When Generation X transitioned from analog to digital phones, they bravely embraced a handful of cellular phone providers. Over the years they continued to embrace new features and device capacity as they were developed, all the while educating the older and younger generations on how to use these magnificent devices.
Many of the developers of the mobile phone that we have used over the years have since transitioned from what was once their main product offering. Many who led the charge can no longer to be seen in the tech world. Examples of these are the beloved Palm Pilot with its nifty stylus and data synching, the flip phone used in the Matrix movies, and Obama’s secure Blackberry. While mergers and acquisitions absorbed many of these organizations, one must applaud those that have managed to pivot and successfully develop technology that has put them at the center of modern day telephony.
Nokia spent years patiently developing the Intellectual Property that was later adopted by other cellphone providers. Their patents have become the basis for numerous industry standards. Unfortunately, this means that while Nokia appears on the surface to be playing the same game by continuing to develop devices like routers that help us connect to the internet, behind the scenes we see a different story. After decades of research, Nokia has amassed more than 26,000 patents. The ideas they developed are sitting in everyday devices like your car, your laptop, and your television.
While these patents enable their competitors to build devices easier, they also reduce the profit margins experienced by these same competitors who have no choice but to fatten Nokia’s wallets. Every time a competitor develops a new handset, they need to pay Nokia royalty fees. Earlier this year, I wrote about how this experience led Oppo and Nokia to court over what Oppo deemed to be standard technology. However, Oppo was told to pay Nokia royalties due to the standards being based on Nokia registered patents.
Once more, Nokia’s patent monopoly has brought them to court. This time, the case was brought by Acer and Asus. However, this case was also thrown out. The court found Nokia’s patents to be fair and reasonable, showing us how taking the time to secure your ideas at the beginning of a process can protect an organization in the long run.
The Nokia case study teaches us the importance of protecting your intellectual property. Copyrighting, Trademarking , and Patenting your work and ideas can lead to long term benefits.
On the contrary, failure to define who owns intellectual property while you are in the developmental stages of a new technology or method, can lead o years in court trying to establish ownership and associated benefit. This was experienced by Vodacom South Africa who spent two decades arguing their case against the originator of the “Please all Me” service – Nkosana Makate before settling out of court for about ZAR 700 million.
What we can learn from these two cases is the importance of writing your ideas down on paper and legalizing them through Copyright and Patent law. As a start, you can avoid sharing your unique ideas until you have a non disclosure agreement in place with your supplier. When you do share and use the ideas, make sure that both parties know how any revenue generated by those ideas will be distributed to the participants of the agreement.
Talk to your lawyer upfront, and while preparing to meet with them, read through Chapter 3 of Managing IT Suppliers : A Practical Guide To Vendor Management (https://www.takealot.com/managing-it-suppliers/PLID99345895). This will help you remain aware of what else you should keep top of mind to help your organization retain the benefits of your intellectual property. As prepare to transition through the next 20 years remember that during the same period that Makate was fighting to get financially acknowledged by Vodacom for his idea, Nokia was quietly collecting royalties from device developers who were using their patents. The difference between the two experiences lies in how they started.
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