Chicago, IL— ktMINE®, an intellectual property (IP) data and information services firm located in Chicago, is one of the top 75 finalists for the prestigious 2012 Chicago Innovation Awards reflecting a cross section of the Chicago and surrounding regions’ business communities. The final ten winners will be announced Monday, October 22 and celebrated at an event with over 1,500 business and civic leaders at Chicago’s Harris Theater.
The Chicago Innovation Awards, celebrating its 11th year, is the only organization in the country dedicated to honoring the most innovative new products or services brought to market or to public service from a specific region. This year almost 400 nominations were received.
The innovation nominated by ktMINE is their 2012 Royalty Rate Resource Guide, which  reveals royalty rate trends from 25 industries spanning the past 12 years. This guide helps level the playing field and fuel innovation for IP owners and stakeholders in industries, organizations and geographies that would not be able to compile meaningful market insights like these on their own.
The new level of clarity introduced by this guide provides a useful starting point for questioning the selection of royalty rates and ultimately driving greater value for, and from, IP.
“The most important message of the Chicago Innovation Awards is one of confidence and courage,” said Thomas D. Kuczmarski, co-founder with Chicago journalist Dan Miller of the awards. “The economy is challenging but each nominee believes the simple truth that a powerful new product or service will find a rewarding market and has the courage to pursue their vision.”
As one of the Top 75 finalists, ktMINE will receive a scholarship to attend a day-long executive education program on September 18th titled “The Practical Innovator”, taught at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. It is a full-day executive education course teaching the practical skills of innovation.
This year 13 judges, representing a range of Chicago’s business community, will be involved in an exhaustive and complex judging process to select the final ten winners of the Chicago Innovation Awards as well as ten “Up & Comer” award winners for smaller organizations still in the start-up phases of their innovations. In addition, each of the 75 finalists is automatically in the running for the annual “People’s Choice Award,” selected through online balloting at www.chicagoinnovationawards.com.
