IP Monitoring and the role of the new DIN 77006 standard

What’s the deal with the new DIN 77006? In this article, Felipe von Heereman describes the impact of the DIN 77006 standard on the attention of industries to the field of IP risk management and IP monitoring solutions.

Expert Felipe von Heereman

Patent Attorney | COHAUSZ & FLORACK

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Current challenges in the IP landscape

Challenges are emerging on the horizon for companies across industries due to digitiza-tion, big data and IoT technologies in the field of intellectual property (IP) rights. In the past, it was possible to segment intellectual property rights by assigning them to specific technical fields.

Today and increasingly in the future, the IP landscape is getting more and more complex due to the cross-industry usage of digital or IoT technologies. Devices are more and more interconnected to each other and via the web.

For example, well-established car manufacturers are now using communication technolo-gies which traditionally are based in the field of mobile communication and thus may in-terfere with IP rights in said area. It is no longer sufficient to only monitor the intellectual property rights of competitors from the same industry or the same technical field. Addi-tionally, the products are becoming increasingly complex – smartphones, for example, are now protected by well over 100,000 patents. In short: today’s challenges for the economy are increasingly complicated.

It is therefore important to not lose sight of the big picture when dealing with intellectual property rights. In the current IP landscape, an efficient and reliable IP monitoring is key in order to avoid infringing third-party rights and risking possible injunctions.

Role of the new DIN 77006 standard

This is where the new DIN 77006 standard comes into play.

The DIN 77006 standard provides a guideline for the quality of IP management in order to improve the long-term business strategy and success and, inter alia, deals with IP risk management. IP risk management is defined as all systematic measures for identifying, analyzing, assessing, managing and controlling IP and IP risks. The latter include the potential destruction or restriction of existing IP and risk potentials from third-party IP rights for the own business activity, for instance by potentially infringing third-party IP rights.

According to the DIN 77006 standard, IP risk management includes

  • monitoring third-party IP rights and competitor activities;
  • monitoring the legal status of foreign IP rights; and
  • checking and updating the search profiles and applied criteria on a regular basis.

Thus, threats from third-party IP can be identified in good time and suitable measures can be determined in order to successfully implement a company’s goals and to avoid undesired investments or obstructions. Performing said analysis at an early stage can save time, money and effort.

Monitoring competitors and patent landscaping aids a company in defining and executing its business strategy and position on the market. Landscaping helps to understand how the industry is developing. It detects the global activities of competitors and highlights their strength and strategies. Further insights into the patent filing strategy of competitors or new players can be identified with a potential for M&A possibilities, R&D investments and other business opportunities.

All the processes of the DIN 77006 standard are to be integrated into the core processes of business operations and are based on the high level structure of DIN EN ISO 9001:2015. However, they do not require an existing certification and can be set up independently.

Implementation of an IP risk management system according to DIN 77006

In order to efficiently address and implement an IP risk management system, an effective IP monitoring system is essential. There are several IP monitoring systems available on the market which meet the requirements of the DIN 77006 standard.

When configuring the patent monitoring systems to one’s own specific needs, a search profile usually has to be implemented. The search profile generally includes the competitors, the markets and the technologies the specific company is interested in. Such a search profile should be adapted to the specific and individual requirements and business strategy. It should also be readjusted regularly.

Initially, know-how is required to set up a patent monitoring system. But once it has been thought through and set up, patent monitoring can then be carried out quickly, easily and cost-effectively.

Conclusion

The implementation of the new DIN 77006 standard will increasingly direct the attention of industries to the field of IP risk management and IP monitoring solutions. The analysis of the IP landscape helps in identifying possible risks a company might run into without any precursory measures or strategy adjustment. It assists in visualizing technology changes, trends and at what time the technology might thrive. Additionally, it might identify new opportunities, partners, licensees or customers. Companies should be supported by legal and regulatory experts when implementing the new DIN 77006 standard and IP monitoring solutions.

Cohausz & Florack (C&F) is a law firm founded in 1954 comprising 29 patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law as well as about 115 employees with offices in Duesseldorf and Munich. The multidisciplinary law firm supports its clients in all matters relating to IP and unfair competition. This includes the drafting and filing, administration and licensing of extensive IP portfolios, searches for third-party IP and the associated Freedom-to-Operate expert opinions as well as cooperation agreements.

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