In our current technology-dominant market, the mad dash to both innovate and protect the potential market value of that innovation seems to have become a much more salient concern for organizations. Daniel Miller, now special counsel for Kasowitz Benson Torres' Intellectual Property group, doesn't necessarily think so, though.

Between eight years spent in-house at data analytics platform MicroStrategy and Google and another six years as a patent litigator for King & Spalding, Miller has been working in patent litigation long enough to look through the hype of the era and see common threads. While certainly he's witnessed changes over the last few years, namely the widespread push into global markets, the core components of patent work and patent litigation feel largely the same.

Miller finds that patent management largely depends on the type of organization more than the market itself. “A company's posture toward patents is driven less by changes in the legal landscape and more by other factors such as the company's maturity, patent portfolio size, field of technology, financial health, competitive landscape, and regional location,” he said.

LTN caught up with Miller to discuss his move, in-house experience and more:

Why Kasowitz? When I made the decision to come back to private practice after being in-house, I had two requirements—a vibrant patent litigation team and a collegial environment. Kasowitz met and exceeded those requirements; it is a great firm of skilled and creative lawyers who also happen to be great people.

What are some things you learned from your experience in-house that you think are likely to inform your work in your new position? At the end of the day, an outside counsel succeeds when she/he makes the in-house counsel look good. The best outside counsel I had when I was in-house adhered to budgets, communicated promptly with case updates, and provided honest assessments of case strategy… and of course, the best outside counsel win their cases.

Have you seen companies change their posture towards patents in the last few years? I'm not sure companies have changed their posture toward patents. Over the last several years, I've observed that a company's posture toward patents is driven less by changes in the legal landscape and more by other factors such as the company's maturity, patent portfolio size, field of technology, financial health, competitive landscape, and regional location.

What are challenges do you expect companies to face in the next few years in managing their patent work? One challenge for companies is understanding the global patent landscape to ensure adequate protection of their intellectual property in the global marketplace.