After passing the course, the student can:
- Interpret the role of intellectual property in product development
- Analyse which forms of intellectual property apply to a specific product
- Analyse which forms of intellectual property apply to a specific design phase
- Analyse the consequences of certain intellectual property aspects on the design process
- Analyse how current intellectual property can be used during the development of new products
- Design an intellectual property strategy for streamlining the decision-making process of protection possibilities
- Design an intellectual property strategy that takes into account the context of a product, portfolio, design and company
- Design an intellectual property strategy that provides overview in the consequences of choosing a certain protection form
- Design a tool for enhancing and stimulating the use of an Intellectual Property strategy
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In product development the role of IP cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, engineers often consider IP only as a juridical or legal aspect of product development. This course aims at exploring the field of Intellectual Property as seen from a product development perspective. In this, focus is on the product life cycle and the managerial aspects rather than on the juridical or legal facets. The goal of this course is not to learn how to apply for IP or how to write for example patents, but focuses on getting insight in the (im)possibilities of IP and on how to make an underpinned decision whether or not to apply for a certain type of IP protection.
In the broader company/portfolio perspective, this implies an intent to understand and devise IP-strategies while assessing their influence on a product development trajectory. These strategies employing patents, but equivalently address e.g. trade descriptions, trademarks, copyrights, registrations, etc.
At the start of the course, the participants form duos and choose one (existing) product/company. During the course, each duo elaborates the appropriate IP-aspects for that product/company for the nearby future. This does not lead to a (re)design of any product, but to a design tool for a (employee of the) company that helps them to adequately and effectively use a proposed IP-strategy. This tool should give support in understanding which decisions regarding IP should be made during product development, and how these will influence the product.
Based on lectures, guest lectures and consultancy meetings, the participants work on the development of the IP-strategy tool, resulting in a management summary of the proposed IP strategy and a design of the tool.
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