Infocious' initial mistake was to define the scope of its playscript too narrowly, with a set of assumptions that were out of date.

FORBES

Once you define the scope of your potential business and the corresponding potential market for your products and services, you need to determine why a consumer or business would purchase from you rather than a competitor.

FORBES: Step 3 for a Successful Startup: The Importance of Market Research

Whether in the form of the Geneva Conventions, rules of engagement, or codes of conduct, those rules help define the scope of the battle and provide at least some clarity to the participants on what they can expect from their opponent.

FORBES: Changing Rules of Engagement in the War on Swiss Bank Accounts

These discussions, which will take place in February in New York and in the Silicon Valley, will focus on the the terms used to define a patent's scope, among other topics.

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