An IPWatchdog Year in Review: A Look Back at 2013

It was another busy year at IPWatchdog.com, and I want to thank all of our readers and guest contributors for making this year very special!

The first piece of business it to announce that we were notified earlier today that IPWatchdog.com was selected as the #1 IP blog by the Journal of the American Bar Association for 2013. That makes it 3 out of the last 4 years we were voted #1, and the 5th year in a row that the ABA Journal selected us to be in the Top 100 Blawgs. But as great a feeling as that is, perhaps the bigger news this year was that the ABA Journal selected IPWatchdog.com to be in the ABA Blawg Hall of Fame. This is an honor currently shared with only 19 other blog, including Dennis Crouch’s PatentlyO.

In terms of website traffic, during 2013 we had our best year ever, which seems to be something that I have been able to say year after year for the past several years. In 2012 our traffic increased by 31% compared to 2011 to an average of 82,632 monthly unique visitors. In 2013 our traffic increased to an average of 118,095 unique monthly visitors, representing 43% growth in 2013 compared with 2012.  We also averaged nearly 139,000 unique monthly visitors during Q4 of 2013. During 2013, 69.0% of our traffic came from the United States, with 4.5% from the United Kingdom, 3.8% from India, 3.8% from Canada, 2.1% from Australia and 1.1% from Germany, which collectively represents 84.3% of our total traffic.

For those wondering about the dip in traffic during June and July 2013, there is an explanation. Our traffic was slightly depressed due to a hacking attack that temporarily resulted in Google removing certain pages from the free rankings. It took a while to plug the holes — longer than I expected it would or should — but after paying for some outside consultants to assist I finally figured out the problem that kept allowing access; a hole I plugged  in mid-July. This brought our traffic back to its previous growth trajectory, dipping a little in December 2013, but still coming in at over 132,000 unique visitors. Mid-week holidays in the final two weeks of the year were not a help, but we expect great things in 2014.

The top 25 articles written in 2012 in terms of traffic are listed below. It is great to see that 5 out of the top 25 were authored by guest contributors, and Ray Millien had two articles placed in the top 25! The list does not include legacy articles (i.e., article published in years prior to 2013).

  1. The Benefits of a Provisional Patent Application
  2. Writing Software Patent Applications
  3. Patent Claim Drafting — The Basics
  4. Contracts 101: Covenants, Representations and Warranties in IP License Agreements (by Ray Millien)
  5. Patent Attorney Asks “Are You Drunk?”
  6. Everything You Need to Know about the Patent Bar Exam
  7. A Brave New Patent World: First to File Becomes Law
  8. China’s Giant Leap Forward in Patents (by Chris Neumeyer)
  9. Drafting Patent Applications: Writing Method Claims
  10. Federal Circuit Nightmare in CLS Bank v. Alice
  11. The Good, Bad and Ugly about Provisional Patent Applications
  12. Consternation Over Inability to Cut and Paste
  13. Beware Infringing Beer Dispensing Patent
  14. Frito-Lay Loses SCOOPS!® Patent, Trademark Infringement Case (by Jason Williams)
  15. Dr. Oz Fights Fraudulent Claims of Endorsement
  16. Did the PTAB Just Kill Software Patents
  17. Robin Thicke Sues Marvin Gaye Because He’s Infringing
  18. Landscape 2013: Who are the Players in the IP Marketplace? (by Ray Millien)
  19. Design Patent Lawsuit Takes the Fashion World by Storm (by Anthony Trippe)
  20. A Guide to Patenting Software: Getting Started
  21. Beware Patent Bar Study Advice
  22. Mark Cuban is an Idiot! Patents Do Not Impede Innovation
  23. Tiffany Sues Costco Over Counterfeit Diamond Rings
  24. Strong Design Patents: The Power of the Broken Line (by Mark Nowotarski)
  25. The Rise of Patent Litigation in America: 1980 – 2012

We also did some excellent interviews in 2013, including: Judge Richard Linn (of the Federal Circuit), the David Kappos Exit InterviewPTAB Chief Judge James Smith and Vice Chief JamesRay Niro (the man they call the patent troll), Manny Schecter (IBM’s chief patent counsel) and others.

I would also encourage those who haven’t taken a look at the Companies We Follow series, which is primary written by Steven Bachmann, to give it a read. Also, while it was published too late in the year to compete with the top 25, I have a hunch that my c0-authored article with Steven titled Top 10 Iconic (and Patented) Toys article will drive traffic for years to come. It was a fun article and I’m very proud of how it turned out.

I also encourage readers to take a look at Joe Allen’s guest articles, which certain have been driving a lot of discussion in the University community about university patenting and Bayh-Dole.

While it is great to be widely read, an unfortunate reality is that some of the my favorite articles, or the ones I think are the best, don’t get read as much as I would like. Whenever I write about basic issues the articles are read by attorneys and inventors alike, and popular news items that deal with Dr. Oz or Robin Thicke or Tiffany v. Costco or even Mark Cuban tend to be more widely read. Although, my list of favorite/best articles for 2013 does include my Mark Cuban article, and I did briefly get into a Twitter war with Mark Cuban or someone purporting to be Mark Cuban, which was cool. In any event, if I had to create a list of articles I’d like to be remembered for in 2013 (in addition to the Cuban and Top 10 Toys articles) they are (in no particular order):

Moving forward into 2014 we plan to continue to seek out and accept guest contributions from thought leaders on a variety of topics. Our news features and op-ed articles, a mainstay for years, will continue to make up a big part of what we publish, as will our interviews.

Looking back, 2012 was a great year for IPWatchdog.com, but personally it was the worst year of my life. I lost my mother to lung cancer in the early morning hours of May 17, 2012. Once again in 2013, our family dealt with the tragic reality of how fragile life really is. At precisely 10:00 pm on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, Renee’s father and my father-in-law, Richard Compasso, passed. See In Loving Memory: Richard Compasso, 1931-2013He went into the hospital for surgery on his neck a week earlier, needing to relieve discs and bone spurs that were pressing on his spine. After that surgery he was doing fine, was up and walking, and was to be discharged from the hospital on Thursday, July 25, 2013. Unfortunately, at approximately 3:03 am on Thursday, July 25, 2013, during a routine bed check by hospital staff, he was found not breathing. He was resuscitated, slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness.

Renee and I would like to express our gratitude to our readers and contributors, both for the many wonderful and kind comments regarding her father’s passing and for being such a wonderful and loyal community. This is our business, but you all make it worthwhile and fun.

Happy 2014 to everyone!

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Warning & Disclaimer: The pages, articles and comments on IPWatchdog.com do not constitute legal advice, nor do they create any attorney-client relationship. The articles published express the personal opinion and views of the author as of the time of publication and should not be attributed to the author’s employer, clients or the sponsors of IPWatchdog.com.

Join the Discussion

6 comments so far.

  • [Avatar for Steve]
    Steve
    January 5, 2014 03:44 pm

    Thank you Gene (and your contributors and interviewees) for yet another year of excellence.

    Your awards are well-deserved … and hard-earned.

    The profession and industry wouldn’t be the same without you.

    Here’s to a great 2014.

  • [Avatar for Anon]
    Anon
    January 4, 2014 03:11 pm

    While I do not agree fully with all of the views expressed (even the pro-patent ones), I appreciate the atmosphere created here that nonsense is given a tight leash.

    I would also throw out thanks to Ron Katznelson and Steve Moore for articles aimed at defusing rampant rhetoric and restoring some semblance of objectivity into important discussions.

  • [Avatar for Gene Quinn]
    Gene Quinn
    January 4, 2014 01:22 pm

    Thanks EG! I appreciate your support over all the years, both as a friend, as a contributor and for keeping things lively in the comments.

    Cheers.

    -Gene

  • [Avatar for Gene Quinn]
    Gene Quinn
    January 4, 2014 01:21 pm

    Paul-

    Thanks for reading IPWatchdog.com, and thanks also for participating in the comments. I’m glad you find the articles useful and informative.

    Cheers.

    -Gene

  • [Avatar for EG]
    EG
    January 4, 2014 12:11 pm

    Gene,

    Congratulations, well-earned as always.

  • [Avatar for Paul Morinville]
    Paul Morinville
    January 4, 2014 10:55 am

    Gene, Congrats for the awards. Aside from that visible accomplishment, thanks for a much smaller one. I’m an individual inventor with no legal or patent training, and I am learning a lot from your posts and your guest’s posts. I am developing a much better perspective on a wide range of patent issues thanks to your blog. Paul