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Intellectual Property (IP) is not the sexiest phrase heard in the hallways of Startup Nation. While patents serve as a way to prevent others from using a company’s or an individual’s inventions—and keeping them can make or break a business, entrepreneurs never talk about the importance of these items.
A company that has built strong patents from its earliest days can act as a buffer against competitors working on the same product or service, helping to secure its growth and future. The help of law firms can ensure that these innovations – often in the form of AI algorithms or software – can be securely discussed and shared for years to come.
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Ehud Hausmann, Partner, Patent Attorney, Attorney at Law in the Hi-Tech Department. The Reinhold Cohn Group
(Photo: Eyal Yitzhar)
“We understand that patent law…is very complicated and requires a lot of professional understanding,” explains Ehud Hausmann, who manages the Reinhold Kohn Group’s Hi-Tech practice. “We can help our clients build IP strategies that meet their business needs. We engage and discuss with C-Level executives to understand what the company is doing, what their business goals are, the level of R&D, and we meet with them and listen to what they want.”
The Reinhold Conn Group was established in 1934 and is the largest IP firm in Israel. With more than 200 employees (70 of whom are patent attorneys), the company helps foreign clients file patent applications in Israel, as well as early-stage pre-seed “sweat and blood entrepreneurs” who want to start their companies and protect their security. Innovations. He focuses on patents, trademarks, copyrights and due diligence in various industries such as blockchain, foodtech, AI and renewable energy.
Hausman argues that putting protections on your inventions is a significant part of a company’s success. The concept is to protect what’s yours against people who want to steal or copy your work: “to reduce the risk of competition entering your territory,” he says. “The poor CEO is juggling a lot of work at an early stage. And sometimes there is not enough time to understand the importance of IP. Some know well, let’s say a second hand, some understand because they have heard friends or conversations, but others don’t – so we teach. We help these people build their first IP roadmap based on their short- and medium-term plans.
The concept of an IP portfolio is to ensure that a collection of inventions is maintainable. According to Hausmann, one patent alone is usually not enough. While the number can vary between three and 20, the general idea is to prioritize the patents that are most efficient in terms of cost, resources, and importance. Licensing a patent means the average monthly salary of a software engineer – $10,000 – but can save you millions of dollars in the future. Trolls” – individuals who buy patents to sue big companies.
“There’s a lot of learning to be done,” Hausman continued. “In Israel, being a start-up nation, we have a relatively good understanding of this need. Make no mistake – the most important thing for a company is the market and R&D and the product. We don’t say we have to think about the IP first, then the product and the business.” If you don’t have a good business or product, you won’t win, no matter how many patents you have. It’s good that executives focus on that, but they may regret it if they ignore the IP issue we’re telling them.
A common example Hausmann uses to describe the risks and rewards of patenting your technology is during a bidding process that pits two companies against each other. If there is a call for two services, and one company offers them, while the other offers three services, the buyer will prefer to spend more money on the company offering the additional services if they are protected by patents and prevent competitors from copying the additional services. Above and beyond the call to action. “This is a simple business situation where you don’t charge anyone. But it helped you win the bid,” he explained. “It doesn’t guarantee companies will win the bid, but it gives them more tools and ammunition to win. You have more cards to play: defensive, not offensive.”
Of course, the IP game isn’t always fun and games – and while it’s great that patents are filed at the defensive level, there’s an inevitable aversion to protecting innovation in the battlefield. In the year In 2018, Israeli company and Reinhold Kohn Group client Corephotonics filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the dual-lens camera system in some iPhones infringes 10 of its patents. In the year In 2019, he filed an additional lawsuit and that same year the company was acquired by Apple’s competitor Samsung for $155 million. The purchase means that Samsung now owns all of the alleged patents that were at the center of the lawsuit. In 2021, the US Court of Appeals sided with Apple.
Corephotonics was attractive to Samsung because its technology is protected by patents that ensure the buyer avoids the risk of lawsuits. Despite his lack of success at the trillion dollar company, Samsung clearly saw the value in acquiring not only the team, but also the technologies and innovations that continued.
As the technology crisis continues to impact companies around the world, IP remains an important tool in the belt of companies making tough decisions about where to cut their budgets. For some, it may be downsizing marketing teams. Others may gain value by laying off several expensive software engineers. Those who build a strong portfolio of IP patents may be in a better position to sell their licenses or become more attractive to buyers.
“IP is not the main issue, but it holds the package in a way that gives it some advantages. A strong portfolio reduces the risk of getting involved in patent litigation because the other side knows that if they sue you, they can sue you… People who understand that part of the game is IP, they understand the importance of keeping it,” he concludes.
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