Interview with James E. Malackowski, the Founder of Ocean Tomo – Patent Auctions, Managing Patent Portfolios, Blockchain in the Field of IP, the Market For Data Rights – IP Fridays – Episode 160

My co-host Ken Suzan and I are welcoming you to episode 160 of the IP Fridays podcast! Today`s interview guest is James E. Malackowski, the founder of Ocean Tomo, in my view the first successful patent auction venue. We talk about monetization and auctioning patents, use of blockchain technology for IP and especially for licensing, the economics of data rights and much more. But before we jump into this interview, I have news for you: The EUIPO and the EPO just released a new study ““Intellectual Property Rights and Firm Performance in the European Union.” on how intellectual property rights (IPRs) boost business performance in the EU. It looks at trade marks, designs, and patents, and shows that companies owning IPRs earn more revenue per employee and pay higher wages. Small and medium-sized enterprises benefit the most, with a 44% increase in revenue per employee compared to firms without IPRs. Yet, fewer than 10% of SMEs use registered IPRs—showing big untapped potential. https://www.euipo.europa.eu/de/news/observatory/epo-and-euipo-study-highlights-the-impact-of-intellectual-property-rights-on-firm-performance-in-the-eu The USPTO has unveiled a new strategy to guide the responsible development of artificial intelligence. This plan aims to clarify patent rules for AI inventions, foster public-private collaboration, and address ethical considerations like transparency and fairness. By creating clear guidelines and balanced regulations, the USPTO hopes to empower innovators and bring more AI-driven solutions to market. This strategy underscores the growing impact of AI on all industries and highlights the USPTO’s commitment to shaping the future of innovation. https://www.uspto.gov/subscription-center/2025/uspto-announces-new-artificial-intelligence-strategy-empower-responsible The European Patent Office (EPO) has introduced a new investor-mapping initiative to strengthen Europe’s innovation ecosystem. By identifying key investors, the project aims to bridge the gap between invention and market, helping inventors and businesses find the right funding and partners. The report introduces a new metric, the Technology Investor Score (TIS), which is the proportion of companies in an investor’s portfolio that have filed patent applications. This effort is designed to boost Europe’s competitiveness and foster greater collaboration across industries, research institutions, and venture capital. https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/news/bridging-gap-mapping-investors-strengthen-europes-innovation-ecosystem In this episode of IP Fridays, I speak with James E. Malackowski, an intellectual property (IP) pioneer best known for founding Ocean Tomo. James shares how Ocean Tomo introduced the world’s first large-scale public auctions for patents, trademarks, and copyrights. He also explains how these auctions helped create market-based “price discovery” for IP assets—something that had never been done so openly before. Beyond auctions, James discusses strategies for CEOs of mid-sized tech companies to extract real value from their R&D and patents. He emphasizes the importance of planning ahead,...