Taking Technical Inspiration from Remote Industries€¦ · • Chewing gum manufacture...

Taking Technical Inspiration from

Remote Industries

The IP system as an information resource

Russell Edson MEngBritish & European Patent & Design Attorney

Senior Associate | Withers & Rogers LLP

The IP system as an information resource

What information is available?

It’s a big picture that only gets bigger

Source: World Intellectual Property Office IP Facts and Figures 2014

Who’s generating it?

Source: World Intellectual Property Office IP Facts and Figures 2014

What do we do with 16bn words a year?

• Use Technical Classifications, e.g.:

– A Human Necessities

– A47 Furniture; domestic articles or appliances;

– A47G Household or table equipment

– A47G 23/00 . Other table equipment

– A47G 23/08 .. ·Food-conveying devices for tables;

Movable or rotary food-serving devices

• 1853 documents – 829 free to use

• Keyword searches

• Look at chains of citations

Cutting Edge Table Top Tech

Fresh onto the free to use scene

Old New Technologies – Citation Review

Old New Technologies – Citation Review

Seeking a solution or probing for a problem?

Seeking a solution or probing for a problem?

I need to improve

how baby food

pouches work

Seeking a solution or probing for a problem?

Seeking a solution or probing for a problem?

I need to improve

how baby food

pouches work

Who faces similar issues?

What area of technology

are they in?

Go searching!

What are its most

surprising properties?

What problem can

they solve?

Are there any new problems to be solved?

Inspiration vs flattery vs infringement?

• What inspiration can I take?

• What should I avoid using?

• Is it ever OK to infringe?

Inspiration vs flattery vs infringement?

• Head in the sand?– Stick to what we know

– There is no need for innovation in our domain

– IP is too expensive

– Others would just steal our ideas

• Head in the clouds?– They won’t mind

– I’ll borrow that

– They can’t protect that can they?

– I’ll just see if it’s a success and then worry about IP later

Inspiration vs flattery vs infringement?

• Head over the parapet?

– Let’s try it and see if they react

– Someone else is making it, so surely I can too?

– Can they come after us later?

– What if they do?

Inspiration vs flattery vs infringement?

• Head unto the breach?

• Prepare for battle

– Check the landscape

– Check on your competitors

– Fill your war chest

– Find the right allies

– Maintain your equipment

– Update your intelligence

Some Examples

RFID tags for monitoring & transmitting freshness data

Some Examples

• Chewing gum manufacture – extrusion of malleable

materials

– Processes very similar to tyre manufacture

– Tyre manufacturing patents often cited against chewing gum

manufacturing patents

– Different industries, different purposes, different markets, similar

technical problems, similar technologies

Some Examples

• Pizza Packaging

– Microwave activation of materials to ‘bake’ industrial products

– Incorporated into pizza packaging, to crisp the base while the rest

is heated directly

A worked example

• Problem

– Feeding Young Children

A worked example

• Problem

– Feeding Young Children

– It’s chaos

– Need to occupy them

– Need to feed yourself

– Need to keep them interested

– Need them to ingest some nutrients of some sort!

Seeking out a Solution

• What sort of solution am I looking for?

• Something which:

– stimulates the mind in early development

– includes food

– occupies my child

Seeking Who Solved It

• Who faces these problems?

• How have they solved them?

• Any of those solutions viable for me?

What’s available & What’s not?

• Old publications:1994

Oct 1995

2005

• Patented Items: • Patent Pending:

2014

What’s available & What’s not?

• Available

– (if you really want it...):

1971

Assessing the Target

• Do they still exist?

• Are they a competitor?

• What IP do they have?

• Do I risk infringing it?

• Shall I risk infringing it?

A solution?

• A mixture of sources:Pet feeding:

- Work around the patent & incorporate into a game

Restauration

- Free to useChild Cleanliness

- Free to use

Summary

• The IP System contains a raft of information

• Its powerful if you use it well

• It can trip you up if you don’t

• Get some good advice early

• Incorporate it as part of your NPD process

The End

Russell Edson MEng

Senior Associate

European and UK Patent Attorney | European Design Attorney

Advanced Engineering Group

Withers & Rogers LLP

T: +44 (0)207 9403600

e: redson@withersrogers.com

uk.linkedin.com/in/russedson/