Zeev Fisher is an Intellectual Property expert based in Cambridge, UK. As a lawyer, he is qualified in the UK Solicitor and an Israeli Advocate. Zeev has been managing intellectual property firms and advising clients (universities as well as companies) on a broad range of matters for the past 10 years. He is a professional problem-solver and strategist who helps universities and forward-looking companies deal with building up an intellectual property portfolio of true value.
Zeev's current practice focuses on trademarks and design matters and particularly on handling conflicts in these fields. Zeev is also involved in patent matters together with other members of his firm and has a particular interest in patent invalidity practice.
I got an opportunity to speak with Zeev on Pekama - A global IP community. Zeev is the founder of Pekama, which is currently growing in terms of new members and already boasts an impressive list of member companies and countries.
================================================================
Nilesh: Why is the platform named Pekama - is there a story behind coming up with this name?
Zeev: Pekama means "multiply by a few" in Hebrew. I'm from Israel and Hebrew is my first language and this name symbolizes how people working together are empowered and are stronger as a community.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: How would you like a new member to explain what is Pekama to another prospective member?
Zeev: I would like them to tell a new prospective member that there is a great new way to grow their IP practice - joining an online community that rewards firms for working with other members and thus allowing attorneys to rely on hard evidence as opposed to hunches when making important business decisions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: What was the one tipping point that you can recollect where you took the final decision to start Pekama?
Zeev: I realized that this needs to be done when I moved countries from Israel to the UK and this stressed out how difficult it is for people in different places to work together efficiently with the existing technology. The tipping point was probably when David Gill, a great person, and a wonderful mentor, asked me why won't I make a proper company out of these ideas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: What is the software part of Pekama and what is the function of the proprietary technology that you mentioned in your FAQ?
Zeev: There is a lot of software and proprietary technology in Pekama, covering the entire project management cycle. The most important bit is probably the hybrid messaging system which combines the benefit of modern messaging systems (security, automation, tracking) with email, which is something that lawyers are obsessed with.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: For a community model, what are the challenges that you envision and how are you preparing to face them?
Zeev: In every community, you have the people who "don't get it" and think they will earn something by conducting their business out of the community - e.g. use Pekama to find a good foreign associate and then leave the system so that this foreign associate won't need to pay us. From a business perspective, this makes no sense because by sending work via the platform you validate yourself and shout to the world that you are a great firm that plays with others and contribute to the community and this is how firms grow and get work on our platform. The main way we address it is simply by explaining this over and over again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: What do you think the future holds for IP services, in terms of automation, new intelligent databases coming up, etc.?
Zeev: I'm no prophet but the easiest way to assess what's coming to legal service and IP, in particular, is look around at industries that advance faster and see what they do. We bring platform, automation and messaging to the IP space. Others will bring bots, AI, better experiences for end clients.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: Any future/upcoming enhancements and plans for Pekama that you would like to share with the readers?
Zeev: Pekama is about to change its design to a more slick design. We are adding a feature to allow getting quotes for full national phase entries and other services in many jurisdictions in a single 2-minute wizard. Plenty more is planned and depends on our users.
====================================================================
Further Information:
[1] Pekama Ltd. (2017). Gust. Retrieved 4 June 2017, from https://gust.com/companies/pekama-ltd
[2] Law firm takes the plunge as minority investor in legal tech company. (2015). Legal Futures. Retrieved 4 June 2017, from http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/law-firm-takes-the-plunge-as-minority-investor-in-legal-tech-company
[3] Pekama Community - Getting an Introduction and Sending a Case. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 4 June 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIqBcqHX1ws
Zeev's current practice focuses on trademarks and design matters and particularly on handling conflicts in these fields. Zeev is also involved in patent matters together with other members of his firm and has a particular interest in patent invalidity practice.
Q&A with Zeev Fisher - Founder, Pekama IP Community
================================================================
Nilesh: Why is the platform named Pekama - is there a story behind coming up with this name?
Zeev: Pekama means "multiply by a few" in Hebrew. I'm from Israel and Hebrew is my first language and this name symbolizes how people working together are empowered and are stronger as a community.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: How would you like a new member to explain what is Pekama to another prospective member?
Zeev: I would like them to tell a new prospective member that there is a great new way to grow their IP practice - joining an online community that rewards firms for working with other members and thus allowing attorneys to rely on hard evidence as opposed to hunches when making important business decisions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: What was the one tipping point that you can recollect where you took the final decision to start Pekama?
Zeev: I realized that this needs to be done when I moved countries from Israel to the UK and this stressed out how difficult it is for people in different places to work together efficiently with the existing technology. The tipping point was probably when David Gill, a great person, and a wonderful mentor, asked me why won't I make a proper company out of these ideas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: What is the software part of Pekama and what is the function of the proprietary technology that you mentioned in your FAQ?
Zeev: There is a lot of software and proprietary technology in Pekama, covering the entire project management cycle. The most important bit is probably the hybrid messaging system which combines the benefit of modern messaging systems (security, automation, tracking) with email, which is something that lawyers are obsessed with.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: For a community model, what are the challenges that you envision and how are you preparing to face them?
Zeev: In every community, you have the people who "don't get it" and think they will earn something by conducting their business out of the community - e.g. use Pekama to find a good foreign associate and then leave the system so that this foreign associate won't need to pay us. From a business perspective, this makes no sense because by sending work via the platform you validate yourself and shout to the world that you are a great firm that plays with others and contribute to the community and this is how firms grow and get work on our platform. The main way we address it is simply by explaining this over and over again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: What do you think the future holds for IP services, in terms of automation, new intelligent databases coming up, etc.?
Zeev: I'm no prophet but the easiest way to assess what's coming to legal service and IP, in particular, is look around at industries that advance faster and see what they do. We bring platform, automation and messaging to the IP space. Others will bring bots, AI, better experiences for end clients.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nilesh: Any future/upcoming enhancements and plans for Pekama that you would like to share with the readers?
Zeev: Pekama is about to change its design to a more slick design. We are adding a feature to allow getting quotes for full national phase entries and other services in many jurisdictions in a single 2-minute wizard. Plenty more is planned and depends on our users.
====================================================================
Further Information:
[1] Pekama Ltd. (2017). Gust. Retrieved 4 June 2017, from https://gust.com/companies/pekama-ltd
[2] Law firm takes the plunge as minority investor in legal tech company. (2015). Legal Futures. Retrieved 4 June 2017, from http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/law-firm-takes-the-plunge-as-minority-investor-in-legal-tech-company
[3] Pekama Community - Getting an Introduction and Sending a Case. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 4 June 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIqBcqHX1ws