Innovate or Perish: Managing the Enduring Technology Company in the Global Market

Capturing All of the Innovation for Added Shareholder Value

Intellectual property leaders of Dow Corning, Oracle, and Procter and Gamble were panelists and presented papers under the heading “IP Scorecarding—Demonstrating and Maximizing Returns on IP Investment” at the Association of Corporate Patent Counsel (ACPC) summer meeting in June 2005. Steve Miller illustrated P&G’s “open innovation” model, which he styled as “connect and develop.” He reported that development teams, including IP specialists in addition to technical and marketing personnel, were successful in reducing costs for deodorants, improving revenue sharing for storage bags, extending brand equity from perfumes to vitamin sales, and improving retailer relationship and sales for the Swiffer Sweep+Vac^® system. IP’s intense participation in their venture with Royal helped P&G shift the Swiffer^® product from placement in the vacuum device aisle to the higher-exposure detergent aisle, thereby doubling sales volume. As an integral part of the team, the IP representatives were able to more rapidly recognize and provide timely solutions to problems of disclosure of information and protection of inventions. In the past where IP representatives were not an integral part of the team, faulty and secondhand communications often derailed venture projects. Mr. Miller further pointed out the following:

Today’s competitive environment requires companies to leverage and protect the creativity of all employees, not just the output ...