Cross-collaborative innovation, hackerspaces, and patents

ARUP DESIGN SCHOOL:CROSS COLLABORATIVE

INNOVATION16 JANUARY 2014

TOM GREK

ABOUT ME

Electronic Engineer

Patent Lawyer

Hypnotist

CEO at Mechanical Amoeba Ltd

Founder at Mynd

MAKER CULTURE

HACKERSPACES / MAKERSPACES

“Physical places where the maker community can come together to share ideas and work on projects”

“Co-working space for hardware”

Tuesday night socials

Regular workshops – screen printing, programming, glass working, soldering …

CROSS-COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

Walkman guitar amp, molecular gastronomy, 3D printing, Kinect controlled helicopter, Maneki-Neko cat-bot, Bao-bot (walking version of our logo), steampunk wifi bandwidth meter, bristle bots, Tweet-a-shock, baby melo-tweet, Arduino Game of Life, OpenWRT and router hacking, brain machines, EL wire Christmas tree and Halloween costume, air quality measurement, Frankenstein Z80-meets-FPGA computer, hydroponics, movie special effects, Octopus/RFID door lock epic fail, Mintyboosts for the Japan quake, Pachube and environmental monitoring, pipe organ

FARMING X ELECTRONICS

WOODWORK X VIDEO GAMES

MECHANICAL X FABRICATION X PAPERCRAFT

GENERAL CRAZY STUFF

GENERAL CRAZY STUFF

WHAT IS A PATENT?

• 20 years exclusive use of an invention

• That is new and not obvious

PATENTS

• To make a (legal) invention takes specialism: an expert

• But they generally also require someone to take a fresh look, ask basic questions: an outsider

A GOOD INVENTION TEAM

• Business development: to spot customer opportunities

• Experts, technical people: to make it happen

• Marketing: to develop it into something useful for the customer

APPLE’S PATENTS

• Many Apple patents credit all of these people as inventors:

• Scott Forstall, Software Expert

• Imran Chaudhri, Product Designer

• Bas Ording, UI/UX Designer

• Jony Ive, Product Designer

• Bartley Andre, Industrial Designer

• Steve Jobs

SOME OF STEVE JOBS’ PATENTS

THE PATENT TROLL

Puts 15 people from different disciplines in a room

Expects 10 patents to come out, after a day or two of discussion, play, and fun

Does this all over the world, including in HK and China, Korea, Japan, Philippines, etc.

OPEN INNOVATION

• “Open innovation is a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology”.

• “Innovating with partners by sharing risk and sharing reward.”

• “The boundaries between a firm and its environment have become more permeable; innovations can easily transfer inward and outward.”

• Parallel to open source software / hardware / Creative Commons

• You can use this software personally for free, but if you use it commercially, you must pay $$

• You can use my photo, provided you attribute me as the photographer

• You can use my hardware design, if you promise not to sue me under any of your patents.

OPEN INNOVATION

In a world of widely distributed knowledge, companies cannot afford to rely entirely on their own research, but should instead subcontract, buy, or license processes, designs or inventions from other companies.

In addition, internal inventions not being used in a firm's business should be taken outside the company (e.g. through licensing, joint ventures, consultancy or spin-offs)

FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE OF A PATENT

SHARING

20 years monopoly in exchange for disclosing your idea “in sufficient detail to enable a reasonably skilled technician to copy it"

3D PRINTING

BAD GUYS

• Early 1990s: Fused deposition modeling / stereolithographic sintering patented

• Early 2010s: Patents expire

• 2011/12: 3D printing is everywhere

• 2013: Expensive acquisition for incumbent

GOOD GUYS

• Mid 1990s: Lego struggling

• Late 1990s: Lego sees MIT project making electronic Lego bricks

• Late 1990s: Licenses MIT technology and collaborates with them

• 2000: Lego Mindstorms launches

• 2002: Mindstorms is hacked. Lego panics …

• 2003: But eventually embraces community changes to their designs and software

THIS DEVICE GAVE BIRTH TO MAKER CULTURE

Arduino:

SMALL PROJECTS USE ARDUINO

BIG PROJECTS USE ARDUINO

ARDUINO’S CREATOR VISITS US

BUT ARDUINO HAS A PROBLEM

STARTUP CULTURE & ENTREPRENEURS

• We rely on each other and build each other up

• Early 2000s: US / Europe open up to collaboration and sharing

• Mid 2000s: Asia becomes an innovator

• Late 2000s: Asia becomes a fan of patents; China is world’s #1 patent force

• Early 2010s: Public opinion turns against patents in US / Europe

• Early 2010s: Startup culture becomes huge in US / Europe

• Predictions:

• Mid 2010s: Public opinion turns against patents in Asia

• Late 2010s: Startup culture becomes huge in Asia.

OPEN IS GOOD

Open Closed

Collaborative innovators across domains Copiers, also-rans, faceless corporations

Adds value to the ecosystem Extracts meagre profits

Stakeholders Shareholders

Move things along Static

THANK YOU / Q&A

Tom Grek

tom@mechanicalamoeba.com