© TECHNOPOLIS VENTURES OY

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Growth Business

TECHNOPOLIS VENTURESLappeenranta CEO Reko Juntto28.10.2009

TECHNOPOLISValue added operating Environments and Services

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Table of contents

• Technopolis

• General - Why ?

• Innovation protection areas - What ?

• Protection methods - How ?

– Formal methods

– Juridical and contractual methods

– Non-formal methods

• Summary

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Technopolis Group

• One of Europe's largest chains of business environment services for knowledge intensive business communities

• Founded 1982, private Nasdaq OMX listed company

• Strong growth and earnings

• A unique business concept

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Unique Business Concept

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General, Why ?

• IP (intellectual property) consist of company’s ability to commercialize its know-how, knowledge and business relationships and networks.

• Company objectives, policies, strategy and business plans should include (IP) protection strategy and plans

– Capitalization/Value

– Competitiviness

– Can be seen also as an investment: lower costs than benefits

• Maximize the company value in long term and enable success

– Often pre-requirement from financiers (DD)

• A number of methods, mixture of methods should be used

– The choice depends on the business of the nature, scope and the sales of the product and services

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Protection areas - What ?– not only product/technology

• Knowledge capital:

– Intangible assets (Intellectual Property, IP)

• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

• Human capital:

– Staff “silent” knowledge

– E.g. knowledge, skills and experience

• Structural capital:

– Various internal and external business practices

– E.g processes, information systems, distribution channels, intellectual property rights

• Relationship capital:

– Stakeholder Relations

– E.g. customers, partners, employees, suppliers, financiers and shareholders

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Common means of protection - How ?

1. Formal methods- Copyright (generated automatically) & intellectual property (registration and fees, maintenance) - Based on the Act - The exact definition of what the protected object must be done

2. "Semi-formal“ and contractual methods - Contractual Methods - Formalize and legalize the company's relationships with partners and employees - Freedom of contract can be defined in the framework of "any" - Legal consequences in case of breach of the Agreement - Does not require registrations

3. Non-formal methods of contract - Broad and evolving entity - A flexible way to protect - Do not require registration under the Act - Related in companies often also for other purposes than just protection

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Formal Methods - Examples

• Industrial

– Patent – Utility model - Registrated design- Trademar

• Copyrights

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Juridical and Contracts - Examples

• Confidentiality Agreements

• Non-compete Agreement

• Recruitment Ban

• Employee Inventions - the transfer of rights agreement

• Ownership and License Agreements

• Letter of Intent and a preliminary contracts

• Sales/Licence agreements

• Delivery and (sub) contracts

• Service contracts

• Research, development and cooperation contracts

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Non-formal methods - Examples

• Standard procedures aiming at: - To prevent the spread of confidential information outside the company

- Prevent data loss

- Store and share information and expertise within the company

- Reducing the risk of piracy, for example, from competitors

- Reduce dependence on individual employees

- Committing workers

- To create time-based competitive advantage

- To assist the patenting

- To improve business efficiency and innovation creation.

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• Confidentiality - Key knowledge and protection of confidentialinformation internally and/or externally • Publication- A new idea or practice, the original inventor of thepublic: to prevent the patenting and loss ofreputation • Information on restrictions - Limiting the attention of persons with accessnumber (databases, facilities) • Engaging staff- Economic. incentives, training, and professional.evolution • Task sharing- Work-related tasks parts divided • Reshuffle - People's role in the recycling of the second andalternate arrangement • Documentation - Ideas and methods of documenting • Fast pace of innovation- New products and services on the market soon • Technical protection - Software products and cryptographic security keys

• Trade union membership - Pharmacists and doctors, trade union support for the rights of supervision • Confidentiality - Construction of confidential relationships• Effective information sharing- Within the company, the dependence on key people is decreasing, more innovative • Customer relationship management - The service situations, different parties will be forced to share each other with confidential information • A complex product design- Prepare the products extremely complex time-consuming simulation• Packaged Service Packages- Enhance business and reduce dependence on individual employees

Non-formal methods - Examples

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Choosing the right methods

Processes, functional

structures, information

systems:

• technical protection of

softwares

• NDA

• documentation

Products & Services:

• patenting, utility model,

trademarks, registered design

• NDA

• agreements

• rapid innovating

• technical protection

• publicating

• productised service packets

• complicated product design

External interest groups

agreements

NDA

confidentiality

taking care of customer

relationships

Personnel

• Agreements

• NDA

• commitment of personnel

• limitations in use of informations

• splitting of work tasks

• rotating of work tasks

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VC’s Investment Criteria for Growth Business

Clear exit opportunities

International growth potential

Strong management team

Sustainable and protected

competitive advantage

Clear business model with

high revenue growth opportunities

Competitive

Products

IPRs

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Summary

• Intellectual Property Rights Protection is important to Hitech companies due many reasons

– Enables differentiation

– Capitalization and licencing

– Criteria for funding and financiers (DD)

• Used method could be mixture of formal methods, contractual and non-formal

– Protection should be defined in Strategy and business plans

• Early enough” defined and swiftly implemented once needed

– Covering not only technology/products

• (IPR) are Valued within the overall context and industry practices

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TECHNOPOLIS VENTURES LAPPENRANTA Oy

CEO Reko Juntto

Tel: +358 50 5527433

Mail: reko.juntto@technopolis.fi

Address: Laserkatu 6, 53850 LAPPENRANTA, Finland

www.technopolisventures.fi

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