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Byline: AMY REEVES
Companies are taking their patents a little more seriously these days.
Managing and capitalizing on intellectual property has become more important to business than ever. Analysts estimate the worldwide IP market to be $100 billion.
At IBM Corp., for instance, patents and licensing represent 15% of revenue.
It's been moving that way for the last 20 years, ever since U.S. courts started defining and enforcing patent law.
"In the period up to about 1980, patents weren't taken very seriously," said Bruce Sunstein, partner at Boston IP law firm Bromburg & Sunstein.
The tech explosion also brought IP to the foreground, as computer and biotech firms jockeyed to be the first to patent the next great gizmo or software program.