Safeguarding your intellectual assets

26 October, 2009

The 19th century British novelist, James Payne said: “A man with an invention on which he has spent his life, but has no means to get it developed for the good of humanity, or even patented for himself, must feel the pinch of poverty very acutely.” His words still ring true today.

For a manufacturing or engineering business in today’s economy, protecting and commercialising designs and inventions is just as important as having a good idea in the first place. It does not depend on whether the economy is doing well or badly, but in a downturn when business is hard to come by, the last thing you want is someone stealing your branding, ideas and the future revenues that go with them.

This principle is now starting to be understood more widely than it has been. IP registration is growing massively, the number of patents is doubling each decade. Manufacturing is moving to emerging economies where IP is key to value generation and economic growth, and developing countries are now recognising the importance of IP. Eighty percent of company value is now said to be held in intangible assets.

Intellectual property and intellectual capital are often misunderstood. All too often organisations file a patent application and think that that is all they need to do. When intellectual property is mentioned, people usually think of filing patents, and registering trademarks and designs. But it is not just about patents and other formal IP such as trademarks, designs and copyright. A company’s value is contained in its wider intellectual capital, where know-how, branding, skills, policies and processes all have a role to play.

The value of IP protection

The need to protect IP applies to both new and well-established companies. Absolute Robotics is an example of an organisation that has recently seen the value of IP protection. It was set up three years ago in Bedfordshire to develop a concept that upgrades standard industrial robots to make them suitable for advanced manufacturing and aerospace applications.

Standard industrial robots are widely used in the manufacturing industry, automotive in particular. However, according to Absolute Robotics, the aircraft industry, among other types of business, has found it difficult to use robots in the construction process or for advanced manufacturing because of their lack of capability for absolute accuracy, networking, large volume in-line manufacturing and inspection. Previous attempts to overcome these problems have usually resulted in expensive, customer-specific solutions that suffer from several limitations.

Robots can lose accuracy because of the distortion and expansion of their joints due to temperature and stiffness related effects. Absolute Robotics has set out to address these problems by developing a method that measures those changes in-line, in real time and with great accuracy. At the core of the system is a new measurement device that uses laser beams and imaging sensors to locate the position and orientation of two systems of axes relative to one another.

This concept can be used to calibrate robots in line under their actual working conditions, over their entire working envelope and without interference with the robot’s tools or its productivity cycle. It is also a general solution because it is not robot or application specific. Any robot can be calibrated in absolute space without modification and robots can be networked to each other and also to their work objects in absolute space too. Moreover, the

concept allows in-line manufacturing to be integrated with in-line quality assurance to achieve zero scrap condition. Each robot becomes in essence a manufacturing as well as a quality assurance tool, checking the quality of its own performance in-line, to ensure no mistakes are made.

Absolute Robotics realised that it was necessary to ensure that the intellectual property of such an invention would be fully protected right from the beginning. The company contacted Coller IP Management (CIPM), a company that helps organisations understand the value of their intellectual property and to protect and manage it effectively. CIPM has prepared and applied for the required patent applications on behalf of Absolute Robotics. It has also helped the company to evaluate the search reports on the inventions to enable the distinctive and innovative features to be identified.

Absolute Robotics is currently presenting the concept to interested parties and it is being evaluated by a number of organisations. The next step for the company is to form a partnership with appropriate relevant businesses and create a working prototype.

IP protection plan

In summary, whatever the size of your company and whatever stage it is at, it is vital to understand the value of your intellectual capital and have a plan to protect it. Companies, and individuals, pour their flair, imagination, money and time into new inventions. It is well worth putting a little time, money and effort into ensuring that they, rather than a competitor, reap the rewards.

Coller IP Management combines patent attorney and commercial expertise to deliver intellectual property management, evaluation and investment services that unlock the potential of business assets. The company works at all levels within organisations, from start ups to corporates, from the boardroom to technologists and with the investor community.