Igniting Innovation

Building a Corporate Culture of Intellectual Property Awareness

This is a summary of the lecture by Farnaz Massoumina, Patent👉 A legal right granting exclusive control over an invention for a limited time. Attorney at Vodafone Group, UK, about ESG social standards and IP training and education from the joint CEIPI European Patent Office Diplom Universitaire IP Business Administration

Intellectual Property👉 Creations of the mind protected by legal rights. (IP) is more than just patents and trademarks; it’s the lifeblood of innovation👉 Practical application of new ideas to create value., a strategic asset that can drive value creation and mitigate risks for organizations of all sizes. To harness the full potential of IP, companies must cultivate a strong IP culture through targeted training and education initiatives. Farnaz Massoumian, a patent attorney at Vodafone with a background in engineering and IP strategy👉 Approach to manage, protect, and leverage IP assets., provides a comprehensive framework for developing and implementing effective IP training programs within a corporate setting. Her approach emphasizes the importance of tailoring content to specific stakeholder groups, communicating through compelling narratives, and fostering a deep understanding of both the value and risks associated with IP.

The Foundation: Understanding the “Why” and the “Who”

Massoumian stresses that IP management👉 Strategic and operative handling of IP to maximize value. is a dual process of maximizing value from innovations while minimizing the risks of infringement or loss of proprietary information. IP education is crucial for both aspects. To effectively capture and protect valuable IP, organizations must ensure that relevant stakeholders understand its value. Simultaneously, they need to be aware of the potential risks of inadvertently infringing on the IP rights of others.

The first step in any successful IP education program is identifying the key stakeholders within the organization. These groups typically include:

• Senior Leaders: These individuals require a clear grasp of how intellectual property directly impacts the company’s long-term goals and competitive edge. Their training should focus on IP’s strategic value, demonstrating how it can drive revenue, secure market position, and mitigate risks.
• Innovators: As the creative engine of the company, innovators need to be equipped to spot patentable inventions and understand the steps to secure IP rights. IP training should empower them to proactively disclose their ideas and navigate the company’s invention👉 A novel method, process or product that is original and useful. submission process.
• Software Developers: Given their frequent use of open-source code, software developers must understand the intricacies of OSS licensing👉 Permission to use a right or asset granted by its owner. to avoid potential legal pitfalls. Training must cover the various license types and the obligations they impose on the company’s own IP.
• Business Teams: Since they regularly negotiate agreements, business teams must be well-versed in IP clauses to protect the company’s interests. IP education should ensure they understand the implications of different clauses and when to seek expert advice.
• Brand👉 A distinctive identity that differentiates a product, service, or entity. and Marketing Teams: Brand and marketing teams must grasp the fundamentals of trademark👉 A distinctive sign identifying goods or services from a specific source. law and brand management to safeguard the company’s identity. Training programs should focus on the importance of brand protection and compliance with trademark regulations.

The art of storytelling in IP education lies in translating complex legal concepts into relatable scenarios. Instead of presenting a dense slide deck on patent infringement, for example, a more engaging approach would be to present a case study of a company that suffered significant losses due to IP infringement👉 Unauthorized use or exploitation of IP rights.. This allows the audience to connect with the material on an emotional level, understand the real-world implications of IP, and be more receptive to learning about preventive measures. By focusing on the “why” behind the rules and regulations, trainers can ignite a genuine interest in IP and motivate stakeholders to actively participate in protecting the company’s intellectual assets.

IP Training for Senior Leaders: Connecting IP to Business Strategy

Senior leaders need a high-level understanding of all types of IP, including trade secrets, patents, trademarks, designs, and software copyrights. They need to be aware of the value that IP creates for the business and the potential risks of not capturing or protecting it. The goal of IP training for senior leaders is to instill in them the belief that IP is essential to the organization’s success.

Massoumian suggests including the following elements in a narrative for senior leaders:

• The competitive landscape: Demonstrating how rival companies strategically leverage patents, trademarks, and trade secrets can underscore the importance of IP for maintaining market share. Illustrate this by showcasing specific examples of competitors successfully blocking market entry or securing lucrative licensing deals through their IP portfolios. Quantifiable data, such as competitor patent filing trends and the financial impact of IP-driven product launches, will further strengthen the argument.
• The risks of IP naivety: Emphasize that a lack of IP awareness can lead to costly mistakes, including unintentional infringement lawsuits and the loss of valuable proprietary assets. Provide real-world scenarios where companies suffered significant financial or reputational damage due to weak IP protection or poorly negotiated agreements. Highlight the importance of proactive IP management to mitigate these risks and safeguard the company’s future.

She provides examples of training materials that she uses when speaking to senior leaders, such as the Amazon one-click patent and a face mask that stops chefs from eating while preparing food. These examples illustrate that patents are not just for high-tech cutting-edge technologies; they can also protect commercially valuable innovations in seemingly mundane areas. Massoumian also uses the analogy of a football match to explain how IP can be used strategically to compete in the market. Different patents are like different players, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The IP manager is like the coach, who decides how to deploy these players to win the game.

IP Training for Innovators: From Idea to Protection

Innovators need to know how to identify patentable inventions and understand the process of protecting them. They need to be aware of the importance of not disclosing their inventions to third parties without an NDA or before filing a patent application. The goal of IP training for innovators is to empower them to capture and protect the outputs of their innovations.

Massoumian suggests the following topics for IP training for innovators:

• Different types of IP: Patents protect new inventions, granting exclusive rights to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a limited time. Copyright👉 A legal protection for original works, granting creators exclusive rights. protects original works of authorship, such as software code or technical drawings, preventing unauthorized copying or distribution. Designs protect the ornamental appearance of a functional article, while trade secrets safeguard confidential information that provides a competitive edge, as long as it remains secret.
• What can be patented: A patentable invention must be new, non-obvious, and useful; it can range from a novel machine or process to a new composition of matter or an improvement on an existing technology. Examples include the Amazon one-click ordering system, software algorithms implementing AI, or even a novel design for a face mask that prevents chefs from snacking. It is key to dispel the myth that software or AI inventions cannot be patented by using simple examples of where software and AI are patented.
• The patenting process: The journey from idea to granted patent begins with documenting the invention and submitting an invention disclosure to the company’s IP team. The IP team then assesses the invention’s patentability, drafts and files a patent application, and prosecutes the application through examination by the patent office. Granting can take several years, with the patent’s validity lasting for twenty years from the filing date.
• The importance of invention disclosure: Disclosing inventions to the IP team early allows the company to assess its strategic value, conduct a prior art search to determine patentability, and initiate the patenting process before the invention is publicly disclosed. Premature public disclosure without an NDA can destroy the invention’s novelty👉 Requirement that an invention must be new and not previously disclosed., preventing the company from obtaining patent protection. Encouraging inventors to view the IP team as a partner, not an obstacle, is essential for fostering a culture of innovation and IP awareness.

She also provides tips for making patent specifications less daunting for novice inventors. She suggests portraying a patent as a house, with the claims representing the boundary of the house and the description representing the plan of the house. This analogy helps innovators understand the different parts of a patent specification and their importance.

IP Training for Software Developers: Navigating the Open-Source Maze

• The risks and benefits of each type of license: Permissive licenses offer flexibility and ease of use but provide minimal protection against others incorporating the code into closed-source products. Copyleft licenses ensure that improvements to the original code remain open source, fostering collaboration, but can be incompatible with proprietary development strategies. The consequence of violating a copyleft license can include having to reveal source code that the company wants to keep as a trade secret.
• How to check the license of a particular piece of code: Developers should be trained on how to identify the license associated with OSS components, often found in the code’s header, a LICENSE file, or within the software’s documentation. Companies often provide access to dedicated platforms or software composition analysis (SCA) tools that automatically scan codebases to detect OSS components and identify their licenses. Knowing how to use these tools is essential for ensuring compliance with OSS licensing terms.
• Patentability of Software: Software patents protect specific implementations of algorithms or functionalities, not just the underlying mathematical concept or idea itself. To be patentable, the software must provide a technical solution to a technical problem and demonstrate an inventive concept beyond simply automating a known process. The patent application must clearly describe the software’s functionality, its technical advantages, and how it interacts with hardware components, if applicable.

She emphasizes the importance of ensuring that developers understand that some OSS licenses can lead to proprietary IP having to be given away.

IP Training for Business Teams: Mastering Contractual Clauses

Business teams need to be aware of all types of IP because they are likely to interact with different types of IP when negotiating contracts. The goal of IP training for business teams is to ensure that they understand the importance of having the right IP clauses in contracts.

Massoumian suggests the following topics for IP training for business teams:

• Different types of IP clauses: Ownership clauses define who owns the IP created during the contract, ensuring clarity and preventing disputes over future exploitation of the IP. Indemnity clauses protect a party from liability arising from IP infringement by the other party, providing financial security against potential lawsuits. Confidentiality clauses safeguard sensitive information shared during the contract, preventing its unauthorized use or disclosure and preserving its value as a trade secret.
• Which clauses are important in different types of contracts: Licensing agreements heavily rely on clauses defining the scope of the license, royalties, and termination rights, to ensure both parties understand their rights and obligations regarding the licensed IP. Supply agreements need clauses addressing ownership of improvements made to the supplied products and indemnity against infringement claims, protecting the supplier and customer. Joint development agreements require clauses clearly outlining ownership of jointly developed IP, licensing rights, and responsibilities for patent prosecution, establishing a clear framework for commercialization.
• What clauses are unacceptable: Clauses granting overly broad or unrestricted rights to the other party’s pre-existing IP without adequate compensation are generally unacceptable, as they may diminish the company’s competitive advantage. Clauses that fail to adequately protect the company’s confidential information or trade secrets should be rejected, as they can lead to the loss of valuable proprietary assets. Indemnity clauses that place unreasonable or unlimited liability on the company for IP infringement by the other party should be carefully scrutinized and potentially rejected, as they can expose the company to significant financial risk👉 The probability of adverse outcomes due to uncertainty in future events..

She emphasizes the importance of educating business teams about the need for IP clauses, even if they are not the ones drafting the contracts. This understanding will help them buy into the importance of IP and why the organization insists on having things done a certain way.

Building an IP-Savvy Culture: A Continuous Journey

Effective IP education is not a one-time event; it’s an ongoing process of building an IP-savvy culture within the organization. By tailoring content to specific stakeholder groups, communicating through compelling narratives, and reinforcing the value of IP through consistent communication, companies can create an environment where innovation thrives and IP risks are minimized. Massoumian’s framework provides a practical guide for organizations looking to embark on this journey and unlock the full potential of their intellectual assets.