CoX did not consider patenting an option, since CoX’s development team, who conceived the idea, thought that this technology is trivial and not patent worthy. In an innovation mining endeavor with CoX we have identified this solution as a patent-worthy innovation, namely that it is novel, inventive and that the patent would be enforceable. We have accordingly, with CoX’s approval, began a patenting campaign and the result is that CoX is now in discussion with CorpZ, for a multi-million $ deal.

CoY made a decision to abandon a patent relating to a technology that was not being used anymore in CoY. We have identified the patent as a monetizable asset and jointly with CoY entered a patent monetization campaign that may generate a multi-million $ income.

 

6) Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms – where do you see the firm in three years’ time?

Clients indeed look for stability and if a firm performs and cater to their needs, they will not seek alternative professional services. In three years I expect the firm to be more heavily focused on clients with large portfolios that understand the value of high quality professional service providers. This will lead to an increase in the type of activities noted in Section 2.