PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT

OPPORTUNITY IDENTIFICATION

Identifying emerging technology trends, listening to customers to develop consumer insights and tracking new market trends for your specific area of focus is the starting point in developing a sustainable business strategy.  Opportunity identification brings information and insights from perspectives derived from a carefully selected group of forward-thinking experts.  By engaging leaders and forward thinkers to think 'out-loud' about the future, we will articulate a prioritized set of beliefs, assumptions, scenarios and value creation targets that provide valuable insights for business strategy formation, innovation opportunity identification and targeting of subsequent invention and product development efforts.

PORTFOLIO PROTECTION

INVENTION GENERATION

Creating a batch of patents is the outcome of an Invention Generation event.  We start with identifying and writing an opportunity brief, an investment  strategy area of interest the business wants to explore to generate ideas and develop technical inventions with sufficient detail for protectability.  Preparation for an Invention Generation event typically starts 4 to 6 weeks before the workshop allowing engineers sufficient time to research other industry solutions, develop additional ideas and hypothesis, and finally allows time to think through other solution possibilities.  As a natural transition from an Invention Generation event, engineers continue thinking about possible solutions to the problem.  This is where a one or two day Invention Harvesting process benefits the inventors by capturing these additional ideas and writing up draft patent continuations.

PORTFOLIO STRETCHING

INVENTION HARVESTING

Invention harvesting is a process designed to 'harvest' additional ideas from an existing patent portfolio or from a previous invention generation workshop.  The objective of this workshop process is to protect existing technologies with additional patents creating a 'picket-fence' patent strategy.  With the help of your inventors, we start by studying how well your existing patent portfolio protects your current technology investments.  From this research, we will start to develop a strategy that identifies possible 'white-space' opportunities.  This list of new opportunities will allow your inventors to ideate additional solutions, thus creating a broader patent portfolio.  An invention harvest workshop typically is a one or two day event.

CULTURE DEVELOPMENT

HARNESSING OUR CREATIVITY

The HOC process creates an environment where employees are encouraged to participate in creativity.  We do this by;

1) Removing creative roadblocks,

2) Developing a network of innovation experts, and

3) Trimming increments 

In short, HOC not only builds a culture of creativity, but also builds a collaborative environment which develops inspired, creative employees delivering best-in-class consumer solutions.