N. 38, April - June 2008 
IP & RTD: Articles 

IdeaPilot-project – good practices in bringing IP-system to SMEs use
Mika Waris
Director, Marketing and Business Services
National Board of Patents and Registration in Finland
 
After having practised active training for SMEs for more than 8 years as well as marketing and delivering search and advisory services to SMEs, National Board of Patents and Registration in Finland started a new approach in order to enhance the use and utilization of the IP-system among SMEs. We started a project called IdeaPilot.


IdeaPilot

IdeaPilot was a grass root level project targeted to bring the services of IP-system in an approachable format to SMEs reach.

To reach this goal, IP-system has to be seen broadly as an essential part of the whole business process. The IP system is a robust and ingenious system generated to back up business processes from the beginning to the end of company life cycle, and from the idea to the market, both in protection and especially as a source of information.

Originally, the project was to last only two years, but the approach appeared to be so successful, that it turned to a permanent way of operating.


The new approach

The cornerstones of the project were:

  • Active networking with the proper intermediaries and other stakeholders

  • Embedding IP-matter into normal business planning within SMEs by including IP questions and decisions in issues like; R&D, marketing, financing and internationalizing.

  • Integrating IP-consultation and IP search services to public business services


Critical success factors

To succeed with this kind of project and to start a process that continues diffusing also after the project, it was necessary to succeed in few steps:

  • Good background studies to know the target group and to understand, how they work in the environment and where they are active

  • Make clear that the IP-system gives a good impact to SMEs business and that IP-strategy should be a natural and inseparable part of their business process

  • Create easy and understandable tools and ways of guiding SME´s to use and utilize both protection and information

  • Create ways for SME´s to get access to the IP-systems services, both consultancy and information services.

The real ongoing challenge for us is to make SMEs to understand the essential need of so called “new literacy” of business planning in this new environment of open innovation, prototyping economy and virtual manufacturing, where knowledge management and skilful protection determines the winners.

A crucial issue for SME competitiveness is managing knowledge in their decision making. More home-work prior to the initiation of the development project has been consistently found to be a key factor to success. The quality of execution of the predevelopment steps –market and technical studies, and business analysis, is closely tied to the products financial performance

Today, more than 80 % of the value creation of the companies is based on intellectual capital. However, the instruments concerning this capital are poorly utilized. This concerns especially the protection of intellectual property and usage of the existing technical knowledge, patent information, and above all among the SMEs.

IP system can significantly reduce the risks of the business by offering competitor information as well as give competitive advantages to companies via exclusive rights gained by protection.


IdeaPilot network

IdeaPilot is a project where the implementing and distribution of good practises created in the project has required a wide spread network of intermediate partners, more than 20 different parties. By collaboration and cooperation with the three main associations for entrepreneurs in Finland, it has been possible to reach about 60 % of Finnish companies, mainly by using their information channels including their training programs to disseminate the good practices.