SourceCon Community, 

Who doesn’t like sourcing hacks? Check this one out…

Oh wait, have you registered yet for SourceCon San Diego? If not, I did my best to eliminate all excuses around pricing. But I digress. Here is my hack.

Did you know that there has been a surge in software patent lawsuits in Texas? Specifically, the Eastern District of Texas which handled 29% of all patent lawsuits filed in the first quarter of 2024, making it the top venue for software patent litigation. Wowzers! Here is a quote from Quandry Peak Research, a company that supplies expert witness testimony, among other things. 

From a sourcer's point of view, this is interesting because it represents an untapped talent pool. What do I mean by that? If Company A is suing Company B because their technologies are so similar then, they have comparable talent you may want to hire. For example, I've never heard of "Polaris PowerLED Technologies, LLC" but they are in a patent lawsuit with Samsung. My imaginary client cannot afford to recruit someone from Samsung because the salaries of their employees are just too high for them. However, they can compete with Polaris PowerLED, a much smaller company, so why not target them? Make sense? 

If you like this approach, you may want to set up alerts on major competitors via Google. For instance, let's say that Adobe is a major rival or at the least, you have an interest in the technical talent they employ. Do a search like this... 

And you find several entities who may have the talent you are looking for AND they are talent you may be able to afford. Now searching this way can be time consuming so why not automate it by setting up a Google alert to get updates like this on a weekly basis. Just a thought. 

If you find this appealing, and I suspect you do, here are some charts for more Google alert inspiration, courtesy of Unified Patents. 

I'm curious as to what you think of this approach. Hit reply and share your commentary. 

Cheers, 

Jim Stroud
Your SourceCon Editor

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Upcoming Conferences

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October 22-23, 2024

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November 12-14, 2024

The ERE Recruiting Conference is the premier independent practitioner-led recruiting event that provides actionable insights for TA pros, by TA pros. Join fellow colleagues to discover practical ideas, best practices, and case study solutions from leaders who share your toughest recruiting challenges — and have experience overcoming them. (ERE Recruiting Conference)

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