“Intellectual property: how relevant for businesses and research laboratories?
Synergia’s February breakfast debate offered an answer to this question via a medley of opinions from different speakers.

Present in Lower Normandy and located in Caen since last year, the INPI’s (National Industrial Property Institute) regional branch is ready and willing to advise businesses looking to file patent applications, drawings, models or trademarks . “The role of industrial property is to reward the efforts made by those who innovate and to offer them the possibility to challenge patent infringement or counterfeiting,” highlights Céline Couroux, the branch manager. In brief, via intellectual property, the inventor can protect technical and ornamental creations (patents, drawings and models), together with the specific graphic and textual creations used to identify products and services (trademarks). “Protection implies investment, and the return one expects on investment is in the form of the commercial development of the creation that has been protected,” explains Céline Couroux.

Christian Gondard, Research Director at the ISPA (Alençon Higher Education Institute in Plastics), believes that, “a patent is a way of funding research. Filing patents is an absolute necessity for us. As a private training institution, funding our research projects is a constant effort.” Be it to improve the electro-plating process (metal layer on a plastic object) developed by the ISPA (patent filed a year ago), or to invent an innovative active microporous system (patent filed last May), each and every time, the institute seeks advice from a consultancy specialised in the study of patent licensing. “For a research project, if funding is public, the patent belongs to the ISPA and if funding is from an industrial partner, the patent belongs to the latter; we then determine with this industrial partner what should be considered “within the scope” and “outside the scope” of the associated patent, in order to continue to offer appropriate “outside” solutions to other industrial partners,” explains Christian Gondard.

“In response to the question: ‘why protect oneself’, I would say that each company has its own answer,” highlights Rémi Laurent, Technical director of the Pôle ATEN (National hub for digital technology innovation and skill) at the Lower Normandy CRMA (Regional Chamber of Trade and Crafts), following remarks from a number of self-employed craftsmen (”a matter of survival”, “otherwise you get eaten up”…). “Intellectual property is a matter of concern during every step of an innovative project. It is both a source of information and a means of protection.”

Jacques Frenehard, Managing Director of Frenehard & Michaud (an Aigle-based company, specialising in the production of metallic roofing accessories, with 250 salaried workers and 4 factories) is a familiar user of patents (3 to 5 filed each year, 2 applications already filed for 2009) and is convinced of the value of such protection. “A patent is both an offensive and a defensive weapon,” he believes, “It’s important to differentiate yourself. and to always keep a step ahead.” Within his company, six employees work on Research, Development and Innovation (RDI), in association with a marketing team. Consequently, slate hooks, gutter hooks an other fall-prevention devices born in Orne and duly protected, are constantly a stride ahead of their competitors.

Céline Couroux
INPI Lower Normandy Branch Manager
Basse-Normandie
Tél. : 0 820 213 213

Christian Gondard
Research Director / ISPA Alençon
Tél. : 02 33 81 26 00

Rémi Laurent
Technical Director Pôle ATEN
Tél. : 02 31 95 42 00
Site : Pôle ATEN

Jacques Frenehard
Managing Director of Frenehard & Michaud
Tél. : 02 33 84 21 20

Two special reports on the subject Connexions has already published two special reports on intellectual property. You can read them in the Connexions n°22 (October 2006) and n°34 (February 2009) issues, or on the Connexions portal!

An industrial property room at Caen University
A room entirely devoted to industrial property is now open to all on the 2nd floor of the Sciences-Staps library on Campus 2.

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