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The challenge.
MPS UK is using patents owned by its parent US company, which Craig Fisher, Design Engineering Manager at MPS, says are “materials agnostic” – while the two materials have different properties and applications, the same patents can be used for chips made with silicon or silicon carbide. Where MPS UK needed input was more about UK IP issues and differences in the legal and regulatory regimes in the UK and EU, and about identifying competitors and potential new markets for the UK designed and built chips.
The solution.
On the TDAP program, MPS UK used Inngot’s Goldseam online tool to identify and catalogue both its registered IP rights and its intangible ‘know-how’, and the Appraise tool which analyses the Goldseam IP profile to identify strengths and weaknesses and provides a checklist of recommended improvements.
MPS UK then commissioned a bespoke IP audit, a competitor analysis and patent landscape research from Inngot’s team.
The result.
Craig Fisher says that “the competitor tech research was very useful. It’s difficult for me to get that information, particularly in such a concise and usable form. It has allowed me to get a good idea of who is doing what in our field and has been a really good starting point for us to keep watching patent filing by relevant competitors.”
With the Inngot IP audit and patent landscaping work, as well as some training from Inngot’s experts, Craig adds that he is now himself able to monitor patent activity by rivals, both in terms of chip design and materials used.
The Inngot IP audit, particularly its advice on trade mark registration differences between the US, UK and EU, and protecting know-how and trade secrets, was also invaluable, he says. “Following the advice contained in the audit, we plan to file UK and EU trade marks this year.”
As our US parent company has been established 10 years and has a solid and well-protected patent portfolio, we’re in a good position on that front. Where the IP audit really helped was on trade marks – it identified the fact that we can file for trade marks in the UK and Europe that we can’t get in the US yet – and on trade secrets.
