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Who Should Read This
Report?
When current emergency services network
was designed over 30 years ago, the process was closed and
driven primarily by one company; AT&T. The next generation
E9-1-1 system is being designed today in committees formed by
the National Emergency Number Association (www.nena.org), the
Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (www.ATIS.org),
the Internet Engineering Task force (www.ietf.org), and other
standards and industry bodies. This process is very open and
involves participants from companies currently involved in
E9-1-1 and companies just entering the market. The investment
being made by organizations participating in the design process
demonstrates that as the next generation emergency services
network rolls out, it will be a very competitive market.
In a competitive
market, companies will seek competitive advantage and thus a
desired return on investment by using many tools including
protecting their intellectual property. This trend is already
apparent in the E9-1-1 industry. Between 1971 and 2004, 628
patents related to E9-1-1 systems were issued by the US Patent
and Trademark Office. In 2004 alone, 101 patents, a full 16% of
the total, were issued.
Given this trend, a
review of patents should now be a prominent aspect of decisions
made by many stakeholder groups:
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Prior to making large investments in new product
development Senior Company Executives must ensure that
their product development groups are aware of relevant patents
and have plans to either license technology where necessary or
have found ways to avoid infringing on existing patents.
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During the evaluation of possible mergers or
acquisitions, Senior Company Executives, their
Investment Bankers and Legal Counsel should evaluate
the patent portfolio of their potential partner with a special
eye on how the combined portfolio stacks up against the
competition.
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Investors and Financial Analysts should
evaluate the richness and competitiveness of a company’s patent
portfolio prior to making an investment.
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Industry Analysts and the media should be
aware of how the patent landscape within the E9-1-1 industry
will shape its evolution and determine winners and losers.
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Buyers and Users of E9-1-1 equipment should
be aware of patents affecting products they buy and in their
general evaluation of vendors.
The 9-1-1 Patent
Landscape Survey acts as a starting point for all stakeholders
as they evaluate the patent landscape in their decision making
process. In some cases, the extensive detail and expert
analysis provided will be all that is necessary to make the
decision at hand. In all cases it provides an excellent first
step in understanding the patent landscape and acts as a guide
to further steps.
For further
information, please contact Ray Paddock at rpaddock@ip-partner.com
or call 303.596.8239. |
