The document discusses the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection for high-tech companies. It outlines formal methods like patents and copyrights, contractual methods like non-disclosure agreements, and non-formal methods like documentation and rapid innovation. The best approach uses a mixture of these methods to protect a company's technology, products, personnel knowledge, and relationships. Intellectual property rights protection should be addressed early in a company's strategy and business plans and implemented swiftly when needed.

1. TECHNOPOLIS
Value added operating Environments and Services
Intellectual
Property Rights
(IPR) in Growth
Business
TECHNOPOLIS
VENTURES
Lappeenranta
CEO Reko Juntto
28.10.2009
© TECHNOPOLIS VENTURES OY

2. Table of contents
• Technopolis
• General - Why ?
• Innovation protection areas - What ?
• Protection methods - How ?
– Formal methods
– Juridical and contractual methods
– Non-formal methods
• Summary
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3. Technopolis Group
• One of Europe's largest chains of
business environment services for
knowledge intensive business
communities
• Founded 1982, private Nasdaq
OMX listed company
• Strong growth and earnings
• A unique business concept
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4. Unique Business Concept
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5. General, Why ?
• IP (intellectual property) consist of company’s ability to commercialize its know-
how, knowledge and business relationships and networks.
• Company objectives, policies, strategy and business plans should include (IP)
protection strategy and plans
– Capitalization/Value
– Competitiviness
– Can be seen also as an investment: lower costs than benefits
• Maximize the company value in long term and enable success
– Often pre-requirement from financiers (DD)
• A number of methods, mixture of methods should be used
– The choice depends on the business of the nature, scope and the sales of
the product and services
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6. Protection areas - What ?
– not only product/technology
• Knowledge capital:
– Intangible assets (Intellectual Property, IP)
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
• Human capital:
– Staff “silent” knowledge
– E.g. knowledge, skills and experience
• Structural capital:
– Various internal and external business practices
– E.g processes, information systems, distribution channels, intellectual
property rights
• Relationship capital:
– Stakeholder Relations
– E.g. customers, partners, employees, suppliers, financiers and shareholders
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7. Common means of protection - How ?
1. Formal methods
- Copyright (generated automatically) & intellectual property (registration and fees,
maintenance)
- Based on the Act
- The exact definition of what the protected object must be done
2. "Semi-formal“ and contractual methods
- Contractual Methods
- Formalize and legalize the company's relationships with partners and employees
- Freedom of contract can be defined in the framework of "any"
- Legal consequences in case of breach of the Agreement
- Does not require registrations
3. Non-formal methods of contract
- Broad and evolving entity
- A flexible way to protect
- Do not require registration under the Act
- Related in companies often also for other purposes than just protection
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8. Formal Methods - Examples
• Industrial
– Patent
– Utility model
- Registrated design
- Trademar
• Copyrights
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9. Juridical and Contracts - Examples
• Confidentiality Agreements
• Non-compete Agreement
• Recruitment Ban
• Employee Inventions - the transfer of rights agreement
• Ownership and License Agreements
• Letter of Intent and a preliminary contracts
• Sales/Licence agreements
• Delivery and (sub) contracts
• Service contracts
• Research, development and cooperation contracts
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10. Non-formal methods - Examples
• Standard procedures aiming at:
- To prevent the spread of confidential information outside the company
- Prevent data loss
- Store and share information and expertise within the company
- Reducing the risk of piracy, for example, from competitors
- Reduce dependence on individual employees
- Committing workers
- To create time-based competitive advantage
- To assist the patenting
- To improve business efficiency and innovation creation.
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11. Non-formal methods - Examples
• Confidentiality • Trade union membership
- Key knowledge and protection of confidential - Pharmacists and doctors, trade union
information internally and/or externally support for the rights of supervision
• Publication • Confidentiality
- A new idea or practice, the original inventor of the - Construction of confidential relationships
public: to prevent the patenting and loss of • Effective information sharing
reputation - Within the company, the dependence on key
• Information on restrictions people is decreasing, more innovative
- Limiting the attention of persons with access • Customer relationship management
number (databases, facilities) - The service situations, different parties will
• Engaging staff be forced to share each other with
- Economic. incentives, training, and professional. confidential information
evolution • A complex product design
• Task sharing - Prepare the products extremely complex
- Work-related tasks parts divided time-consuming simulation
• Reshuffle • Packaged Service Packages
- People's role in the recycling of the second and - Enhance business and reduce dependence
alternate arrangement on individual employees
• Documentation
- Ideas and methods of documenting
• Fast pace of innovation
- New products and services on the market soon
• Technical protection
- Software products and cryptographic security keys
© TECHNOPOLIS VENTURES OY

12. Choosing the right methods
Processes, functional Products & Services:
structures, information • patenting, utility model,
systems: trademarks, registered design
• technical protection of • NDA
softwares • agreements
• NDA • rapid innovating
• documentation • technical protection
• publicating
• productised service packets
• complicated product design
Personnel External interest groups
• Agreements  agreements
• NDA  NDA
• commitment of personnel  confidentiality
• limitations in use of informations  taking care of customer
• splitting of work tasks relationships
• rotating of work tasks
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13. VC’s Investment Criteria for Growth
Business
Clear business model with
high revenue growth opportunities
Competitive
Sustainable and protected
Products
competitive advantage
IPRs
Strong management team
International growth potential
Clear exit opportunities
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14. Summary
• Intellectual Property Rights Protection is important to Hitech companies
due many reasons
– Enables differentiation
– Capitalization and licencing
– Criteria for funding and financiers (DD)
• Used method could be mixture of formal methods, contractual and
non-formal
– Protection should be defined in Strategy and business plans
• Early enough” defined and swiftly implemented once needed
– Covering not only technology/products
• (IPR) are Valued within the overall context and industry practices
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15. Thanks !
More information and
Support available
TECHNOPOLIS VENTURES LAPPENRANTA Oy
CEO Reko Juntto
Tel: +358 50 5527433
Mail: reko.juntto@technopolis.fi
Address: Laserkatu 6, 53850 LAPPENRANTA, Finland
www.technopolisventures.fi
© TECHNOPOLIS VENTURES OY