Although the culture on the protection of industrial property is increasing, companies generally do not make it a rule to protect their creations.
The aerospace sector is an exception, historically ranking at the top of the list of sectors applying for patents at European level (European Patent Office).
A company must innovate to remain competitive in the market and to retain talent within its organisation.
To be holder of a patent gives the right to to exclude others from the manufacture, use or placing on the market of the patented product or process, in the countries where it has been patented and therefore protected. In turn, for a product or process to be patentable, it must have the following characteristics: it must be new, involve an inventive step and have industrial application.
In general, there are several types of industrial property rights:
- Industrial designsprotect the external appearance of the products.
- Trademarks and trade namesThe term "trade mark" is used to protect graphic and word combinations that help to distinguish goods or services on the market from similar goods or services offered by other economic operators.
- Patents and utility modelsprotect inventions consisting of products and processes capable of being reproduced and reiterated for industrial purposes.
- Semiconductor topographies: protect the layout of the different layers and elements that make up an integrated circuit, their three-dimensional arrangement and their interconnections.
What can happen if we do not patent?
- We lose the exclusive rights that the patent generates, so we are most vulnerable against our competitors.
- Although an alternative to patents are trade secrets, these are very difficult to maintain when a company is growing, as they complicate advertising of the company in the market.
- Without a patent that guarantees the exclusivity of our idea, we cannot turning to investors to seek funding.
- Without the registration of a product or a trademark it will be more difficult to start up a internationalisation strategy of the company. We would not have the necessary protection to negotiate with potential distributors or manufacturers in other countries, nor any guarantee that we would not be copied, which would lead to a loss of international opportunities.
- It would not be possible to negotiating technology with third partiesThe Commission's report on the impact of the new regulation on the sector, and the need for accurate information on industry trends and profit-maximising business decisions, is a good example.
There are two main reasons why a company must innovate: to remain competitive in the marketplace and to retain talent within your organisation. For this reason, it is essential to make the innovation process a strategic objective. The development of internal initiatives is an excellent means to achieve company growth.
In this respect, more and more companies are launching different initiatives to fostering entrepreneurship of their workforce. This practice, which allows employees to tap into their talents, is a very healthy way of entrepreneurship in which everyone wins: organisations tap into the potential of their staff and their staff gain recognition, visibility, promotion, learning and motivation.
To maintain the success of the aeronautics sector in the future, we must continue to make progress in R&D&I and increase the culture of industrial property protection, and every member of the organisation has a key role to play in this.
