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INNOVATION LAW
PHILIP MENDES & BRADLEY THOMAS
Level 3, 380 Queen St Brisbane QLD, Australia Ph + 61 7 3211 9033 Fax + 61 7 3211 9025 Philip@innovationlaw.com.au Bradley@innovationlaw.com.au
Marketing Strategies
What is a marketing strategy ? A plan for getting your technology commercialised
Commercialisation does not just happen No one beats a path to your door competing for a license to your patent Commercialisation comes about because a strategy is implemented to Find licensing opportunities Find potential licensing partners Following slides are observations about what might be considered for a commercialisation marketing strategy That is, ways to help find a licensee for your technology
There are lots of exciting technologies People who deal with others that they already know is an edge that differentiates the exciting technology with no deal the exciting technology with a deal
This strategy is not devious, nor need it be selfishly pursued If its totally selfishly motivated, with a hard sell networking is unlikely to work, excellent friendships and personal relationships
BDMs actively attend conferences and exhibitions, those that are identified as providing opportunities to build networks that are identified as potentially valuable Do not expect overnight results Results may take a few years to pay off Scientists Actively attend those conferences where relationships can be nurtured and rapport built
Even more important Ask the person you know if they know someone else who can open the door for you That represents an even wider network
Leads by scientist: 56% (range 45-67) Leads by marketing efforts from licensing staff: 19% (range 12-42) Leads by enquiry from potential licensee: 10% (range 0-17) Leads from research sponsor: 7% (range 0- 25)
If another research organisation has the networks to make a deal there are synergies between your own technology consider partnering with that other research organisation, making your technology available to them, and allow them to access their networks and contacts the people that they know, to commercialise the package of your technology and theirs VIDRL
Research sponsorship
Research sponsorship is the financial sponsorship of research by industry at a research organisation Sponsored research tends to be applied research
Sponsored research is not necessarily contract research where the provider of funds owns the IP outcomes Sponsored research usually means there is a cost sharing: Research organisation may do research for direct costs (salary and consumables), leveraging off their infrastructure, foregoing seeking costs for infrastructure, and foregoing a profit component) On that basis, research organisation owns the IP outcomes, and licenses outcomes to research sponsor Reward for providing infrastructure at zero cost, and foregoing profit component is the expectation of royalties
Research sponsorship
Research sponsorship accounting for an average of only 7% of licensing leads in AUTM survey But one respondent to the survey reported as many as 25% leads
Research sponsorship is therefore an important marketing strategy By making the skills and resources of the research organisation available to industry sponsors: Direct licensing opportunities arise (up to 25%, average of 7%) Relationships are formed between scientists and industry, and those relationships indirectly lead to more opportunities (average 56%)
Research sponsorship
Challenge is to increase the level of research sponsorship
Interact with industry to Identify their needs for applied research Identify your own synergistic research capability Resist demands for the research sponsor to own the IP created in the course of the sponsored research Industry sponsor can own if it pays a market rate that takes into account indirect infrastructure costs (buildings, roads, labs, equipment, facilities, library etc), and pays a profit component Industry sponsor cannot own if it pays less than that in that case the research sponsor should own, and license out
All of these are means by which you can keep up with what is happening in the industry relevant to your science Knowing what is going on in your industry space will help identify Potential licensees who may be interested in your technology Potential strategic alliance partners Potential infringers
An infringer is not necessarily someone against whom you litigate An infringer may be someone who becomes your most valuable strategic alliance partner
Marketing Plan may make provision for Keeping watch on potential infringers Strategy to implement when an infringer is identified Formal approach by letter Informal approach engineered at a conference And must consider litigation as a last resort, but not exclude it altogether
Appoint Marketers
A Marketer is someone that goes out and markets your technology and finds licensees on a contract basis Usually for a percentage of royalties and other licensing fees Marketer is someone that you appoint because of their networks and contacts, licensing opportunities that they can find for you That is, if you dont know someone with whom to do a deal with, find someone who does Appointment of a Marketer often approached with hesitation Many people offerring services as marketers in fact do not have the networks and contacts that they say that they do But dont be deterred Many successful deals have been facilitated by contract marketers Ex-pharma executives
Conclusion
Licensing and commercialisation occurs More often between people who know each other Less often between people who dont know each other
Licensees dont come knocking on your door because you might have technology interesting to them Or, dont come knocking on your door at ll
The key to a successful licensing strategy is to proactively go out and expand your network the more people that you know the more likely you will find someone that will be interested in doing a deal with you