The metaphors people use to describe intellectual property disputes are a lot more martial than they used to be. But then, the stakes are higher than ever. As industries grow steadily more sophisticated about the way they manage and defend their innovations, the consequences for missteps expand proportionally. With less and less margin for error, companies are increasingly willing to do battle over their most critical IP.
“A couple years ago, we were fending off trolls, but now it seems like we’re doing global warfare for competitors,” says Brian Busey, an IP litigator at Morrison Foerster. “Trolls haven’t gone away, but now at the same time companies have to manage larger litigation involving competitors, and it’s gone global. A lot of in-house counsel are flying all over the world, managing cases from Germany to Seoul.”
