Former IBM Intellectual Property Specialist to Present at NWDC Speaker Series

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The Navy Warfare Development Command's (NWDC) Speaker Series will present an intellectual property specialist, who helped IBM become the global leader in patents owned, at Naval Station Norfolk and over Defense Connect Online (DCO), June 13 from 10-11 a.m. EDT.

Mr. Gary Markovits, currently founder and CEO of Innovation Business Partners, which helps high-growth companies, laboratories and governments leverage the power of their intellectual property, will present "Increasing the Navy's Capacity for Innovation."

NWDC's Speaker Series is designed to stimulate provocative discussion and action to drive a culture of innovation in the Navy.

While at IBM, Markovits began the effort that changed IBM's vision for intellectual property, creating a culture that managed intellectual property as a product and competitive weapon. These efforts eventually took IBM to first place worldwide in terms of patents issued, and from tens of millions of dollars to over a billion dollars per year in royalty revenue.

Later, Markovits consulted on intellectual property strategies for Intel, Motorola, IBM, National Semiconductor, Royal Dutch Shell and Cadence Design Systems. He also helped the government of Singapore develop national strategies for intellectual property and innovation, served in the U.S. on the National Innovation Initiative of the President's Council on Competitiveness and developed IP Driven Innovation™, a collection of tools and techniques benchmarked by the U.S. Navy to increase the rate of invention from researchers by 50 to 100-fold while saving years and millions of dollars of R&D.

"Innovation creates competitive advantage, which in the military can literally be the difference between winning and losing a war," said Rear Adm. Terry B. Kraft, commander, NWDC. "Mr. Markovits' proven experience helping the U.S. Navy, national and foreign governments, and Fortune 500 companies use their intellectual properties to create competitive advantage will make for an insightful and motivating discussion."

Hampton Roads area participants are invited to attend the presentation in-person at NWDC's headquarters at 1528 Piersey Street, Building O-27, on Naval Station Norfolk. Registration, DCO and other information can be found on NWDC's website at

https://www.nwdc.navy.mil/ncoi/speaker/default.aspx .

A video of the presentation will be posted on NWDC's YouTube channel following the event.