Patent protection is more than ticking a box once
16 November 2024
Patents are expensive, the application process is complicated, and only large companies really benefit. These are some of the misconceptions surrounding the topic of patent protection. Especially for startups, protection of the invention or technology is crucial. The sooner you start thinking about intellectual property in your innovation process, the better off you will be, the Netherlands Patent Office advises. And: ‘Come to us, preferably as early as possible.
Granting patents and offering support in the field of intellectual property in the broadest sense. Those are the two functions of the Netherlands Patent Office. That second function, the provision of services, is still relatively unknown, says IP advisor Katja Apelt. ‘We therefore try to connect with entrepreneurs in all sorts of ways. Being part of the government, we are an independent player in this field and our information is free of charge.’
That ranges from brochures and webinars to workshops and one-on-one meetings. The Netherlands Patent Office positions itself as a sparring partner for startups, for example. ‘If they intelligently use all the possibilities there are to protect intellectual property, they don’t run into surprises in a later phase, for example in an investment round or when they go abroad with their company.’
Detailed insight
Partly for this reason, Apelt enjoys contributing to programs such as Faculty of Impact, which trains new entrepreneurs. As she did for the first cohort two years ago, earlier this fall she gave a workshop for the new batch of entrepreneurial academics. In it, they were given a detailed insight into all the steps to take. ‘Because the possible patent application itself is nothing more than the outcome of a whole process, of all the considerations that precede it’, Apelt argues. ‘Such as: what exactly should I apply for, when is the best time to do it, does it make sense to file an application at all? It’s not a snapshot, it’s more than just ticking a box once.’
Getting to the core
She therefore advises starting entrepreneurs to arrive at some sort of ‘IP management’ (see picture with step-by-step plan). ‘Think carefully about what the core of your idea is. That is often not so easy; I can sometimes talk to someone for an hour to really get to that core. Often you then get the business stories, that they are faster or better than what’s already out there. But that’s usually not what patents are about. It’s about the question of what the most important information, technology or knowledge is within the company, and how you make sure it doesn’t get out in the open. That is always customized, “one size fits all” does not apply here.’
Taking control
Although her experience is that basic patent knowledge is usually present among start-up entrepreneurs, there is often a lack of knowledge about what the preliminary process looks like, what routes you can follow and, certainly not unimportant: what the timeframe is. She therefore advises academic startups to report to the Netherlands Patent Office as soon as they have an idea and start thinking about a business plan. ‘Then you can have patent research done to find out whether it has any chance at all, what the scope might be and what considerations you will have to make.’
And that in turn helps in the contacts with the knowledge transfer offices (KTOs) of the universities. ‘We don’t want to interfere in those discussions’, Apelt emphasizes. ‘But we can put the options on the table for you. That’ll help you to be in charge, to take control in those conversations, and you will see that they then also become more in-depth.’
Checking regularly
The requirements for obtaining a license can vary enormously from one university to another. This is another reason why it is important for entrepreneurs to understand how everything is regulated and what their own rights are, she says. ‘Do realize that in the case of a patent you have to deal with it for more than twenty years. If you haven’t thought it through properly from the beginning and you don’t know what the protection is, at a later point you end up negotiating the license without knowing what it’s about. Or turn out to have countries locked in that don’t benefit you, or where you haven’t done any market research at all. Therefore, I cannot stress enough: always keep this topic on the agenda. Do a check regularly, say once a year. Sometimes things change, certain rights are no longer needed, or you actually need some adjustments in your protection. Just make sure you do not get surprised.’
Contact
For more information about (protection of) intellectual property, building an IP strategy and other IP-related questions, don’t hesitate to schedule a free online one-on-one session with IP advisor Katja Apelt. She can be reached at katja.apelt@rvo.nl
More information
“Contacting us in an early stage will help you to be in charge, to take control in conversations with you university”
“Managing IP is always customized, ‘one size fits all’ does not apply here”