BOOKLET 5

In Confidence:

An Introduction to Trade Secrets for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

(expected publication 2009)

BOOKLET 6

Open Innovation:

An Introduction to Intellectual Assets Strategies for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

(expected publication 2009)

________________________

• “Historically the focus has been on providing an enabling framework of statutory rights, and the means for obtaining and disputing these rights”.

CHALLENGE 1: THE IP SYSTEM SHOULD SERVE THE NEEDS OF SMEs & NOT VICE VERSA

• “A good deal less attention has been paid to how well business has understood this framework, how far and how successfully business has used it, or how well it has utilized other means such as confidentiality agreements to secure value from know-how”.

CHALLENGE 2: THE IP SYSTEM SHOULD ENCOMPASS MORE THAN PATENTS & MORE THAN JUST IP ITSELF

• “[IP] is central to the business models of many of our companies. The paradox is that nevertheless it continues too often to be seen as the preserve of technical specialists”

CHALLENGE 3: AS TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS WE SHOULD EMBRACE THE ROLE OF TRANSLATORS FOR THE SME COMMUNITY

Baroness Morgan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Intellectual Property and Quality) in a speech given on World IP Day 2008 set out a UK Innovation Strategy which contained three underlying challenges:

The Innovation Process

“Idea”“Invention” “Market Place”

Service/Product

People

InnovationTe

chno

logy

& k

now-h

owFinance &

ResourcesMan

agem

ent T

eam

IAs Strategy

IP Wales finding:

• The main ingredients for the success of a SME knowledge based business are management, finance and access to advanced technology & know-how.

• Finance looks for good management teams, poor management teams rarely find finance.

• A better management team will make more commercial use of a poorer technology than a poorer management team will make of a better technology

‘Closed innovation single track’

“Ideas & “Current Market Place”

Research Development Commercialisation

Investigations”

Based upon ‘Open Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm’ (2006) Henry Chesbrough, Wim Vanhaverbeke & Joel West

1

2

3

4

5

‘Open innovation three lane highway’

“Ideas & “Current Market Place”

Research Development Commercialisation

Investigations”“New Market Place”

“Other firm’s Market Place”

“External Ideas &

Investigations”

licensing

“External Technologies

Technology spin-offs

Insourcing gate

Outsourcing gate

Based upon ‘Open Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm’ (2006) Henry Chesbrough, Wim Vanhaverbeke & Joel West

1

2

3

4

5

Intellectual Assets Crown

IAs

PLAN

IAs

PLAN

IAs

PLAN

BUSINESS

PLAN

IAs STRATEGY

Based upon ‘Intergrated Intellectual Asset Management: A Guide to Exploiting and Protecting your Organization’s Intellectual Assets’ (2006) Steve Manton

IP role and importance of IP protection

Importance of IP protection (Question 14)Not relevant

Mai

n r

ole

of

IP (

Qu

esti

on

5)

Nice to have Useful Critical

Tradable asset

Licensing

Monopoly

Defensive

A

A

B

C

D

E

F

G H

I

JK

L

MN O

P

This chart shows that 8 out of 16 companies intend to use their IP in a licensing role and all understand the importance of IP protection.