(openPR) Honors for outstanding patent management
For the eighth year in a row, Fraunhofer IAO and Management Circle have recognized companies that have demonstrated excellence in the field of commercial property rights. Winners Elmos Semiconductor AG, Nemak and Rogers Germany GmbH impressed the jury with their sustainable practices for implementing new IP management structures. The award ceremony took place as part of the “Patente 2015” congress on March 3.
When research is a fundamental part of a company’s activities, it’s hard to overstate the importance of protecting intellectual property, or IP for short. Having a sound IP strategy is an essential part of implementing a system of patents and protections to safeguard your own innovations against competitors. Since 2008, Fraunhofer IAO has been presenting the IP Management Award to companies that have established outstanding IP management. After an analysis of benchmark data on over 90 companies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, five were nominated for this year’s award. The winners are all companies that just started implementing their outstanding IP management systems in recent years.
3rd prize: Elmos Semiconductor AG
Third prize went to Elmos Semiconductor AG, a Dortmund-based company that has been continuously expanding its IP management system since 2010. By providing training for its R&D and sales employees and establishing an IP committee, Elmos has raised awareness of the importance of patents throughout the company. This also allowed Elmos to land several major customers.
2nd prize: Nemak
Mexican automotive supplier Nemak took home second prize. Founded in 1979 and now with 36 production sites worldwide, Nemak has always invested in research and development. Although Nemak established its global IP management system only in 2013, in just two years the company has implemented strategic IP management that goes far beyond property rights administration. For instance, employees from IT management helped develop and implement strategies for ensuring that information remains protected. The particular challenge here was to essentially standardize IP management worldwide while retaining regional flexibility.
1st prize: Rogers Germany GmbH
First prize went to Rogers Germany GmbH, a manufacturer of metal-ceramic substrates as well as microchannel coolers for the power electronics industry. The company launched its IP management system in 2012, and since then has established integrated IP management, leading to a dramatic transformation of its corporate culture. R&D, sales and marketing employees are trained in IP and actively involved in IP processes. On a strategic level, the company’s IP management team initiates innovation workshops with the R&D department. The focus here is on creating new inventions that allow Rogers to expand its IP portfolio – especially for strategically relevant topics. The jury was impressed by the active role played by the IP department and also praised the swift and professional way Rogers was able to put a modern IP management system into practice.
