4. We all have “products of the human intellect” Ideas The way we do things Experience Skills Wisdom Knowledge These things are not necessarily “intellectual property”
5. Intangible Assets vs Intellectual Property Intangible Assets Intellectual Property Intangible Assets (“ideas”): skills, expertise, wisdom, experience and knowledge of you and your people. Intellectual Property (IP): the protected form of an intangible asset ie. patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark.
6. Intangible Assets Intellectual Property Problem with intangible assets - difficult to: define what the particular intangible asset actually is protect or use b/c once publicly disclosed vulnerable to loss / theft. Over time concept of “intellectual property” developed -once an intangible asset converted into IP then it is like any other form of property e.g. a vehicle you can define what it is it has an owner it can be sold, leased (licensed), abandoned or given away owner can take legal action to protect it if someone steals, damages or misuses it
26. IP Classes Trade Secret / Confidential Info Copyright Unregistered trademarks Registered trademarks Patents Design Rights Domain Names Plant Variety Rights ICLs IP Protection =
27. IP Classes in terms of volume & value Trade Secret / Confidential Info Copyright Unregistered trademarks Registered TMs Patents Design Rights Domain names Plant Variety Rights ICLs IP Protection = Free Not free
28. Myth Busting: “Patents must be valuable” “Patents are difficult to get so they must valuable & useful – right?”
29. Patents not always a silver bullet Getting a granted patent is surprisingly easy – you can patent just about anything. However getting a commercially useful patent (broad and defendable) is a lot more challenging. For patent to be commercially useful must be completely new, 2) not obvious in light of all publicly available technology anywhere in the world & 3) must cover all effective means of achieving desired end result. Patents like any other tool: used appropriately can be extremely valuable but can also cause a lot of damage / cost.
31. Each IP class has strengths & weaknesses Easy to become distracted “sexy” end of IP (patents etc) without realising value of critical but mundane things in front of your nose (confidential info / know how)
32. IP needs a “horses for courses” approach All IP classes have role to play. Reliance on single class is risky & results in sub-optimal commercialisation outcomes. Be cautious of providers who push a focus on narrow class of IP assets or who give superficial attention to non-registered rights. Most powerful IP approach is an integrated strategy which combines strengths and weaknesses of different classes (public & secrecy).
35. Myth Busting: “IP Commercialisation” IP assets like any other asset - need to do something with them beyond protection to generate value. All IP Protection All IP Protection IP Commercialisation Registered IP Protection Registered IP Protection
36. Most IP never commercialised 2004 study by Siemens estimated 90+% of all EPO patents never commercialised. 2002 P&G identified that 92% of its patents had “no business value of any kind to P&G”. 1. Knowing chuckle: situation similar to own experience 2. Look of shock: no one ever thought to ask: how much IP do we have / create? is it being used or are we just protecting it & moving on? what is our actual ROI in IP protection?
37. What is “IP Commercialisation” “Generating economic or strategic value from IP or technology assets via product development,licensing or IP saleprocesses” Identification Assessment Development Protection Exploitation IPC =
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39. EverEdgeIP Ltd Questions? Dean Prebble CEO EverEdgeIP Ltd +64 21 829 424 + 64 9 489 2331 d.prebble@everedgeip.com www.everedgeip.com