TITLE:
Increasing Profits by Strategic Patenting—A Change of Perspective from Bottom–Up to Top-Down
AUTHORS:
Oliver Baldus, Christian Heckmann
KEYWORDS:
IP Strategy, IP Management, Strategic Patenting, Increasing Profits by Strategic Patenting
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.6 No.9,
September
19,
2016
ABSTRACT: Classical patenting is driven by what one might consider an “internal”
view of the firm, in which patents are primarily obtained for protecting
self-made inventions based on one’s own research activities. This corresponds
to a bottom-up approach where patents originate from the bottom of research and
development activities. Sometimes and occasionally these patents can be used in
upper business and management layers for actually generating profits. In
contrast, strategic patenting is driven by an “external” view of the firm. This
external view is not primarily focused on the protection of internal inventions
simply for the sake of staking one’s claim vis-à-vis a de facto non-existent
conflict party. Instead, it is directed at a particular external “target”, i.e.
a firm or group of firms such as competitors, suppliers or
demanders. This corresponds to an opposite top-down approach in which top
business decisions primarily determine which patents matter. As a direct
consequence these patents guide research and development activities at down
layers. The basic concept behind strategic patenting is a coordinated
improvement of a firm’s comparative IP right (Intellectual Property Right)
situation vis-à-vis this target. The desired result of strategic
patenting is a purposive “hit on target” as compared to the scattered,
uncoordinated approach of classical patenting that hits targets rather
randomly. Since all patenting activities of the firm are intentionally targeted
against specific firms determined in a top management decision, strategic
patenting is more efficient than classical patenting.