Gartner, the research and consulting firm, has gone so far as to anoint this emerging space with an acronym, IPAM (intellectual property asset management).

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Updating investors on its acquisition strategy on the earnings call, Dell mentioned that its significant investments to develop and acquire industry-leading intellectual property in systems management, storage, security and networking have been paying off.

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In addition, the rule permits the centralization and management of intellectual property in a foreign company and the receipt of royalties from related foreign subsidiaries without current U.S. taxation.

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They both ran into management or intellectual property-related problems.

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There is a current exception, but it is narrow and unclear, and this has a chilling effect upon a lot of legitimate research -- some of the research would actually help protect intellectual property by helping to make digital rights management software stronger.

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They also point out that the costs of open innovation, in management distraction or lost intellectual-property rights, are not nearly as well studied as its putative benefits.

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His firm is currently working on fixing or dismantling about two dozen startups, including by helping them solve cash-management problems or finding buyers for all or parts of a business or its intellectual property.

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