Your IP may include patents, tradmemarks, designs and trade secrets.
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However, if you are an innovative, problem-solving company and you fail to protect your innovation, then someone you don’t like will probably benefit more from your ingenuity and hard work than you.
However, with a bit of planning, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Inventors are usually the least qualified to recognise when they have just invented something, they are just too close to it to spot their own inventions.
The question you should be asking yourself is: now that we have come up with a new technical solution, how should we protect it?
The majority of patents quietly keep would-be copyists at bay, a ‘Keep Off The Grass’ sign politely encouraging would-be trespassers to come up with their own solutions rather than copy yours.
If you hold the patent, then you call the shots. Most infringers, whilst they might at first protest with indignation, eventually make the commercial decision to stop what they are doing, compensate you, and move on.
The view that patents are weapons for litigation and mutual annihilation is both short-sighted and out-dated.
Today, patents are used more as instruments for collaboration and agreement, the reason two parties are talking to each other in the first place.
As a company, how you can use that IP to add value is a different question and largely depends on what the IP relates to and how important it is to your business.
Many forms of IP are actually free and automatic, there are no legal fees and no registration is required. However, the IP still needs careful curation if it is to add any real value to the business.
Patent Box is part of UK Government’s Industrial Strategy to promote and support innovative UK businesses and dovetails with R&D Tax.
If you have developed a technical solution with the help of R&D Tax, then chances are that you could also benefit from a 10% low tax regime for any profits resulting from its commercial exploitation.
The entry ticket to the scheme is a UK granted patent (or equivalent) on an inventive aspect of the innovation and applies to your worldwide income, even though you may only have a UK patent.
The best time to think about Patent Box is during your R&D phase.
Establishing your Freedom To Operate (FTO) can avoid the pitfalls and delays of costly product recalls or having to rebrand. Finding out who has got what IP and where can only boost your competitor intelligence as well as navigate your own R&D activities to avoid the no-go zones.
Prospective investors will often want to know what steps you have taken to protect your idea and whether someone else has already beaten you to the Patent Office.
If your company designs and develops innovative products then you will be only too aware of the pressures on commercial R&D to get new products to market with limited resources at hand.
The process of implementing even straightforward improvements on existing products can demand significant investments of time and money.
The simple fact is that all companies face similar pressures to achieve commercial returns from their R&D investments.
It is all the more important then the developments that are successfully launched on the market do not face a potential product recall due to infringement of third party IP rights.
A product recall can be extremely expensive and an infringement lawsuit can be devastating, particularly for an SME.
Even basic IP due diligence can save a lot of time and money spent in litigation that could otherwise have been avoided.White Light Consulting can engage with your engineering team during the development process and survey the IP landscape to determine whether the commercialisation road ahead is clear of all discoverable obstacles.
If a potential obstacle is discovered early enough then White Light Consulting can guide the engineering team on an appropriate technical path around it and/or take steps to remove the obstacle altogether.
Call White Light Consulting to arrange a FREE consultation and discover your freedom to commercial exploitation
As a business leader knowing your competition and having up to date information of where your competitors are spending their R&D dollars is invaluable to forming your own competitive strategy.
Being informed about your own IP portfolio is one thing, but knowing what IP your competitors have, where there are gaps in the landscape, and how your organisation’s IP compares with that of your competitors can be the difference between making a risky business decision and making an insightful and informed business decision.
Planning to undertake an IP landscaping exercise ahead of moving into a new market or technology area can be a cost-effective strategy, particularly if you think that yours may not be the first organisation to cut new turf.
White Light Consulting can help you to understand and navigate the IP landscape surrounding your business towards establishing your market position.