Imagine If: The Future is Now

Ten years ago, patent intelligence was the domain of specialized professionals armed with Boolean search expertise. Today, we're living in what Sam Wiley calls an "IP economy" where most companies, independently of industry, are technology companies dealing with intellectual property. The transformation has been remarkable. 

Patent data now flows across enterprises, informing decisions from R&D strategy to financing. The rise of AI has accelerated this shift beyond anyone's predictions, moving us from semantic search overlays to ChatGPT-level intelligence that would have seemed like science fiction ten years ago. But perhaps the equally significant change isn't technological – it's psychological. The patent intelligence community has shed its self-limiting beliefs about what business leaders can understand and embrace. No more softening language with terms like "innovation intelligence." As Sam puts it: "It's gloves off when it comes to patent data and IP data."

Also in this episode: 

• How the shift from physical library research to Boolean to AI-powered tools has democratized patent intelligence across organizations 
• Why the increasing number of product counsels reveals a fundamental change in how companies integrate IP into product development 
• What the boom in IP-backed financing indicates about increased sophistication among both lenders and borrowers 
• How AI adoption has shifted from "trust but verify" to full acceptance in just the past year

“There's this idea of technology convergence where every company, every type of company, is turning into a technology company. I think we need to drop this. It's an IP economy, everything is an IP economy.”

‍About Ocean Tomo‍

Ocean Tomo, a part of J.S. Held, provides expert opinion, consulting, and advisory services focused on intellectual property (IP) and intangible assets. Their work spans IP valuation, litigation support, licensing strategy, and M&A advisory. With deep courtroom experience and a global team, they assist clients on complex technical, legal, and financial matters across a wide range of industries and jurisdictions.

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