Intellectual Property Management for Start-ups

This book examines intellectual property (IP) as an important value driver for start-ups. Businesses of all sizes are inevitably confronted with intellectual property issues at some point, but start-ups and their collaborators face unique challenges and opportunities in IP management. Identifying, generating, and exploiting intellectual property can lead to sustainable competitive advantages and avoidance of risks. Many start-ups sense the complexity of IP management and therefore place their energy elsewhere. However, the clear conclusion to be drawn from this unique collection of contributions is that putting an IP management strategy in place is critical to the successful development of a business. Prof. Dr. Martin A. Bader and Prof. Dr. Sevim Süzeroğlu-Melchiors have years of experience as consultants, entrepreneurs, business owners, and researchers where they saw firsthand the need for a comprehensive yet practical resource for start-ups and their key stakeholders.

This book explores different perspectives in dealing with IP from six different angles: the start-up’s view, the investor’s view, the corporation’s view, the university’s view, the global IP office’s view, and the advisor’s view. Each section consists of chapters written by leading experts from around the globe including Silicon Valley, Canada, Israel, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, France, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Singapore, and South Africa. Contributors bring practical experience from a wide range of sectors, such as information and communication technology, software, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, industrial automation, internet of things, life sciences, pharma, crop science, biotech, medtech, mining, sustainability, climate tech, and even quantum technologies. This timely publication serves as a guidebook for entrepreneurs and other key stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem. It empowers founders to develop their own IP management strategyto mitigate risk, create and capture value, and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth. An essential reference for start-ups to achieve business excellence.

“This edited book volume offers valuable insights, bringing together perspectives of key stakeholder groups from a wide variety of innovation ecosystems – an invaluable resource.” 
—Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva


“A timely book for those wanting a clear overview of the issues the different players encounter in the start-up ecosystem. A useful resource indeed. Congratulations to the editors and team.”
—Audrey Yap, Managing Partner YUSARN AUDREY LLC, Past President LESI, Chairman Singapore Innovation & Productivity Institute, Singapore


“A ‘must read’ for all innovators in the start-up world. It is truly a fantastic book and one I would recommend being bought and read (in full)!”
—Laurence Freeman, Professor (Adjunct), CU Denver Business School, Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship, Denver, Colorado, United States

“New ideas and creative talent give rise to promising start-ups around the world. However, their mere existence is not sufficient for success in the marketplace. Inventions, designs, brands, and other intangible assets require careful intellectual property management. This edited book volume offers valuable insights on how such management is best exercised – bringing together perspectives of key stakeholder groups from a wide variety of innovation ecosystems. Any reader looking for guidance on how sound IP management can help unlock the full potential of start-ups will find this book to be an invaluable resource.” (Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, World Intellectual Property Organization)


“Intellectual Property Management for Start-ups is a timely book for those wanting a clear overview of the issues the different players encounter in the start-up ecosystem. I like its helpful structure of clearly identifying sections that set out the perspectives of interest so that a reader may use this as a reference and just zoom in on the expertise needed, or take a walk through the whole length of the journey to get a holistic understanding. This book covers IP as a value driver to commercialization of IP in detail. Specialists from around the world give the regional flavour needed when thinking of taking a start-up global. A useful resource indeed. Congratulations to the editors and team.” (Audrey Yap, Managing Partner YUSARN AUDREY LLC, Past President LESI, Chairman Singapore Innovation & Productivity Institute, Singapore)
 
“Intellectual Property Management for Start-ups is an excellent book for all innovators, irrespective of any industry. This book explains the different types of intellectual property as well as the theory of how each category of intellectual property is of value with real-world examples. It provides a practical and comprehensive guide for generating, evaluating, managing, and monetizing intellectual property rights in many different countries where intellectual property management is definitely a must do and must have to be able to protect, grow, and monetize the innovators’ innovation.” (Laurence Freeman, Professor (Adjunct), CU Denver Business School, Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship, Denver, Colorado, United States)


“This book provides pragmatic advice for start-ups on how to most effectively manage their intellectual assets and intellectual properties at various stages of the start-up life cycle. The interesting examples of lessons learned and anecdotes based on first-hand experience shed a powerful spotlight on potential devastating effects when IA/IP is not handled properly. Authors offer actionable steps and prudent considerations to increase the value of IA/IP to start-ups.” (Tao Zhang, Vice President Deputy General Counsel, Juniper Networks, Sunnyvale, Silicon Valley, California, United States)


“Intellectual Property Management for Start-ups provides valuable insight into how early-stage businesses can use IP to drive growth and business value. It provides a global perspective on the IP ecosystem and strong guidance on how start-ups can establish beneficial IP positions through best practice.” (Mike McLean, Chief Executive Officer, Innovation Asset Collective, Canada)


“A start-up usually enters the market with a view to disrupt the incumbent players with novel products and services. Successful start-ups incorporate innovation at a fundamental level. A robust IP strategy helps their growth as a business and allows them to be resilient in the long term. I congratulate Prof. Dr. Martin A. Bader and Prof. Dr. Sevim Süzeroğlu-Melchiors for addressing various aspects of IP management for start-ups. They provide an all-round view of the ecosystem members with chapters authored by practitioners. I highly recommend using this book both to broaden perspectives and as a reference guide.” (Dr. Hemang Shah, Startup and Technology Licensing Executive, Bengaluru, India)


“The book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to understand the value of intellectual property because it clearly demonstrates the impact of IP on commercial success by drawing on diverse and highly relevant perspectives. It is a must read!” (Karima Bawa, Chair of IP Ontario, Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, former Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for Research In Motion (BlackBerry), Vancouver, Canada)


“Successful start-ups recognize early that a strong intellectual property position is critical to protect their cutting-edge innovations and to encourage investment. This book provides a comprehensive and practical approach to creating and managing the IP portfolios that ultimately will define the value of start-up technology.” (Henry Hadad, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, New Jersey, United States)


“Invaluable advice … a comprehensive guide to IP management for start-ups in any stage of their development. The book includes perspectives from all the key stakeholders involved in IP management, as well as actionable tools and resources that start-ups can use to protect their IP assets. … The authors offer valuable insights on how to progressively build an IP strategy that aligns with the needs of very diverse stakeholders. Building from real-life examples and expertly curated research from a variety of worldwide experts, Intellectual Property Management for Start-ups is the premier guide on the topic. I can only recommend this book to any start-up that is looking for an edge in the market.” (Luis Allo, Global Director R&D, External Technology Innovation at Johnson and Johnson Consumer Health EMEA)


“While digitalization is driving different industries to intensify cooperation and collaboration, the role of IP is changing significantly – sharing IP instead of insisting on its exclusivity will strengthen the role of IP as business enabler – a new currency for deals to come. That said, a continuous change of perspectives is required – also for start-ups. And that is the reason why it is so exciting to read this book.” (Dr. Uwe Over, Corporate Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Head of Intellectual Property, Henkel Law Group, Germany) 


“As intellectual property is no longer only about protection, this book will be your guide to building a comprehensive view about intellectual property implications and developing a solid strategy for your business. I highly recommend it.” (Yann Dietrich, Group Head of IP, Atos, France)


“This is the book you came across too late. When you are excited about your idea and your start-up, you probably don’t have the time to read this insightful book. Well, you better had! Read it before your second start-up. It is full of condensed experience from seasoned people.” (Dr. Malte Köllner, Köllner & Partner, Patent Attorneys, Germany)


“An interesting and important book about patent management in the start-up eco space with cleverly assembled essays from authors who know their subject. The book not only provides insights from different industries but also from around the world.” (Michael Kucher, Attorney at Law, Slater & Matsil, Dallas, United States)


“IP is enormously important for most start-ups. However, entrepreneurs often lack sufficient experience and expertise to fully leverage IP as a business tool. This excellent book brings together contributions from six stakeholder groups that are key to the entrepreneurial ecosystem covering perspectives from a wide range of countries and technology sectors. Highly recommended!” (Prof. Dr. Frank Tietze, Professor in Technology and Innovation Management, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge)


“A great book to understand the management side of intellectual property, showing the high value of those intangible rights in the real world.” (Mistrale Goudreau, Professor of Law, University of Ottawa, Canada)


“In today’s knowledge economy, the value of intellectual property has never been greater. For those of us in university technology transfer who work closely with start-ups, we take this for granted. However, too many don’t fully appreciate how a proper intellectual property strategy can increase the potential to obtain funding and improve the likelihood of a company’s success. This book provides practical advice and examples from around the globe and is a ‘go-to’ resource for those who are new to this world as well as the experienced entrepreneur.” (Mark Weber, Ph.D., P.Eng., Director, Innovation and Partnerships, McGill University, Canada)
 
“What I like about the book isthat it’s written entirely by practitioners who are saying how it is from their particular part of the coalface. All are clearly wanting to share their perspective and experience. All have also tried to make sense of the complex and challenging environment in which they operate and thus give the novice some great insights into the ‘ecosystem.’ … Technology commercialisation is not a management science and until there is a ‘grand unified theory,’ we will rely on expert practitioners like these to tell us how it is and which of the various frameworks best makes sense of what happens on the ground. To that extent it is a valuable ‘snapshot’ addition to the literature that can be a point of reference by practitioners, policy makers and academics alike.” (Jeff Skinner, Executive Director, Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, London Business School, United Kingdom)


“Continuous adaptation of intellectual property management should be embedded in businesses because of volatility in preferences, turns of technology, and growing competition across industries. This volume envelops cross-regional tips for coping with changing realities and disruptive and incremental innovations. A good read for managers and inventors.” (Shulamit Hirsch, Head of IP at the tech transfer division of the Technion University, IP manager of Cathworks, and IP consultant for Kornit Digital)


“The value here lies in the wide-ranging perspectives provided by authors from around the world, grouped into different sections of ‘Views’ about the challenges of managing IP for start-ups. The key is to read the chapters from viewpoints other than your own, to understand better how others see the issues you are facing from different angles.” (Tom Hockaday, Director, Technology Transfer Innovation, United Kingdom)


“A multifaceted multinational digest providing perspectives of pertinent stakeholders in the global entrepreneurial field. An advisable read for anyone wanting to have a good idea of how intellectual property works for different players in a start-up’s life with some interesting case studies and methodologies.” (Asa Kling, President of the AIPPI Israel Regional Group and former Director of the Israel Patent Office, former Commissioner of Patents, Designs and Trademarks)


“The importance of making the right IP-related decisions for early-stage companies is enormous. Such decisions can make the difference between huge success and failure. The book provides valuable and comprehensive insight into the considerations and perspectives that one must take into account when dealing with IP management of early-stage companies.” (Ofir Alon, Director of the Israel Patent Office, Commissioner of Patents)


“A comprehensive overview of integrated IP strategies for start-ups focusing on growth. I believe that this book is a must read for IP professionals and start-up founders involved in IP-driven technology and business creation.” (Mustafa Çakır, Patent Attorney, Co-Founder of Patent Effect, President of LES Turkey)


“An ultimate and rich source of explicit intellectual property related knowledge for all players in the start-up ecosystem – especially for our Bavarian start-ups, investors, companies, innovation consultants, and technology transfer centers.” (Bruno Götz, Head of Patentzentrum Bayern, Bayern Innovativ, Bavaria/Germany)


“The professional management of IP is a key success factor for entrepreneurial universities. In Germany and Europe, there is still a considerable need for development in this field. This book makes an important contribution to bundling this know-how.” (Prof. Dr. Helmut Schönenberger, Co-Founder and CEO of UnternehmerTUM, the Center for Innovation and Business Creation, and Vice President Entrepreneurship at Technical University Munich (TUM), Germany)


“When at the crossroads of investment and IP, understanding and making the right turn are pivotal.” (Hon. Yves Fortier, PC CC OQ QC, Ad.E., Canada)


“In my experience of coaching and supporting tech start-ups I have observed that managing intellectual property is probably the most unfamiliar challenge for them in their early development stage. However, IP management could be the most strategic issue for the sustainable development of a young organization. With this book, Prof. Dr. Martin A. Bader and Prof. Dr. Sevim Süzeroğlu-Melchiors address the pain points of many start-ups and stakeholders in the ecosystem. It is a valuable manual for start-ups in navigating through the complex but critical domain of IP management.” (Prof, Dr. Zheng Han, Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, CDHK, Tongji University, Shanghai, China)

Martin A. Bader is a European and Swiss patent attorney, as well as partner and co-founder of the specialized innovation and intellectual property management advisory group BGW AG St. Gallen (Switzerland). Currently, Martin is Professor of Technology Management and Entrepreneurship and the Director of the Entrepreneurship and Digital Business Master’s Program at THI Business School at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Ingolstadt (Germany). He is also a long-standing author of numerous specialist publications and an internationally sought-after speaker in the field of intellectual property management.

Sevim Süzeroğlu-Melchiors is Professor of Digital Entrepreneurship and Finance and the Director of the Master’s Degree Program in Digital Entrepreneurship at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Regensburg (Germany). In 2016, she completed her PhD at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). Previously, she was the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Boardof Directors, and later the Global Head of Consulting at Dennemeyer Group, in Luxembourg. She is an active researcher, advisory board member, and speaker at international conferences, as well as a lead impartial appraiser in IP valuation projects.