Infringement Damages
| Author | Russell L. Parr |
| Profession | President of Intellectual Property Research Associates |
| Pages | 401-402 |
The Future Game 379
Such experiences can leave psychological scars that restrict full expression of the imagina-
tion. Latitude in describing the future game should be unrestricted.
The only caveat is to remember that the goal is not to create a science ction novel.
Similarly, the goal is not to accomplish an estimation of sales volume for the next three
years given prevailingcircumstances. Somewhere in between, and more toward the extreme
of writing science ction, lies the future that must be described.
The resulting future game should include descriptions of the market that is expected to
develop. Detailed descriptions are needed for each key area:
•Customers
• Funding
• Workforce
•Markets
• Competitors
• Products
• Services
• Production facilities
• Marketing networks
• Distribution channels
• Trademarks
• Technology
Creating detailed descriptions can seem daunting, but it can be placed in a relatively
simple framework by comparing the current situation to that which existed 10 years ago.1
For each of the items just listed, describe the characteristics, in detail, of the different factors
as they were 10 years ago. Compare them to the nature of these factors as they are now.
The trends and shocking differences between the characteristics of 10 years ago and today
should be expected to continue. Comparison of the past with the present provides not only
a practice session for dening the future game, but insights into the subtle and not-so-subtle
changes that have occurred in the past 10 years. The areas that historically have changed
the most are likely those that will continue to change and should represent the focal point
of dening the future game. The only constant is change, so one thing you can count on is
that the business characteristics existing today and those that will exist in the future will be
different.
Tostart the ball rolling with visions of the future, consider the implications for your com-
pany from computer systems that can talk to their users. Joseph F. Coastes, a self-described
futurist and president of Coastes & Jarratt, a Washington, D.C., consulting rm, in 1995
said he expected “the future to bring a proliferation of articial intelligence that sees,
understands words, and talks back. These technologies are now upon us.”2Smartphones
have apps that listen to questions and answer them. Cars are beginning to drive themselves.
My television changes channels for me based on voice commands. Mr. Coastes was right.
1For some industries a period of 10 years or less will sufce while other industries can discover fundamental
industry shifts only by looking back more than 10 years. The target historical period should be one that will
illustrate how much the basic facts and assumptions about an industry and a specic business have changed in a
relatively short period.
2“Pondering What WorldLies Ahead—The Good and the Bad of Life in the 21st Century,” Philadelphia Inquirer
(July 25, 1995), p. G1.
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