Ben Dempster

M.A. (Cambridge University) Metallurgy and Materials Science

Chartered Patent AttorneyEuropean Patent Attorney

Partner, Withers & Rogers LLP

The Materials Entrepreneur

Intellectual Property

Types of Intellectual Property

IPIP

PatentsUtility

Models

Registered Designs

Design Right

Plant varieties

Copyright

Know How

Common Law Trade

Marks

Registered Trade Marks

Patents

Patents

• Protect inventions.

• Monopoly right awarded by the state to encourage innovation.

• Not a right to do anything - a right to stop others.

Invention Must Be New• An invention is new if it has not been

made available to the public by written or oral description, by use or in any other way.– third party disclosures– you - must keep secret

• USA is exception - one year grace period for disclosures by the inventor.

International Convention• International (Paris) Convention - Priority

period: one year - patents

Patents for the Same Invention• First to file

• First to invent - USA

Patent?

• Patent it

• Keep it secret

• Decide to publish - open innovation

Your patent attorney needs...

• the concept• why it is better than what has gone

before/what problem has been solved.• an example of how to do it• how might others, especially competitors,

do it• meeting to discuss, preferably notes

beforehand.

Strategy - Business Objective

• Manufacturing and growth

• Sell the business

• License your technology

• Joint venture/cross licence

Case Studies

Manufacturing

Dragon Plastics

• Based in Wales• Plastic screw caps and closures• Searches to identify technology gap• Invented one piece child resistant cap and

patented it• New market opened up, premium pricing• Used as springboard to expand into other

premium markets e.g. closures for cosmetics containers.

Peter Savage Ltd

• Manhole covers and gully gratings

• New market sector• Searches• Design around• Protect and launch

Sell the Business

Europackaging

• Started in 1960's supplying Birmingham grocers with paper bags

• Sold in 2007 for £200m• A key ingredient for

success = protection around

plastic carrier bag dispensers

Profile Therapeutics• Make nebulisers for administering

drugs for asthma • Invented and patented new faster

system to administer wider range of drugs

• Floated on LSE to raise the money to invest to bring to market

• Now acquired by major US corporation

License Your Technology

IBM - $3 billion in patent licence revenue each year

ARM

• Founded 1985 to design RISC processors

• First licence granted in 1990 to VLSI

• Floated on LSE in 1998

• 10 billionth processor shipped in 2008

• Revenue of £260m

• Market value £1.15bn

• And they don't even manufacture!

Dynamic Cassette International Ltd

Maurice Goymer

Maurice Goymer

• Royalty per container

• Lump sum and smaller royalty

• Lump sum only

Sandvik Osprey Ltd and Sapa Heat Transfer AB

• Sandvik Osprey - powders and spray forming

• Sapa - brazing material

• Patented in over 50 countries worldwide

Patents are commercial tools which can be used by the

materials entrepreneur to add value and make money

How will you use your patents?

Thank you

Ben Dempster