he importance of being aware of technology content in competing high-tech products is greater than ever before. Since it is in the interest of the inventors to protect their IP in order to retain a competitive edge, they file patents. By filing, they are forced to disclose their invention. In exchange, the inventors enjoy a monopoly of the patented idea for a limited period of time. However, this monopoly is not easily enforced, particularly in a multinational environment. This is partly due to the significant differences in national laws and the level of enforcement practices in countries where IP protection is sought and partly due to the complexities associated with discovering violations.

As competing developed countries trade high-tech goods, knowledge of technology embedded in the product is shared. This eventually improves the productivity of domestic researchers in the countries the product is sold and inevitably increases vulnerability of intellectual property (IP), something inventors would like to avoid but cannot.

International diffusion of technology takes place through several other channels as well, for example, through internet technology, technical conferences, trade shows, person-to-person interactions, and unethical business practices. The net effects of these factors are increased international competition, reduced product development cycle, and shortened product life time. Welcome to the 21st century.
Tech-savvy IP analysts can help figure out who violates inventors’ patents and what new technologies their companies’ products are competing against. Aided by custom-developed software tools and state-of-the-art laboratory equipment, career technical analysts are good at executing their projects. Their productivity is reasonably high; consequently, they can effectively deliver valuable IP analysis and protection service to the companies that hire them.

Based upon my experience in the semiconductor business, I believe the analysis process intended for product development and IP protection purposes needs to be streamlined. As a result, companies can further increase the benefits to be derived from the work of the analysts and thus maximize return on investment.

Let’s look at the thought process associated with the technical analysis of competitors’ products and associated IP as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Merging thought processes of a technical IP analyst

On the left-hand side I listed the required thought process from a development engineer’s perspective as he wants to learn about competing products and technologies through the work of the IP analyst. The right-hand side shows the thought process of a patent attorney as he, with the help of a technical analyst, searches for products that may violate the company’s patent. The similarities are striking. The company will realize maximum benefits from the technical analyst’s work if IP analysis of competing products, performed for the purpose of product development, is done being mindful of the need to protect corporate patent portfolio. Conversely, one should be aware that knowledge gained from technical analysis aimed at protecting the company’s patents can be quite useful to the development engineer. Proper analyst engagement and internal coordination and sharing are important and can be quite powerful.

Digging a bit deeper, let’s look into the toolbox of a Career IP analyst (Table 1). The left-hand column lists some of the main tools technical IP analysts use. The middle and right-hand columns list the main purposes of using these tools. The dual utility of the analyst’s toolset and knowledge base is rather obvious and points to a synergistic relationship between activities aimed at intellectual property analysis/protection and product development/strategic management of technology/innovation.

Having spent over thirty years in the semiconductor industry as an analog/mixed- signal IC designer and now staring into my rear-view mirror as a technical adviser to an IP analyst firm, I am amazed to note the imbalance between these two branches of activities in many high-tech companies. To put it gently, technical IP analysis for the purpose of product development support was often sporadic or nonexistent, with minimum sharing between the engineer and the IP analyst.

Table 1. The Dual Use of an IP Analyst’s Toolbox

Contrast this with what I see today at some of the largest and most competitive companies serving the high tech electronics industry: a continuous effort aiming to know their competitors’ products and a systematic way to share the results between the IP protection and product design communities. In these companies, the toolbox of Table 1 is effectively used for both purposes, and the information gained from technical analysis is broadly disseminated. I believe this is a valued approach for highly competitive companies having relatively large patent portfolios, and it is an effective way to increase ROI on investments made in technical IP analysis.

Nothing is invented here. I am merely pointing out something that is easy to lose sight of while being immersed in the micro-cosmos of the daily pursuit of activities.

Technical IP analysis, competitor product (hardware) analysis, market trends analysis, and product development are activities complementary to one another. These activities, if executed thoughtfully, consistently, and systematically, can not only protect IP, increase intellectual asset value, but can also accelerate product development, guide and fuel innovation, and help in setting the direction of research and development.

Provided by Louis Burgyan, Technical Adviser, Ltec Corporation

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