Targeted Innovation; Building Intellectual Assets

Targeted innovation, the building of patent assets beyond what is anticipated by a company’s inventors, is perhaps the most unique offering that WDC Patents has.  This stems from the fact that Winthrop Childers has experience as a prolific inventor, a business development manager, and a patent and licensing strategist. 

What is Targeted Innovation?  This is a process for generating and acquiring intellectual property for a specific strategic need such as:

• Protecting Future Technology Directions
• Patenting Future Product Platforms
• Gaining Leverage with Key Competitors

How Does Targeted Innovation Help My Business?  This process will increase the valuation of a business by providing the following:

• Better protection of core business
• Potential new business adjacencies
• Discovery of new uses of core technology
• New potential for licensing revenue

How does this process improve protection of core business?  The process of targeted innovation results in a more comprehensive patent coverage for core products.  In addition this process increases leverage with key competitors that allows for more favorable cross-licensing terms.

What are business adjacencies?  For any company there are businesses similar to the core business but often not addressed.  WDC patents can help to identify and obtain patents for adjacent opportunities.  This will enable either expansion of the existing business or license opportunities.

How about new uses of technology?  Beyond adjacencies are new uses of the core technology.  They are not a natural extension of the core business.  Patenting the new uses can result in lucrative licensing revenue or even the creation of an entirely new business.

What is the methodology of WDC Patents?  At the request of a client company, WDC patents will carry out the following process:

(1)    Research patents for a particular technology, competitor, or inventor.  Note that patents carry the majority of the publically available information on competing technologies.

(2)    Synthesize and condense the resultant information according to client needs and objectives.

(3)    Identify technology and product strategies of competitors.

(4)    Identify gaps in client and competitor patent portfolios.  Write invention disclosures and patent claims pursuant to the identified gaps.

(5)    Recommend actions including patent filings and further investigations based upon the information found.