I have some good friends who are starting a company called the IP Collective and they're looking to meet with some startup companies from the 17th to the 24th. <p>The premise is really simply. Patents can be a danger against your company. IP Collective helps you minimize that risk by pooling intellectual property rights with other members, which creates a stronger defense against patents claims against your company.<p>They're working on finalizing the legal structure; so, they're flying from New York to meet with startup companies to do some market research. If you have time to meet, you should absolutely take advantage of this opportunity. <p>Here are some great reasons to contact them:
1. This seems like something you want to talk about.
2. You possess a patent(s).
3. You're mildly concerned about patent litigation or been sued for patent infringement.
4. You served as legal council on IP strategy.
5. You have a portfolio company with patents / applications.
6. See #1.<p>Email them at hello@theipcollective to learn more.<p>Also, here's a blog post with more details about what they're doing: http://theipcollective.posterous.com/were-in-san-francisco
"Patents can be a danger against your company", then going ahead to pool this under another company/pool.<p>Why not make this a non-profit organization, like Apache, etc? That way you ensure the patents pooled are not going to be maliciously used, even 10 years down the road an a few management changes over at IP Collective. Sounds like a better plan to me!<p>(Off topic: reminds me of Accelerando/Charles Stross, read it!)