1. Introduction to the course; Presentations of the patents from Politecnico di Torino 2. Ecosystem for research, entrepreneurship and innovation 3. Intellectual property rights: fundamentals of the economics of IPRs and patents; patentability requirements and the extent of legal protection provided by patents; how and why reading a patent: technological classifications, claims, and key dates of the patent filing process; Examples and analysis of real cases 4. Anatomy of a patent: bibliographic and technical information, publication kinds, patent classifications, search report references, patent families and equivalents; Patent searching tools and techniques: patent databases, search operators; Technology landscaping: objectives, possible outputs, types of information, examples 5. Student presentations (middle term): discussion and review of patent landscape analysis 6. Business model canvas and customer discovery; Business data research 7. Economic and financial projections for startups 8. Student presentations (final pitch): discussion of business model analysis DELIVERABLE A – PATENT LANDSCAPE The required deliverable consists of a written report and a presentation analysing the selected patent and the technological field to which it belongs. The objective is to produce an evidence-based patent landscape and preliminary technology valuation, covering patent scope, legal robustness, ownership and dependencies, technological positioning, readiness level and exploitation potential. The analysis must document data sources, search strategies, assumptions and limitations. When useful, teams may contact the inventors and the relevant Politecnico di Torino support office (brevetti.spinoff@polito.it) to clarify technical, legal or exploitation issues. The deliverable is composed of: 1. a synthetic presentation, approximately 15 slides, summarising the main results, implications and open issues to be discussed during the mid-term presentation. Submission: teams must submit both files at least two calendar days before the mid-term presentation and upload them according to the course instructions. DELIVERABLE B – BUSINESS PLAN The required deliverable consists of a business plan and a presentation building on the results of Deliverable A. The objective is to define a credible exploitation strategy for the selected technology, including the proposed product or service, value proposition, customer segments, market opportunity, competitive positioning, go-to-market strategy, development roadmap, organisational requirements, financial projections, funding needs and final recommendations. The deliverable is composed of: 1. a written business plan, approximately 15 pages, addressing the points listed in Annex B; structured assessment methods, market sizing approaches and financial projection models may be used, provided that assumptions, criteria, evidence and limitations are explicit; 2. a synthetic presentation, approximately 15 slides, designed as a final pitch and focused on the most relevant decisions, risks and next steps. Submission: teams must submit the file at least two calendar days before the final presentation and upload them according to the course instructions. ANNEX A The following points define the expected content of Deliverable A. They should be addressed with evidence and, where relevant, with explicit assumptions rather than unsupported statements. To clarify technical, legal or exploitation issues, teams may contact the inventors and the relevant Politecnico di Torino support office. 1. Patent scope and legal robustness a. Identification of the selected patent: title, application and publication numbers, priority date, jurisdictions, legal status, patent family and equivalents. b. Summary of the invention, the independent and dependent claims, and the technical features that define the protected solution. c. Prior-art search: databases used, search strings, classifications, key documents retrieved, and main implications for novelty and inventive step. d. Analysis of available search reports, office actions or examination documents, including the relevance of cited documents and their possible impact on the patent. e. Assessment of claim breadth, industrial applicability, enforceability limits, and main legal uncertainties. 2. Ownership and dependencies a. Identification of owners, inventors, and any co-ownership arrangements with universities, firms or other entities. b. Implications of ownership and dependencies for licensing, spin-off creation, or other exploitation routes. 3. Technology landscape and positioning a. Definition of the technological domain and justification of the keyword, classification, and database strategy used for the landscape analysis. b. Patent landscape: main assignees, inventors, jurisdictions, recent filing trends, and relevant competing or substitute technologies. c. Comparison with alternative technological solutions and assessment of the claimed advantages, limitations, and differentiation factors. d. Identification of potential technological partners, competitors, or licensees. 4. Technology readiness and development path a. Estimate of the technology readiness level and evidence supporting the assessment. b. Identification of missing technical validation, experiments, prototypes, scale-up steps, testing requirements, or regulatory requirements. c. Estimate of the development costs, timing and resources required to reach a prototype, minimum viable product or market-ready solution. d. Identification of the main technical risks and possible mitigation actions. ANNEX B The following points define the expected content of Deliverable B. The business plan should build on the evidence collected in Deliverable A and should make explicit the assumptions, sources and uncertainties underlying the proposed exploitation strategy. 1. Problem and vision a. Definition of the customer or user problem, unmet need, or inefficiency addressed by the technology. b. Description of the target use case, customer pain points, and evidence supporting the relevance of the problem. c. Long-term vision and expected economic, technological, or societal impact. 2. Solution and technology a. Description of the product or service enabled by the patented technology. b. Link between protected technical features, product characteristics, and customer benefits. c. Development roadmap, including milestones, key experiments, prototypes, scale-up activities, testing, and regulatory requirements. 3. Value proposition and business model a. Identification of customers, users, payers, and decision-makers. b. Value proposition and quantified value metrics, such as cost reduction, performance improvement, time savings, risk reduction or environmental and social benefits. c. Business model options, such as licensing, product sales, services, platform models, joint development or industrial partnership, with a clear rationale for the preferred option. d. Pricing logic and revenue model assumptions. 4. Market analysis a. Market segmentation and market size estimation. b. Growth dynamics, adoption process, buying cycle, time-to-market, and key market-entry barriers. c. Relevant regulatory, certification, procurement, reimbursement, standardisation, or policy factors. 5. Competitive analysis a. Identification of direct competitors, indirect competitors, and substitute solutions, including their location, scale, offering, and business model. b. Comparison of technical, economic, and strategic performance relative to competing or substitute solutions. c. Identification of complementors, partners, or competitors that could become allies, and conditions under which this could occur. d. Assessment of competitive risks and defensibility based on patents and complementary assets. 6. Go-to-market and exploitation strategy a. Selection of the preferred exploitation route: licensing, start-up or spin-off creation, industrial partnership, joint development or hybrid model. b. Entry strategy, beachhead market, first customers, pilot projects, and validation plan. c. Sales and distribution channels, communication strategy, and partnership strategy. d. Operational stages required before market launch. 7. Organisation and implementation a. Key activities required to implement the proposed strategy. b. Required team roles, internal capabilities, and external expertise. c. Governance, partnerships, IP-management arrangements, and critical dependencies. d. Timeline with milestones, decision gates, and expected deliverables. 8. Economic and financial projections a. Main technical, market and financial assumptions, including sensitivity analysis for critical assumptions. b. Cost structure by development stage and by major activity. c. Revenue projections and unit economics, where applicable. d. Financing needs by stage, proposed use of funds, and potential funding sources. e. Final recommendation on feasibility, main risks, and next steps.

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Il corso si propone di sviluppare, in una prospettiva integrata ed interdisciplinare, competenze individuali legate alla capacità di tradurre i risultati della ricerca scientifica e tecnologica, orientandoli verso la creazione di nuove iniziative imprenditoriali in grado di generare impatto sull’economia e sulla società. In particolare, l’insegnamento affronterà concetti, metodi e strumenti fondamentali per la valutazione del valore economico e del potenziale di mercato delle innovazioni tecnologiche legate a brevetti e spinoff accademici. Gli studenti lavoreranno in gruppi di lavoro multidisciplinari, composti da dottorandi provenienti da diversi dipartimenti, su un caso reale di valorizzazione imprenditoriale basato su uno specifico brevetto di proprietà del Politecnico di Torino, in collaborazione con l’Area Ricerca, Rapporti con le Imprese e Innovazione (RIMIN). Attraverso lezioni ed attività progettuali, gli studenti apprenderanno tecniche di ricerca brevettuale, analisi del panorama brevettuale e metodi di valutazione tecnologica basati sul data mining brevettuale. Parallelamente, gli studenti condurranno attività di ricerca finalizzate alla raccolta ed all’elaborazione di dati per analizzare i potenziali mercati di applicazione, identificare clienti ed ambiti applicativi rilevanti, definire il modello di business e supportare la pianificazione strategica della nuova impresa. Durante lo sviluppo del progetto, gli studenti beneficeranno di feedback da parte degli inventori dei brevetti. È prevista una presentazione intermedia dedicata all’analisi del panorama brevettuale ed una presentazione finale dedicata al business model ed al piano di valorizzazione imprenditoriale della tecnologia.

Modalità mista

Presentazione orale - Sviluppo di project work in team

P.D.1-1 - Novembre