The End of Plagiarism: Study "The Future of Intellectual Property"

• English

A company’s market assessment relies to 87% on intangible assets such as Intellectual Property and industrial property rights. The relevant authorities across the world, such as patent and trademark offices, are struggling to keep pace with the continued and increased volume of industrial property right requests. The companies in turn have to adjust to ever shorter cycles of innovation and thus have to file new patents and trademarks at greater speed and greater volume. In future, companies will increasingly generate, use and ultimately protect their Intellectual Property in-house. Technologies, such as artificial intelligence or blockchain complement increasingly the established protection methods of authorities and businesses. In future, innovation will be driven increasingly in cooperation with the client. The basis for this is communication - and data is the substance for new Intellectual Property. The result – it spells the death knell for plagiarism. The joint study The Future of Intellectual Property by both the Dennemeyer Group and the trend research institute 2b AHEAD offers 28 strategic recommendations for companies that want to exploit the potential of their intellectual property to maximum advantage.

“Digitalization will also change the management of Intellectual Property in the next few years. There are options for companies using technologies, such as blockchain or artificial intelligence,” explains Dr. Sevim Süzeroglu-Melchiors, Global Head of Consulting at Dennemeyer Consulting. “They can be supported in ever increasing tasks by intelligent technologies so that they are not overburdened by the demands of the growing number of property rights, such as patents, trademarks, designs or utility models.”      

This is one of the results highlighted in the newly published trend study The Future of Intellectual Property (which can be ordered free of charge here) by both the Dennemeyer Group, the world’s largest full-service provider for the IP industry, and the trend research institute 2b AHEAD ThinkTank in Leipzig. The study shows for the first time how companies will generate, manage, protect and use intellectual property in future through the use of technology. However, the study also shows how the existing protective rights system will be under increasing pressure. It offers 28 precise strategic recommendations about how IP managers, patent attorneys and those tasked with innovation across all industries are able to actively shape their future. The qualitative Delphi study is based on the statements of selected experts consisting of scientists, lawyers, patent attorneys (specialized in various industries), Heads of Innovation and technology providers.

The change of the protective rights systems
The innovation cycles of a company are becoming shorter and the speed of development is on the increase. Companies are launching new products at an ever faster and growing rate. Contrary to that, the average patent procedure can take between 24 to 30 months to complete. This creates a speed gap, which increasingly puts more pressure on patent and trademark offices. “As the patent and trademark offices are unable to meet the demands of the companies and are unable to speed up their processes, the companies in turn will develop their own solutions. They will create parallel systems, such as blockchain, which are based on new technologies. The IP sector will effectively re-regulate itself,” says Michael Carl, Managing Director Research & Analysis of the 2b AHEAD ThinkTank and one of the authors of this study.

Knowledge will become the new key to success for a company
One of the key findings of the study is that the decisive part of the Intellectual Property of a company is in the heads of their employees. Their knowledge and expertise will determine the success of a company. A project-centered workforce and a high turnover of staff within a company will drive the digital solutions forward, so that the required expertise in a company can be selected faster and easier and ultimately saved reliably. “The prerequisite for this is a so called 'Omni-IP-Management'. Starting with the expertise in protective rights to all other data points and points of information; a company’s knowledge will thus be saved, connected and turned into something useful and, ultimately, it will be developed further,” says Dr. Süzeroglu-Melchiors.

Future Intellectual Property will be created through interaction with the client
Data is the key to the intellectual property of the future. The client will be at the center of product development. From the “Internet of Things” new locations will be created where data about the client can be collected. This data makes it possible to recognize the wishes of a client and to ultimately tailor the products and services to that client. When established providers are using these new possibilities of individual service provision, they will also force their competitors to follow in their footsteps. Should they not go down this road, then the client will sooner or later recognize that they are no longer relevant. Carl explains: “Clients are expecting bespoke products, which are continually adapted to their needs. One prerequisite for this is the continual interaction with the client. The product of the future will be generated through the use of a client’s data. Based on intellectual property, this creates a new class of products, which can no longer be imitated.”

The death of plagiarism
In future, a product will become forgery-proof from that moment where the client’s data flows directly into the product and it is processed there and the product adapts itself automatically to the location-specific needs of the client. Dr. Süzeroglu-Melchiors: “Clients are using products and these products will be developed by and through the interaction with the client, the very use of the product will spell out the protective mechanism.” Carl adds: “From the client’s point of view, this means that a valuable interactive solution will always mean it is an original item. In practical terms this means the death of plagiarism.”

The study can be downloaded free of charge here.

Are you interested in finding out more about the future of IP? Do you want to check if your IP portfolio is future-proof? Then the authors of the study are happy to discuss the results with you and assess the impact of the described trends on your IP.