The Importance of
Competitive Intelligence in
Disruptive Technology Environments
How the IP team at BAE Systems uses LexisNexis Cipher to help communicate the importance of IP internally and identify disruptive technologies
Chief Counsel for Intellectual Property and Technology Law, Dr. Bobby Mukherjee, at BAE, explains how his IP team uses Cipher to help communicate the importance of IP internally and identify disruptive technologies to provide competitive intelligence.
What impact do you think disruptive technologies such as robotics, autonomous, cybersecurity, and drones will have on BAE’s business strategy?
It’s important to recognize that there is an intensely competitive landscape in our sector, and when I talk about competitive pressure, I look at it from two angles. The first is in terms of the new products that are coming into our landscape. Secondly, we have new players coming onto the scene.
Robotics, autonomy, cybersecurity and drones are key areas for us and for our competitors. It’s important for us to stay ahead of the game, not to be complacent. It’s important for us to understand which areas are key to our business strategy. What are the business priorities? What are the product strategies and the capability gaps? From that, what are the technology areas and intellectual property drivers? I think it goes in that order.
IP strategy in isolation doesn’t mean anything. It has to be anchored in the wider business product strategies, and that means working very closely with your key stakeholders across the company, your technologists, your business development people and so forth.
Cipher has been world class for us. It’s easy to use, it provides very powerful visual representations of what we own and importantly what our competitors have.
Which other technologies do you see as being disruptive?
Developments in human-machine interfaces. When we talk about autonomy, the reality is that there will be more combinations of human-machine interfaces. The barriers to entry are very relevant in that regard. We know that companies like Amazon are working in this field, so with respect to the movement from traditional to non-traditional players, it’s really important that we understand what the landscape is and what IP rights are out there, not just for the traditional players, but also for the non-traditional players.
Additive layer manufacturing (ALM) is also a key area. We are active in that area, and there are a lot of other people who have done significant work in ALM. There are other areas, such as energy storage and management.
Again, if you look at our operations across the enterprise, one of the challenges we have is leveraging that capability across the enterprise in the most effective way and ensuring that we don’t have duplication of effort and investment. It’s remarkable what we do in terms of the world-leading capabilities for governments and our commercial customers.
How have these changes in disruptive technologies fed into a change in your patenting strategy?
We have always been able to articulate our patenting strategy over the years in terms of understanding the key technology areas that we should focus on and biasing our patenting towards those areas. The patenting strategy has, of course, a geographical dimension as well as a technological dimension.
We are building our portfolio within the constraints of our budget, but we also prune where we decide there is no longer any value. Active portfolio management is a critical element of this.
To have a coherent patenting strategy, you have to be clear about the business technology strategies. One of the ongoing debates is how many patents should we be filing. What is the right portfolio size for our organization? We have to create the right portfolio for our business and use it to drive business value. That is the underlying requirement. There is no point if we do not drive business value using our intellectual property portfolio.
So, the notion that we must have 50 patents filed yearly or 150 or 200 is a red herring. I would argue it is all about business value, and it’s about articulating that business value. How we measure that value is a separate question. It may be licensing or leveraging the patents in campaigns to help with the business. It might be enabling a freedom-to-operate strategy. We can use our intellectual property for business advantage in all sorts of ways.
There are a large number of disruptive technologies: robotics, autonomy, cybersecurity and drones are key areas for us and for our competitors. The list also includes in human machine interfaces and areas such as energy storage and management. Now more than ever, it is important to monitor patent trends. It’s important for us to stay ahead of the game, not to be complacent.
How does BAE Systems measure and report the value of IP to the business?
We are on a journey. We have a remarkable diversity of businesses, from electronic systems and applied intelligence at one end, which is pretty fast-moving, to the maritime, submarines and air business at the other end. The strategies involved in each area will differ according to the different technology lifecycles. As a profession, we can miss the value point because capturing that value in tangible terms is difficult, but that is not a reason for us not to try and address that question.
Looking at it simplistically, sometimes the value comes from figuring out what happens if you don’t do what you’re going to do. There was one example where we knew that if we did not clear the way, we might have been prevented from delivering a key piece of kit on a major platform. The value was providing the platform. Unless you think about what would happen if we did not do what we’re proposing to do, the value does not emerge.
We need to get into that mindset regarding every activity we do because that will help us focus on the priorities and the essential things. If we can’t figure out the value, maybe there isn’t any value, and maybe we shouldn’t be doing it. I think that is the right approach, and it makes the message much clearer when you present it at different levels of the organization. Otherwise, we could be viewed as a peripheral part of the organization with no value, which could not be further from the truth.
What’s your view of the importance of communicating IP issues to the Board?
It’s extremely important to communicate with all levels of the organization. It’s impossible to achieve optimal IP management or maximize returns for the business from IP without engaging at the top and grassroots levels. To do that, you need an endorsement from the top, which we have.
It’s important not to obfuscate or make things sound more complicated than they really are. Cut to the chase, bring it to life with real examples, and tailor it according to the business needs, and that’s what we do. We have the dialogue, learn from our business colleagues, and hopefully, they learn from us. But it’s important to have a culture of continuous improvement because unless we do that, we can’t move forwards. Communication is key. Visuals are powerful. We have dashboards presented to the Board every month. This draws people in, and they question and probe. It’s all about engagement and having a discussion.
If you don’t have the dialogue, you can’t achieve your objectives. You need to be part of the strategic dialogue. In the past, IP people have often been isolated. They are often viewed as being part of an esoteric function that doesn’t have much to offer to the broader construct. That couldn’t be further from the truth. We also have a strong team with a commercial focus, and all these things come together. Developing those soft skills is important, and communication is a key part of that.
In summary, whether you are communicating with the board or whether you communicate with an inventor or a business development manager, use plain language and develop a common language. Let’s ensure we all speak the same language and get the basics right.
How do you communicate the importance of patents to R&D and engineering?
Let me give you an example. Sometimes we get questions from the business like “What are you doing with this patent? Why are you not monetizing it? Why don’t you sell it?” My answer is that the patent is the IP right protecting the technology. You need the technologist involved in the dialogue to decide whether or not it’s something that should be sold and for what value. It makes no sense to say that the patent is the preserve of the patent attorney.
Many patent attorneys may think they are the High Priests, but they are not. This is all about protecting the technology, and patenting is one way. It’s a strategic decision that must be made in conjunction with the business. We should have a seat at the table, but let’s not forget why we’re here – to create value for the business.
You’ve been a strong supporter of Cipher. How does better information help, and how has Cipher supported you on that journey?
Cipher has been world-class for us. It’s easy to use and provides compelling visual representations of what we own and, more importantly, what our competitors have. This is feedback on Cipher that we’ve had from my team and the business. We’ve talked to our key stakeholders in the business and asked them to try it out and see how useful it is: are there things you don’t know that you could find out by using this tool? The feedback from virtually everyone has been that Cipher provides valuable insight. Understanding the landscape and what is going on is important because that is a vital element of the wider strategy.
It’s about having the right strategy, the right organizational layer, the right resources, and knowing what landscape you are operating in and where you’re going. That feeds into all the other things we’ve touched on earlier. It’s important to engage with people in the business and get that feedback, to work closely on these things and not to operate in isolation. We’ve enjoyed being a partner with you.
There are a large number of disruptive technologies: robotics, autonomy, cybersecurity and drones are key areas for us and for our competitors. The list also includes in human machine interfaces and areas such as energy storage and management. Now more than ever, it is important to monitor patent trends. It’s important for us to stay ahead of the game, not to be complacent.
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