Technology Scouting and IP Strategy Flashcards
What are the 2 types of technology transfer?
Horizontal and Vertical
What is vertical technology transfer
This occurs when information is transmitted from basic research to applied research to development and then to production
what is horizontal technology transfer
this is when tehcnology used in 1 place or organisation is transferred and used in another place or organisation
give an example of horizontal technology transfer
Giving poor developing countries energy generating devices
What does the term diffusion mean?
This is the adoption of innovations in the market place, eg the new tech diffuses into the market
What is the general shape and trend in technology diffusion, and why is it like this?
- Generally adoption takes an S shape
- More recently the curves are getting shorter and much steeper
- this is because the timeframe that products take to get to market is significantly reducing
- also because theres more disposable income
- and products have gotten better at meeting consume demands
What 3 elements make up technology scounting?
1) Identifying new emerging technologies
2) Channelling technology related information into organisations
3) Supporting the acquisition of new technologies
What does technology scouting aim to do?
Speed up the transfer of technology, to get it to market quicker, to upscale new innovations and get big companies involved.
It gives firms a competitive advantage
What does the structure of technology scouting look like?
1) Defining aims of the company and areas to search for new tech
2) select information sources like universities and methods to employ them
3) collect data of all the tech they are innovating
4) filter the data to find the best techs
5) Decide on the projects that could go to market
6) Source and fund these projects to get them to market asap
Why do big companies ensure they have a big tech scouting network
- To make sure they dont miss out of up and coming tech innovations that could be harmful to their market share
- It keeps their competitive advantage
What are the 4 types of technology scouts
matrix (x-axis full time and part time)(y-axis internal and external)
TL: Fulltime internally employed team or sector
BL: Fulltime externally employed business
TR: Part time internally employed team
BR: Part time externally employed often universities
They all work for the full time internal business sector of the large corporation
What are the benefits of technology scouting:
1) Early identification of technologies and trends
2) Raises awareness of threats and opportunities to your market share
3) Stimulation of innovation
4) Facilitates the raise of external technologies through big companies
What is closed innovation?
this is a process of innovation the traditional style where a single company has control over the entire innovation process, keeping the IP out of external reach (secret)
What are the shortcomings of closed innovation?
- Slow innovation process
- High levels of patent costs
- Ideas that arn’t taken up get wasted and thrown away
- Larger risk to companies because they need to allocate more resources and plan for the long term
What is open innovation?
Open innovation is permitting the free flow of an organisations internal knowledge and benefiting from external innovation
- Its about exchanging knowledge between business partners, universities, customers
Does open innovation use IP strategy?
yes, but the companies with the IP rights share their rights through allocating licenses and agreeing to joint ownerships with other companies for innovations
Explain the open innovation funnel?
This is an open funnel model, where a company not only developes their own innovations to bring to market but uses external technology insourcing, licenses out their ideas to help other markets etc
Give an example of an open innovation
- Lego Creators, where people send in their own innovations which get created at Lego and sold.
What are the 4 key areas an investor looks in a business plan>
1) Is there any value in the business plan and product
2) Is the idea behind the product or service protected
3) Does the market actually have demand for this product/service, is it proven through orders?
4) Is the business model scalable
Why bother making a funding strategy
- To maintain continuity of funding
- its part of a credible business strategy
- increase likelihood of raising funds
- right source at the right time
What make up the 2 stages of sound financial planning:
Establishing and developing
Establishing: - Knowing how much investement is needed - Knowing when you will need the money - Knowing when the money will be available to you - Knowing ROI Developing: - Creating a detailed cashflow forecast - Creating a sales and working capital forecast - Potential funding sources
How do u work out ROI?
annual net profit/total investment *100
What is an angel investor?
This is a rich individual who has the capital and will invest
Describe the start up financing cycle
This is a graph of revenue vs time
- Initially the project is in the negative (valley of death) due to start up costs, this is pulled through by investors
- The project eventually breaks even, before going through growth
- Eventually the company will be large enough to do an IPO, where the share holders can sell out if they want
