'Trekking' Onwards with IP Case Studies - Learning from local companiesTrek 2000 International
Established in 1989, Trek 2000 International has built itself into an industry leader, innovator, original inventor and patent owner of the ThumbDrive® (i.e. USB Flash Drive) offering state-of-the-art design solutions ranging from Mobile Media Solutions, Wireless, Anti-piracy, Compression and Encryption to sophisticated Enterprise Solutions all catering to the fast changing digital industry. Trek sets itself apart as the key differentiator in the digital industry through it creativity, innovativeness and ingenuity. Being at the forefront of technology development, Trek understands that building up its intellectual assets and effectively managing its intellectual property (IP) portfolio is critical.
Trek’s first IP asset is its trade marks. The company has registered trade marks for Trek® and ThumbDrive®, which have already been granted in Singapore, USA, China, India and numerous other countries. Other more recent trademarks include Flu Card®, DivaDrive® and FluDrive®.Trek’s Patent Strategy
In addition to its trade marks, Trek has created a substantial portfolio of patents. After receiving its first patent in 2002 for its ThumbDrive® USB Flash Drive solution, the company has now been granted over 300 patents in its targeted countries in the areas of Wireless, USB, Anti-Piracy, Compression, Security and Centralised Management System technology solutions. As a commercial company, Trek has adopted a pragmatic IP strategy, to ensure that its patents lead to additional revenue for the business.
“One of our key patent strategies is to ensure that the patent is commercially viable and this is done before we even embark on filing the patent. After all, there is no point in spending the resources to patent a technology, if it cannot be sold. There is also no point patenting something just for the patent’s sake. Once the green light is given, we then bring in our patent attorneys,” said Mr Henn Tan, Chief Executive Officer of Trek.
Another part of Trek’s patent strategy is to look at technologies that can be quickly turned into revenue-generating products. Being mindful of the bottom line, the company’s typical time frame to develop a product from a concept is approximately 2 years. A longer term strategy is to build a library of IPs in key technologies to enhance the value of Trek.
Expanding Trek’s Licensing Portfolio
Trek’s IP strategy, together with the contributions from its other IP assets has boosted its sales figures to reach US$69 million in FY 2009. The company will continue to invest in building up its IP assets for further growth. One area that is well positioned to boost its business is technology licensing, an activity which Trek started in 2003.
“We have to be selective in who we grant our licenses to, in order to maximise benefits to both Trek and the licensee. In particular when giving worldwide licenses, we need to find a strong partner” said Mr Tan.
Through progressive registration of its patents in key markets and countries around the world, Trek is gaining recognition and acceptance of its R&D capabilities. These IP rights put Trek in a stronger position to grow the revenue stream from patent licensing.
Building Up an IP CultureHaving invested so heavily its IP assets, Trek continues to inculcate a strong IP culture throughout the company. Guidelines to address confidentiality and IP ownership issues are built into the company’s HR policies. In addition, the R&D team is bound by separate Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to better protect the company’s IP assets. Trek also invests heavily in its people, with hands-on training to build up competencies and having a flat hierarchy to encourage innovation.
Protecting the Company’s IP
Trek’s IP savviness comes from experience, as the company took steps to enforce its patent in Singapore in 2002. In 2005, the High Court of Singapore ruled in Trek’s favour. The Singapore court of Appeal later dismissed the appeals and endorsed the Singapore High ruling.
“We filed our patent for the ThumbDrive® USB Flash Drive solution in 2000. That year, we went to CEBIT in Germany to showcase our ThumbDrive® USB Flash Drive solution, as the world’s first and smallest ThumbDrive® USB Flash Drive. When we went back to CEBIT the following year, we had some 50 competitors from many countries. Unfortunately, we could not do anything about this as our patent was pending at the time. So when the patent was granted in 2002, by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, we took steps to protect our assets,” explained Mr Tan. Whilst IP litigation is very expensive, other alternatives include out of court settlements and licensing arrangements.
Having said this, Mr Tan agrees that this IP litigation case has helped to prove the strength of both the company’s IP and its products. It has also enabled Trek to gain worldwide recognition for its ThumbDrive® USB Flash Drive solution. At the same time, within a short time, the USB data storage devices quickly became the accepted standard around the world.
Trek’s victory in this IP litigation case, as a home grown, having a sophisticated and complete IP strategy that works, has demonstrated not only Singapore’s conducive environment for creating, exploiting and protecting one’s IP but more importantly the value in owning intellectual property rights. Moving ahead, Trek will continue to expand its IP portfolio in order to fuel further growth.