Strategic Positioning Case Studies - Learning from local companies Stratech Systems Pte Ltd Two years ago, as part of the strategy to go global, advanced technology developer Stratech Systems had identified the need to re-look IP issues within the organisation. It was a decision then that one cannot go overseas without protecting IP. Market Intelligence is a big part of the IP strategy. According to Mr Wong Hoong An, in his scope as a Business Planning and Strategy Executive with Stratech Systems, annual reports or company portfolios are referred to as independent studies as these may collectively constitute a reliable form of judgment basis for his approach to find business partners. Such independent studies would include investor information such as stock price trends and corporate finances. Website searches and attendance at conferences and seminars are additional ways whereby the company goes about getting to know what others have for their competitive analysis, such as the survey of security products relevant to their targeted market.As to internal processes in relation to IP, various departments, particularly the Chairman’s Office, Sales and Marketing and Technology Development Department work hand-in-hand with the research and development department in making IP-related decisions. The IP committee comprising members from the several departments would assess whether they are going ahead with patent protection of a particular technology based on the prior art search and market studies. The company aims for a bigger portfolio whenever there is a new product, however, the decision to pursue IP protection can be superseded by the ongoing internal process of assessment of the feasibility of IP protection, in consultation with external advisors. Filing a patent application and reporting with the research and development department follows. “Some form of control on the timeline of the internal processes, which leads to lodging the application, must have been exercised in order that a priority claim can be made, and this is part of competitive intelligence where managing IP is concerned,” said Mr Wong.With two patents granted and more pending, the next challenge for Stratech Systems is to not just focus on product sales, but on licensing of technology and finding the right partners to do this. Copyright is another IP also relevant to their area of business. Said Mr Wong, “When we write papers, there is copyright. There is an avalanche of copyright work out there and it is vital to preserve records of all your works as you will never know when you might need them.”