PERIODO: NOVEMBRE - GIUGNO 2016

The course aims to develop, in an integrated and interdisciplinary way, skills related to the application of results of scientific and technological research, targeting them toward the creation of new business ventures. In order to achieve this results, the course covers and integrates two areas:

• Economic analysis and strategic management of intellectual property rights, with a focus on patents;
• Business creation and preparation of the business plan, starting from the activity of defining the value proposition and market analysis.

Being targeted on PhD students, this course is important for them because is a contact point between research, application of research results and entrepreneurial education. With its focus on technology, academic research and industry, this course is also professionalizing for students both interested in the academic career as well for those interested in a job outside the University environment.

The purpose of the course is also two-fold: on one hand it provides to PhD students new skills aimed to understand and apply the results of research; on the other provides them the necessary tools to enable them to start in their technology-based entrepreneurial activities.
The general educational orientation aims to combine theoretical and practical aspects. In particular, purposes of the two core topics, strictly interlinked of the course are the following:

Basics of IPRs: It provides institutional knowledge and technical skills required for "reading" and understanding a patent. In particular, they will be discussed: operation principles of international patent systems, systems of technological classification of patents, indicators used to identify the potential of technology and of market of a portfolio based on patent assets. In addition, will be discussed the methodologies useful for studies of intelligence technology based on processing of patents’ databases. Finally, it will be argued the alternative strategic options for the economic exploitation of intellectual property rights using also case studies. The course includes the following topics, the discussion of which also involved experts from different disciplines:

• IP Basics: economic characteristics and content of patent documents.
• IP Systems: Operation of international patent systems and implications for patent holders.
• IP Intelligence: Tools and methods for the prior art’s search and for the construction of patent landscapes on specific technology domains
• IP Strategy: analysis of practices for the exploitation of intellectual property rights and discussion of case studies.

The process of company creation: It defines the steps needed to move from a patent or a research activity on a business project. In doing this it refers to the existing practice in terms of defining the business model and "lean startup". Students will deal with the concept of value proposition and minimum viable product (MVP). They will also study what is a business model, what are its main characteristics (value proposition, customer relationships, channels…) and how it should be designed. To students is also required to study the fundamentals of primary research in order to validate the hypotheses of the business plan in an area of the market. Finally they will become familiar with the concepts of startup strategy as well as with some concepts related on economics and financials of a startup.

This course is open to a maximum of 30 students divided into 5-6 groups.
Each group will have to develop the business plan of a company based on the exploitation of a patent or a research projects. Patents will be selected from those owned by the Politecnico di Torino.

Each group will be supported by:
- Inventors (research group) for any technical questions relating to the invention.
- Mentors / advisors that come from a firm. Their role is to support the team on its analysis of market opportunities. The choice of the mentor will be based on his knowledge of the technology and of the target market.

Part 1
• The economic foundation of patent systems and patentability requirements.
• Reading a patent: claim relevance, IPC classification, the structure of priority dates, INPADOC patent families.
• International patent systems and patent filing routes: the PCT systems, the new EU system and the national patent offices.
• Focus on the EPO system: analysing a patent search report
• Searching for patents: software tools and potential objectives and structure of the analyses for patent landscapes.
• The exploitation of patent: licensing, cross licensing and selling options.
• The IP strategies: discussion of the sector specific drivers of patent filing strategies in light of recent trends.

Part 2
• Introduction to "Business Model" and "Customer Development" concepts
• The Value Proposition: concepts, examples and metrics
• Finding and reaching customers
• The sales channel: its role and importance in delivering innovation to customers
• Customer Relationships and Demand Creation
• The Revenue Model
• The strategy: concepts, objectives, roadmap and metrics
• Key Partners, Key Resources and the Cost Structure
• Economics and Financial projections
• Team Presentation

Material:
European patent Office: Patent Teaching Kit. The kit contains a comprehensive introduction to the patent system, including information on how to file patent applications and search for existing patents. It has been designed for students in natural sciences, engineering or business administration.
http://www.epo.org/learning-events/materials/kit.html

Text Books:
– A. Osterwalder , “Business Model Generation”, Wyley
– S. Blank, B.Dorf, “The start-up owner’s manual”, K&S Ranch

Selected case studies and additional slides will be provided by the lecturer.

Exam
Evaluation based on:
-A final Business Plan
-A presentation of the Business Plan in front of a panel of experts coming from the Scudo, firms and universities.