“Facebook did not file its first patent until two years after its inception,” observes Mike Pellegrino (Pellegrino & Associates). “In this age, you can't be an eight-year-old tech company without a strong IP portfolio,” and, of course, the strength of an IP portfolio depends on solid valuation metrics and methodologies.

Consider Facebook’s recent purchase of 750 patents from IBM, “in part to likely counter Yahoo's patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook,” Pellegrino says. “We've seen this story before. For instance, Overture (a search engine later owned by Yahoo) sued Google before Google's eventual IPO in 2004 and received 2.7 million shares of Google in a settlement, which Yahoo sold thereafter. Somewhere in the bowels of Facebook,” Pellegrino says, “you hope someone is paying attention to IP valuation issues.”

Strengthen and solidify your IP valuation expertise: We’ve just released the second edition of BVR’s Guide to Intellectual Property Valuation, the definitive reference used to draw credible and defensible IP value conclusions. Written by Pellegrino, the updated guide provides “real-world” examples of IP valuation and discusses each of the primary IP categories (patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets) plus discount rate development, royalty rates, and much more. The guide is available in print as well as in an online version, which features bonus content (live news feeds and "real time" updates), IP case law, and training materials. eBook and Kindle-friendly formats are coming soon.