Surviving the UPcoming Personal Fitness Band Patent Wars

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Data Driven Decisions Patent Strategy and Analytics Services

Surviving the Upcoming Personal Fitness Bands Patent Wars - Utilizing Patent Analytics for Competitive Advantage & Decision Making

Anthony Trippe, Managing Director PATINEX 2014 – Seoul, Korea September 3, 2014




What is Patent Landscaping?

•  Five to ten years ago, when some one asked for a

landscape they were looking for a map or a

picture of what the subject area looked like

•  More recently the term has meant identifying the

“lay of the land” or exploring various aspects of a

subject area including looking at the

organizations involved and the time periods in

which they operated




Why Do We Develop Patent Landscapes or Patent Analytics?

•  Too many decisions are made without proper intelligence or analysis

•  The “old boy” network or rolodex model applies

•  Too often analysis is being done by individuals who do not understand the nuances of patent information

•  Analytics lower the risks associated with business decisions and ensure higher returns





•  They are a tool to assist with long term strategic technical planning

•  They involve work processes for helping technical decision makers make smarter decisions faster

•  They include analytical process that transforms disaggregated technological information into relevant strategic knowledge about your competitor’s or a subject’s technical position, size of efforts and trends





•  From 1966 -”We have the choice of using patent statistics cautiously and learning what we can from them, or not using them and learning nothing about what they alone can teach us.” - Schmookler, Innovation and Economic Growth pg 56


Patent information is required to make informed decisions about your company’s IP strategy

•  IP strategy has to play a role in overall business strategy

•  The two have to be considered simultaneously

•  Patent information can provide input to establish business direction

•  Who has Company Z assigned patents to without a press release or financial disclosure?

•  Who are the major technology stakeholders in a given industry or within an industry vertical or segment? Are these the people I should partner with as I move into a new market?


Owning an ecosystem’s seminal patents allows for lower COGS – a competitive edge

1999 - Acquired 58% of Zenith stock and IP for $351M acquired

•  LG bought patents early, now they are inside the DTV/ATSC consortium

•  LG can now pay lower royalty rates

•  LG’s cost of goods sold is far better than their Chinese competition who did not buy IP


A holistic view of patents as they pertain to corporate strategy requires an integrated approach

•  Like a three-legged stool there are different elements to an integrated strategy

•  Business goals

•  Financial analysis

•  Patent considerations

•  All three elements have to be considered or the item won’t stand


AN ANALYSIS OF THE PATENT POSITION AROUND PERSONAL FITNESS MONITORS

A practical example of putting these ideas into practice


What is a personal fitness monitor?


Project objectives •  Complete a high-level competitive analysis of

the fitness monitor IP landscape

•  Assess FitBit’s specific position in fitness monitors

•  Identify the main IP strategy opportunities and threats to FitBit’s business


Components associated with fitness monitors

•  Battery

•  Connector / Communications

•  Casing

•  Accelerometer

•  Memory

•  Processor

•  Charger


Techniques associated with fitness monitors

•  Flex membranes

•  Testing/Programing

•  Rigid Flex Boards

• Waterproofing

•  Power management

•  Activity algorithms


We find the following in some of the Jawbone (Aliphcom) patents


COMPANY IP ASSESSMENT – FITBIT & JAWBONE (ALIPHCOM)


What does the FitBit portfolio look like?


Breakdown of FitBit portfolio by Technology Category

0"

1"

2"

3"

4"

5"

6"

7"

8"

Monitoring"System" Monitoring"System"with"Display"

Ac?vity"Algorithm"

Pending"

Allowance"

Granted"


Observations on FitBit portfolio

•  Very narrowly focused on activity monitoring device primarily for counting the number of stairs that a user climbs

•  US only

•  Reasonable number of granted patents but no depth

•  Nothing on established chokepoints or components of the device

•  Calorie burning calculations still pending


Observations on FitBit portfolio

• No forward citations

•  Fair number of independent claims but several steps and all on small variations on same theme

•  Should consider an IP buying program to protect themselves as market and share increase

•  Already been sued by SportBrain – dismissed and hopefully the corresponding patent was licensed


Breakdown of Aliphcom portfolio by Technology Category

0"

1"

2"

3"

4"

5"

6"

Ac+vity"Algorithm"

Device"Control"

Health"System"

Power"Management"

Coa+ng"

Comm

unica+ons"

Data"Security"

Health"Algorithm"

Protec+ve"Overmolding"

Medical"Diagnosis"

Nutri+on"Algorithm"

Sleep"Algorithm"

2012"

2011"


Observations on Aliphcom portfolio

• Most applications have not granted yet!

•  Potential for foreign coverage

•  Coverage on power management

•  Coverage on manufacturing

•  Coverage on variety of activities, wellness and sleep

•  Device control could be very interesting


Observations on Aliphcom portfolio

•  Have Bluetooth elements in other products but don’t use it in Up product, why?

• No forward citations

•  Should consider an IP buying program to protect themselves as market and share increase

•  Have already had to recall first generation and re-issue product due to issues with waterproofing


THE BROADER IP LANDSCAPE


IP Landscape – Documents by Organization, Kind and Application Year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

1 4 2 9 2 3 2 1

12 16

1 2 1 5 1 4 4 3

2 2 1 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 1

2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1

1 1 5 5 2 1

3 1 1 3 4 1

1 3 4 1 2 1

5 5

4 3

2 2 1 2

1 4 1

1 1 1 3 1

1 2 1

1 1 1 1 1 2

1 1 1 1 2

1 2 1

1 2 1 1

2 1

1 3 1

1 3

3 1

0 10 20 30 40

Philips

Aliphcom

Theranos

Seiko Epson

BodyMedia

Nike

Adidas

Polar Electro

Fitbit Inc.

Georgia Tech

P&G

Ya Man

Ci5zen Holdings

Tensys Medical

Valencell

Omron

Univ of Wollongong

Apple

Healthtech

Suunto

Univ Hong Kong Polytech

Xybernaut


A word about applications vs. grants

•  Some people suggest that applications should not be included since they are an unknown quantity

•  I believe they should be included since they demonstrate intent and investment but they should be segregated from the grants

•  Applications are an option play since you don’t know what they are going to look like after prosecution

•  Check the file wrapper and whether abandoned


Which companies have the most forward citations?

0"

100"

200"

300"

400"

500"

600"

700"

800"

Philips"

Aliphcom"

Theranos"

Seiko"Epson"

BodyMedia"Nike"

Adidas"

Polar"Electro"

Georgia"Tech"P&G"

Ya"Man"

CiHzen"Holdings"

Tensys"Medical"

Valencell"

Omron"

Univ"of"Wollongong"

Apple"

Fitbit"Inc."

Healthtech"

Suunto"

Univ"Hong"Kong"Polytechnic"

Xybernaut"

Sum$of$Count$of$Ci+ng$Patents$by$Company$


Thematic mapping of the domain can also highlight areas of focus

Red – Aliphcom Green – FitBit Yellow – Nike

Light Blue – Philips Dark Blue – Polar Electro


Can we begin to draw some conclusions?

• Nike – They have partnered with Apple and were willing to acquire IP from Phatrat – good portfolio for wristband

•  Adidas – Partnership with Polar and acquired Vivometrics – also have a strong portfolio but more involved with clothing than wristband

•  BodyMedia – Probably the best portfolio with regards to maturity, breadth and depth


•  Should also run searches and perform similar analysis for chokepoint area – power consumption & Bluetooth connectivity for instance

•  Early priorities for low power consumption and low power Bluetooth or alternative short distance communication standards will be very important in this area

•  Buying programs should focus on this

Can we begin to draw some conclusions?


A few weeks after this case study was originally developed Aliphcom bought BodyMedia

•  Case study completed on April 17th 2013 and presented during a workshop at the 2013 PIUG Annual Conference on April 27th 2013

•  On April 30th 2013 Aliphcom d.b.a. Jawbone acquired BodyMedia for $110 million dollars

•  BodyMedia was suggested in this study as having one of the best portfolios in this area and that Aliphcom was exposed

•  It is widely reported that the acquisition is primarily driven by Aliphcom’s desire to own the BodyMedia patent portfolio




Have a look at: http://www.patinformatics.com •  Deals with patent analysis issues at all

different levels and utilizing all of the different techniques

For More Information

Surviving the UPcoming Personal Fitness Band Patent Wars

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