Do you ever wonder how to avoid being blocked by intellectual property rights, such as patents, of competitors? Have you considered that your new product launch could lead to infringement of other parties IP rights? Do you wish to further strengthen your market position or review new markets to enter? Perhaps patent intelligence is something to seriously consider as part of your IP strategy.
Patent intelligence includes patent landscaping for specific fields of technology and tracking and monitoring competitors’ IP. Some advantages are: i) early information on new IP that possibly blocks your market entry; ii) obtain inspiration about your technological domain; iii) obtain knowledge about possible areas of growth; iv) gain insight in new parties entering the same technological field; and v) identify patents for licensing or acquisition.
If you find new IP that might block you, it is better to have that information early so that there is sufficient time to deal with this. Moreover, patent publications provide inspiration and smart technical solutions that may often be used freely for your business. Patent intelligence may help you predict the future market strategy of your competition, which products and technology are they focusing on and in what direction are they heading. This all can help stay on course or redirect your future plans by changing your business strategy. It allows you to know in what technological areas you have freedom to operate and what area’s will be more difficult to enter and require more intensive review and possibly other options (design-around, licensing, opposition etc. as discussed below). For start-ups that are looking to quickly scale or for SME’s that are looking to expand in new fields, the monitoring is a crucial first step in identifying business opportunities for e.g. cooperation, joint venture, license in or even M&A.
Do you want to know more about this? Please read one of our other blogs or our detailed Litepaper that you can download.
