When a business has a fledgling technology, it can be difficult to figure out the next steps in how to commercialise it, as well as protect their innovation and unique place in a competitive landscape whilst they’re working on that development. Additionally, getting the right support and securing the necessary documentation can be complicated and costly.
This is why we have partnered with a team of Chartered Patent Attorneys who share our vision to support deep tech chemistry ideas and enable them to make positive change in society.
Along with a series of 1-to-1 drop-in sessions provided free to our Change Makers ventures, on 27 June we delivered a masterclass that brought together expertise from across the Intellectual Property (IP) management spectrum.
A session from our Chartered Patent Attorneys
Bringing together businesses across the range of Change Makers for Ventures, our
Strategic IP Management for Change Makers Ventures Masterclass was an opportunity to deep dive into all aspects of intellectual property.
In our first session, our Chartered Patent Attorneys led the conversation on how our ventures could build an IP strategy to fit their future commercial goals, budget, priorities, and trajectory. With a discussion on patents vs. trade secrets, they also explored the culture of IP and making sure it is recognised within the business, as well as how IP strategy can enable new relationships and deals without diluting the value of the business. This was followed by a conversation on how IP owned by a third party could block or hamper plans and how to assess the impact and de-risk.
Hearing from a founder
Whilst the theory of IP management can be very helpful for businesses getting started, sometimes the best thing to help them decide the best approach is to hear from others who have gone through their journey and made the choices themselves. We invited Jonathan Hopper, founder of privately held pharmaceutical company
OMass Therapeutics, to give his perspective. Talking through their journey through seed and series A financing rounds, Jonathan gave an overview of how the company’s IP strategy evolved and aligned with their overarching and changing commercial strategy.
The Investor Perspective
Another view that can help businesses form their strategy comes from the other side of the table. We heard from Jo Slota Newson (Almanac Ventures, IP Capital, Mercia Asset Management, Zaz Ventures, Capital Cell), an experienced venture capital investor to get that supplementary view. Covering the value that VC funds place in formal IP rights when deciding whether to invest, Jo also explained IP due diligence and how investors ensure that IP strategy is optimised pre- and post-funding.
The value for the companies
“Scientific innovation is at the heart of every early-stage deep tech chemistry start-up, so maximising the value of current and future IP assets is critical for commercial success.
We know from our experience of supporting SMEs that many early-stage ventures protect their innovations through registered IP but do not develop an accompanying IP strategy that aligns with, and helps to drive, their overarching commercial goals.
The purpose of this session was to look at best practice for developing a broader IP strategy, and to explore the topic from a number of different perspectives. It was great to see the room full of Change Makers ventures engaging with the speakers and the subject matter, and making connections in the IP ecosystem. Feedback from the ventures has been great and we look forward to running this event again as we build out the Change Makers offer.”
Ben Voysey, Manager - Entrepreneurship
Ongoing support
If you are currently a Change Makers venture or would like to be part of Change Makers for Ventures, we invite you to get in contact . We will continue to run drop-in sessions to give 1-to-1 guidance, as well as providing masterclasses on this and further subjects, so would value hearing more about what support you need.