This is the final blog in the series looking at how companies can align their commercial goals with an effective approach to Intellectual Property (IP), using Potter Clarkson’s Next 100 Days guide.
We developed this guide to help companies prioritise their IP activities in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic taking hold, with the aim of helping you to chart the safest course through some distinctly choppy waters.
While mitigating risk was an important part objective, our guide also seeks to put companies in the most commercially advantageous position so that they can maximise the opportunities available in what is now being described as ‘The Covid Economy’.
Although there are plenty of challenges at present, there is also now an opportunity to get ahead of the competition and use any additional time you have to think about future projects.
It is also an important time to protect and advance your brand image, especially in this era of social media. How businesses contribute and behave during this crisis will shape their reputation in the future. For example, the swift action taken by Louis Vuitton to switch its production line from fragrance to hand sanitiser and Burberry’s switch from high fashion to essential hospital scrubs will live long in the memory. As too will the production of hand sanitiser by INEOS and the supply of NHS hospitals free of charge for the period of the crisis. What these companies have in common was the agility to pivot their operations towards a much-needed solution during a time of crisis.
In the months and years ahead, the most agile companies stand best placed to thrive as they adapt to a new trading environment, identifying new consumer trends and harnessing technology in a way that delivers for our new normal.
To help focus your thinking for your future innovations, we have identified four key trends that have emerged in the past six months:
- The home workforce
With companies opting to make home working a permanent feature for at least part of the week, what need does this create to bring greater efficiencies to a more disparate workforce? How will businesses use technology in the future to bring colleagues together to collaborate effectively?
- Generation clean
With a need for all environments – shops, hotels, restaurants, offices, and homes – to focus on hygiene in a much more comprehensive way than ever before, what opportunities does this present? From greater demand for anti-microbial materials across myriad applications to a ‘non-touch’ approach to all manner of communal infrastructure, how will innovators respond?
- Delivered to the door
Retail experts have suggested the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of change in consumer behaviours by as much as a decade, with more shoppers now preferring to shop online rather than instore. If this is to be a permanent shift, how will it impact on the way we interact with a whole array of products and services and where are the innovation gaps?
- A deeper shade of green?
During lockdown, there was a perception that the reduced traffic and people pollution had a positive impact on the natural world. With fewer cars on the road and planes in the sky, many questioned whether they would return to previous behaviours. While there is scepticism about the lasting impact of the temporary change in behaviours, is there a more receptive audience to a whole host of new ‘green’ applications?
Author: Richard Wells, Senior Associate, Potter Clarkson – richard.wells@potterclarkson.com
