Open innovation and IP management [Part 1]

As more and more companies openly collaborate and innovate with third parties, the question of proper intellectual property (IP) management arises. The companies have to rethink their innovation models and strike a balance between what knowledge they share with partners and stakeholders and what they can gain from collaborations with them.

If a company manages poorly its relations with external stakeholders, it can be at risk of distributing confidential information related to its intellectual property and losing profits from innovation.
 
According to the European IPR Helpdesk, open innovation can be carried out in various forms, such as:

• Networking and crowdsourcing
• Collaboration and R&D alliances
• Independent spin-offs dedicated to the development of a new project
• Licensing
• Patent pool

In order to protect their assets and maximize future gains from open innovation, companies should implement internal IP protection measures in the early stages of collaboration. This can be accomplished by:

• Setting up an internal filing system to track any creation of IP assets
• Documenting each IP element
• Creating an IP database and keeping it up to date
• Organising regular reviews of the IP used
• Securing confidentiality internally and externally
• Third parties IP rights (freedom to operate; infringement)

 
When collaborating, parties often disclose know-how and technologies that have not been protected yet. To avoid potential misuse of such information, it is highly recommended to conclude a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that establishes the conditions of collaboration and sharing of sensitive information between partners.


Author
European Startup Network
 ​