Intellectual Property: Are You Ready to Race Ahead with New Forms of IP
Intellectual property (IP) is one of the core differentiators between the value captured and the value added at each stage in a high-tech product’s path to life. In fact, it’s one of the core differentiators of overall enterprise value.
Yet, the world is in a state of continuous change. As data, code, sensors and customer interfaces enter the domain of IP, understanding how value accrues and what that means at each stage in the process is becoming more complex. This post is a quick primer on modern-day IP value accrual.
An electronics manufacturer designs a device. It can range from a simple sensor with one function to a complex device with sensors, AI, and applications included. Who owns the device? Who owns the data? Who owns the analytics? Who owns the applications? If you have an eco-system of suppliers creating each part of not only the device but the network and the storage and other devices it links to, you start to understand the complexities and challenges…particularly from an IP view. It needs a new and relevant interpretation to make sense.
Electronics companies are very good at creating, managing and leveraging IP for hardware. Yet, the current products, and particularly the IoT value chain, add software and data bring new questions to the mix. How can a company protect its investments in the total product and experience? In the interactions and content? In the age of artificial intelligence, how do you define and where you can protect the unique insights from the data?
The fundamental forms of IP protection are Copyright for “expression”, Patents for “inventions”, Trademarks for identification of products and services, and Trade Secrets for just about anything (that you keep a secret).
Framework
Let’s follow an example from Chip to Cloud to App — and what IP is applicable at each stage. Note: Always work with your IP Counsel on decisions for IP.
1- Chip/Silicon
Patenting is the strongest protection for chip design and manufacturing processes. Patenting chips falls into 5 primary categories: Structure (how the transistor looks), Method/Process (How it is made), Apparatus (the hardware to make it), Circuits (How it works) and Functions (What is does/How it performs).
2 — IoT Devices
IoT devices range from simple sensors to complex devices including hardware, AI, software and data. The hardware is easily protected with patents. When you add software, AI and data to the device and want to protect it, it is a combination of patents, copyright, trade secrets and trademarks. Data comes in many forms, discussed in more detail below.
3- Gateways
As the solution is mostly software, copyrights, trademarks and in limited situations patents apply. There can also be hardware appliances where patenting applies.
4- Networks
A network is also a combination of hardware and software to control and route the communications. All forms of IP support networks.
5- Cloud
The “cloud” is actually a combination of systems and software. All forms of IP support cloud implementations.
6- Applications
Applications are software and algorithm based, and can be protected as copyright, trade secrets, and sometimes patents.
New form assets
While traditional value chain approaches are becoming more complicated, new forms of interactions, especially ones that combine data, algorithms and processes with user experience and user data make the situation even more so.
Software/applications protection is dependent on the level. Code can typically be protected by copyright or trade secrets. Algorithms can be protected by trade secrets, and if shown as implemented in a system, possibly patents. Process can be protected through Design Patents, While User Experience/Interfaces can be protected by Utility patents.
On the data side, there are many questions to be answered to find the right protections, and you need to work with your counsel and IP management teams to formulate policies:
· Who has ownership at all levels? (and what responsibilities do new regulations like GDPR place on this collection?) Will the collected data be anonymized?
· Who gathers and stores it? To what extent? For what duration? Does the aforementioned anonymization have impact?
· How will the data be used? By who? Who has access?
Contract terms need to be flushed out early (who owns, who licenses, exclusivity, geo considerations/privacy, field of use, time limits, etc.) and these are just a few of the areas.
Data types and rights per type
Data is not patentable per se, or even under copyright typically. And the laws are different in different countries. This is an area where your legal counsel should provide guidance…and the earlier in the design/agreement stage the better. Understanding the impact of new designs and associated processes, how they collect, use and share data are all critical considerations.
IoT devices and networks result in a proliferation of data.
Today, 4,800 new IoT devices are connected per minute. By 2025 this number will grow to over 150,000 new devices connected per minute. By 2020, there will be a projected 30 billion connected “things” and 40% of all data generated will come from connected sensors.
IBM Think Academy IoT for Industry
Think of it as the 4 V’s:
· Volume — the amount of data collected
· Velocity — the speed at which it is collected
· Variety — structured versus non-structured; private vs public, etc.
· Veracity — is it valid data? What about compiling into a group of data or a decision?
Typically a smart IoT device manufacturer owns the machine/processed data; owner gets limited license to part of the data. These decisions must be contracted and understood during collaboration efforts.
For additional information, please see:
“Designer data -How product engineering approaches for electronics can serve insights for the entire organization”, IBM Institute for Business Value
“Using data by design: Digital Reinvention in electronics”, IBM Institute for Business Value
The IBM Intellectual Property Management Solutions team is applying Watson technologies to IP use cases such as Evidence of Use, Prior Art, Landscapes and others. Contact me for further information.
Connect with the author, Sue Hallen
