After years of research, one of Sweden’s leading government-funded research institutes had accumulated and built up an impressive portfolio of patents. While many patents were successfully applied into the government industry, they had enormous potential to be commercialized in the civilian market as well.
However, being a company specializing in research, the institute did not have in place the network and knowledge to find the right contacts to bring their research to the industry.
This is when business managers from the company approached Googol.
THE CHALLENGE
Googol was tasked with the challenge of selecting and recommending the best patents for commercialization, present the method for achieving this, and generate leads for them in the civilian market through Googol’s network of partner companies.
OUR APPROACH
Choosing 6 out of 100+
We designed a set of evaluation criteria that took into consideration both ‘hard’ factors such as time-to-money and long-term market potential, and ‘soft’ factors, e.g. the vision for the patent.
We then rank the patents in terms of how well they performed against the evaluation criteria. With our experience in commercializing hidden assets, the team engaged in discussions with the inventors of the patents and made initial market contacts to get feedback from the industry.
Finally, the patents were ranked qualitatively and quantitatively, we selected 6 of the most promising ones out of the portfolio of over a hundred.
Investigating the top three patents
From the results, Googol conducted in-depth market research and feasibility studies of the top three chosen patents.
First, the Googol team proceeded to familiarize themselves with the technology described in each patent. They then met and interviewed the inventors, and through these meetings clarified the depth of patent coverage and the current stages of research and development. This shedded light on how much more R&D had to be conducted, and investment was needed, before the technology could be brought to the market.
Next, tapping into Googol’s extensive network in the industry, we contacted selected companies who might find those patents useful to their business competencies, and had the resources to utilize the patents.
Finally, the team met with these potential customers to discuss potential collaboration opportunities in developing the technology together with the institute.
Connecting Research to Industry
A thorough evaluation was conducted for each patent. Googol listed the companies which showed interest in it, presented their feedback, and discussed the amount of time, funds and resources required to bring the technology to the market.
This valuable information acted as a sound, rational platform for the client to decide if they should invest more resources to bring the patents to the market.
Eventually, one of the patents was selected for development and commercialization.
Next, Googol sought out to generate commercial leads in the civilian market for the patent. After our analysis, Googol connected the institute’s scientists to an industrial company that was interested in their research. Negotiations were started between the two, opening doors for collaboration opportunities.
THE RESULT
Creating Value from Hidden Assets
At the time of writing, the aforementioned industrial company has placed orders for three different projects; the institute’s business managers are carrying out discussions for developing one of them and working on two others to deliver them to the company.
Furthermore, a tool-manufacturing company has contacted the institute to discuss applications for one of their patents, a project which the institute has temporarily put on hold due to its overwhelming workload. In the process, Googol also assisted our client to develop a network of contacts in the civilian industries.
By commercializing its patents in the civilian market and sharing specialist knowledge with other industries, the client has not only increased the returns for its patents through revenue, but it has also increased their value and turned them into a defensible asset for themselves and their partners.