Course: 20493 - INNOVATION AND COMPETITION IN LIFE SCIENCE, Bocconi University
Teachers: Fabio Montobbio, Amelia Compagni
Set up a business plan on a start up, which produces a stroke detection device aimed at ambulances and nursing homes.
Presenters: Marianne Carpentier, Giulia De Faveri, Nadezhda Hristova, Tanguy Rowet, Anna Sadokhina
2. Agenda
Presentation of our idea1
Assessment of the technological landscape2
Scenarios on product development3
Intellectual property protection alternatives4
4. The technology
« Swave is a device that analyses bio-
photons in order to detect abnormal brain
activities and determine if they are symptoms
of an on-going stroke. »
5. Its opportunity
✘ Stroke is the third most common cause of
death in developed countries.
✘ Detection time is a crucial issue
regarding stroke
✘ Portability is not possible with current
detection solutions.
This is why we believe in our device
potential
9. Keywords & Classification search
✘ Keywords used for search (title and abstract):
✗ biophotons
✗ bio photons
✗ bio-photons
✘Class A61B
HealthMedical or veterinary scienceDiagnosis; Surgery
✗ bio photon
✗ biophoton
✗ bio-photon
10. Samsung Electronics. South Korea
Method of measuring blood flow using bio-photon
emission
Granted in 2011
Hitachi Medical Corporation. Jap
Biophoton-measuring instrument
Granted in 2011, 2015
Mapping the patents
o 5 patent families
o for 3 patents are granted
o protection in 9 countries
11. Samsung Electronics. South Korea
Method of measuring blood flow using bio-photon
emission
Granted in 2011
Hitachi Medical Corporation. Jap
Biophoton-measuring instrument
Granted in 2011, 2015
Mapping the patents
o applicant in 1 patent family
o protection in 7 countries
Hitachi Medical Corp.
12. Samsung Electronics. South Korea
Method of measuring blood flow using bio-photon
emission
Granted in 2011
Mapping the patents
o applicant in 1 patent family
o protection in 7 countries
Samsung Electronics
13. Search by inventor’s name
✘ Within the same class we searched for all the
patents with “SHIN SANG-HOON” as an inventor
14. Samsung Electronics. South Korea
Method of measuring blood flow using bio-photon
emission
Granted in 2011
Mapping the patents
Sang-Hoon Shin
o 11 patent families are in common
o 1 of them related to biophoton
technology
o 1 biophoton technology patent has
no relation to Samsung
16. I. Obtain license and develop device inhouse
Reasons Samsung would license:
✘Different target market
✘Repository of unexploited ideas and sleeping patents
✘Excess diversification
✘Strong reputation to protect
✘Poor fit with overall strategy
Swave strategic positioning:
✘Young, entrepreneurial
✘Dedicated employees
✘Avoids bureaucracy of large established firms
✘Speed of product to market
✘Focus on the specific technology and target market
17. II. Co-development agreement with Samsung
Benefits for both parties:
✘Share risk
✘Exchange technological know-how
✘Facilitate information diffusion
✘Develop superior technology
✘Develop downstream capabilities
✘Provide protection and credible commitment
19. Hardware
✘ elements of novelty
with respect to existing
solutions
✘ high preciseness, ease
of transportation,
resistance, bend it to
insert it in a box
✘ we are confident a
patent application can
be filled
Elements to be protected
Software
✘ Copyright
✘ Software patentability
✘ Hardware + software
patentability
20. Software options
Copyright
✘ software can be
protected by
copyright
✘ effective
protection is
rather weak
✘ copyright protects
only the formal
expression
SW patent
✘ controversial issue
✘ Canada not allow
claims directed to
software per se
✘ Europe excludes
programs for
computers from
patentability
✘ In the US the
subject matter
must exist in
tangible form
SW+HW patent
✘ Europe: further
technical effect
going beyond
normal physical
effects
✘ In the US: Patent
Statute, a
tendency is noted,
as in the EU
✘ Canada: produce
change and
produce economic
results
21. Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
✘ the employer exclusively shall be entitled
to exercise all economic rights
✘ avoid key people leaving the company,
disclose critical information to competitors,
or found their own enterprise
✘ mutual NDA
22. NDA content
✘ Parties involved
✘ Definition of what is confidential
✘ Disclosure period
✘ Term the agreement is binding
✘ Obligations of the recipient
✘ Permissible disclosure
✘ Law and jurisdiction applicable
23. ✘ Europe: Article 6 of the European Directive on
the legal protection of computer programs
✘ Canada: Bill C-32
✘ the US: Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Reverse engineering – Legal references
24. Authorisation not required:
✘ for reproduction
✘ when there are not any other alteration
✘ to achieve the interoperability, provided:
✗ a right to use a copy of a program
✗ the information are not already available
✗ those acts are confined
These provisions do not permit:
✘ the use for other purposes
✘ to give the information to others
✘ to use the information for the development of a computer
program substantially similar
Reverse engineering – Provisions
25. Reverse engineering – SWAVE
Swave is aimed
at ambulances
and nursing
homes
needs to
interact with
other medical
equipment
interoperability
must be
achieved
only case in
which we would
be willing to
provide the
software code
to avoid
potential
competitors
Swave is a device that analyses bio-photons in order to detect abnormal brain activities and determine if they are symptoms of an on-going stroke. Bio-photons (from Greek “life and light”) are radiant emittances produced by any biological system; the brain blood vessels emit a certain kind of bio-photons that our device is able to capture through a detector. This detector is an optical receiver, which should be placed on the head and has a “helmet” shape.
Brain bio-photon emissions are converted into electrical signals, while brain electrical signals are amplified. Being able to read brain light emissions (bio-photons), Swave then sends data to a processor, which is able to elaborate them by using an algorithm and detect if a stroke is occurring.