drives & controls - Industrial Technology Magazine

EAR TO THE GROUND • Becky Silvertonbecky@itmagazine.uk.comPatents, IP and good oldfashioned commercialisationIdon’t know whether this is a wise thing to ownup to, but there’s only so long you can keepthese little secrets to yourself before yousuccumb to the need to get it all out in theopen. I can’t really believe it’s happened, because itcertainly wasn’t planned, expected, or evenanticipated. But somehow I’ve found myselfaddicted to Dragon’s Den, the BBC2 programmewhere hapless inventors and would-beentrepreneurs try to wrest tens of thousands ofpounds of investment from the UK’s leading venturecapitalists, who are willing toinvest their own money inexchange for equity.One of the big questions thefive Dragons always ask theirpotential partners is how wellprotected their intellectualproperty is, particularly withregard to international patents onnew ideas. More often than not,the entrepreneurs pitching forinvestment either have no patents at all, or at besthave patents pending – with no real guarantee thatthe patent will ever be granted.This is always a turn-off for the Dragons, andyou can hear the collective sharp intake of breath,which is only very slightly quieter than on the HarryEnfield and Paul Whitehouse pastiche of the show.Now, moving from the Shepherd’s Bush to SouthAfrica, just before Perth-based British FemaleInventor of the Year Tanya Ewing stood up toaddress 1500 women inventors and innovators inAfrica, she received a text message from her patentattorneys telling her that her US design patentapplication had just been granted. Even before thatpatent had been granted, her company had beenvalued at several million pounds, despite havinggenerated very few sales at that stage. Thevaluation was based purely on the strength of thecompany’s intellectual property rights, including itsEuropean patent, trade mark and registered design.Does anyone else find any of this slightlyworrying? In all the focus on venture capital andvaluations and patents, we seem to have lost sightof the product itself and bringing it to market.Getting a product patented can cost a heck of a lotof money and can tie you up in paperwork formonths, if not years. In the meantime, theimplication is that you market your product at yourperil lest someone should try to copy it. But if youdon’t go ahead and market your product as soon asyou’re able, aren’t you just opening the door forsomeone with a similar (or even a less wellspecified or less capable) product to come in andsteal market share from under your feet?I found myself flitting around the Dragon’s Denhomepage, and out of interest clicked on a link tothe European Patent Office. And guess what I foundin large type at the very top of the page? The line“There’s more to commercialising an invention thanjust filing a patent.” Doesn’t that say it all?Sealing, Adhesive, ElastomerOctober 21-23, 2008Nuremberg, Germanywww.mesago.deMesago Messe Frankfurt(+49 711 61946-0)Fastening & AssemblyOctober 23, 2008National Motorcycle Museum, Birminghamwww.fastening-solutions-exhibition.co.ukNewbyCom (01844 202279)SPS/IPC/DrivesNovember 25-27, 2008Nuremberg, Germanywww.mesago.deMesago Messemanagement(+49 711 61946-0)Manufacture 2008December 8-9, 20086th annual manufacturing conferenceSaint-Etienne, Francewww.manufacture2008.euCTIM (+33 344 67 47 41)Southern ManufacturingFebruary 11-12, 2009Farnborough, Hantswww.industry.co.ukETES (01784 880890)Machine Building(including Drives & Automation)March 25-26, 2009NEC, Birminghamwww.devicelink.comCanon Communications (01622 661363)MTECMarch 25-26, 2009NEC, Birminghamwww.devicelink.comCanon Communications (01622 661363)Index to Advertisers October 2008Alliance Plastic Parts Centre ........................... 53Alwayse Engineering ..................................... 17Asco Numatics ............................................. 55Associated Spring ......................................... 51Astrosyn International .................................... 64Autodesk ...................................................... 17Baldor .......................................................... 59Bosch Rexroth .............................................. 11Brevini ......................................................... 31Centa Transmissions ...................................... 37CLPA Europe ................................................ 29JG Coates .................................................... 64Davall Gears ................................................. 40E2S ............................................................. 61Elesa (UK) ................................................... 44George Emmott ............................................. 47Euro Bearings ................................................. 4Expert Tooling & Automation .......................... 33GE Inspection Technologies ............................ 61Henkel Loctite Adhesives ............................... 23HepcoMotion ................................................ 33Huco Engineering Industries ........................... 20William Hughes ............................................ 49Idec ............................................................... 5Igus ............................................................. 31Igus ............................................................. 64Industrial Gas Springs ................................... 51Interpower Components ................................... 7Interpower Components ................................... 9Interroll ........................................................ 31Albert Jagger ................................................ 51JBJ Techniques ............................................ IBCJokab Safety ................................................. 61Kingston Engineering ..................................... 27Kobold Instruments ....................................... 57Lafert Electric Motors ...................................... 8Lee Products ................................................ 57Lee Spring ................................................... 49Lenze .......................................................... 10LG Motion .................................................... 38Machine Building Systems ............................... 4Machine Building Systems ............................. 64Maxon Motor ................................................ 15Mclennan ..................................................... 39Micro-Epsilon ............................................... 26Mitsubishi .................................................... 19Moog Controls .............................................. 13Murrelektronik ............................................ OBCNSK Europe .................................................. 25Parker SSD Drives ........................................ 2-3PVL ............................................................. 41Reliance Precision Mechatronics LLP .............. 22Renold Chain ................................................. 4Rino Industries ............................................. 49RK Rose & Krieger ........................................ 63Rotaflow FV ................................................. 64Sandvik Materials Technology ......................... 64Schaeffler ..................................................... 64Sensopart ............................................... 42-43SEW-Eurodrive ............................................. 35Sherborne Sensors ........................................ 41SKF.............................................................. 17Spirol Industries ............................................ 45Spirol Industries ............................................ 48Spirol Industries ............................................ 51Springmasters ............................................... 45SPS/IPC/Drives ............................................. 27Tapeswitch ................................................... 18Tappex ......................................................... 45THK ............................................................ 21Unifast ........................................................ 45James Walker ............................................... 21Welser Sections ............................................ 55The West Group ............................................ 6466INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY • October 2008