Regular readers of this column may have noticed that in the past two months I have gone to a once a week posting.  That has in part been due to weeks of non-stop travel, speaking engagements and book signings.  I now find myself  being able to sit at my writing table for a whole week. A wonderful feeling! As a result, I will be posting some shorter columns over the next two weeks, addressing a backlog of topics that I have wanted to write about.  Those of you that have let me know you appreciate the slightly longer thought pieces, …

Growing up as part of the baby boom generation, a distinct memory is the air raid siren tests.  Every Tuesday, if I recall correctly, at 10a there was the test of the air raid siren blaring across the entire city of Chicago.  This was to prepare us for the possibility of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union (so we could crawl under our desks as instructed by our teachers).  Since it happened each week at the same time we knew it was a test.  If it had happened on any other day, I might not be writing this column …

Regular readers know that I have often written about Intellectual Property in this space. IP is increasingly important in the valuation of all enterprises. I provided a historical context to this trend here, and later talked about Ocean Tomo, one of the companies that is helping to create the IP marketplace.

As mentioned in one of the earlier columns, the percentage of the aggregate value of the S&P 500 companies that is IP has gone from 17% in 1975 to 80% in 2005. The transactional process of IP, until very recently, has largely been the same …