Metis Partners

04/05/2021

In case you missed it, we were delighted to publish the full UK IP100 League Table yesterday for the first time and to announce that P2i are our delayed 2020 IP100 winners. Scroll back for the individual announcements and check out the full publication and league tables here: https://issuu.com/ip100/docs/ip100_2020_online_publication

26/04/2021

To conclude our masterclass, our 2021 sponsors, international law firm Rudnick LLP have disclosed some of their expertise on the importance of IP strategies for small and early-stage businesses:

“IP strategies are increasingly what investors will look for in a business. Whilst they will not want to see an overly burdensome IP strategy from a costs perspective investors want to know that the economic value of their investment is protected through having adequate IP rights, which they know will aid the business in maximising its chances of future growth. Being able to demonstrate that the business has a carefully considered tailor-made IP strategy is a valuable part of the investment process – especially for those businesses where a lot of the value of the business is tied up in their IP.”

Happy everyone!

26/04/2021

Our third high-flyer is longstanding entrant Fluidics Limited , a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company.

Raising approximately £15m to date, the team have consistently considered IP strategy within their R&D. Since their creation, the company has reviewed approximately 25,000 patents and built an international patent portfolio and implemented a trade secrets portfolio.

CEO, Dr Frank Craig, told us last year, “We prioritise intellectual property as it adds value to investments because, when we’ve had in potential investors, they like to see that we have patents and use that we reinforce our brands internationally. To date, the company has invested about £1m in intellectual property but it has added significant value to the business and fuelled customer and investor interest.”

The team at Fluidics Limited shine a light on how SMEs can use IP rights to build stronger, more competitive and resilient businesses.

Congrats guys!

26/04/2021

Our second star-SME is Glasgow-based smart mobile-marketing business . Grant Fraser and his team have consistently ranked in our Top-20 since their entry into the in 2016, due to their strong IP strategy, with a particular focus on Critical Databases, Brand & Reputation and Trade Secrets.

Since their inception in 2011, the company has received three successful rounds of investment and when we checked in with them last year, their 2020 goal was to almost double turnover through international expansion and joint ventures.

In January, they hit the headlines by accelerating their annual turnover expectations from £10m to £12m, growing revenues in the wake of the pandemic and receiving support from Scottish Enterprise through its Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund.

CEO Grant Fraser noted, “Because of the work we had done on our IP, we were able to quantify and qualify what the investor was getting. Our IP audit gave investors complete reassurance and confidence that they were making a good call.”

Digitonic’s focus on R&D, as well as IP protection has facilitated unparalleled growth within the Scottish market, another exceptional example of the importance of IP to business growth.

Well done guys!

26/04/2021

In celebration of we’ve asked our 2021 sponsor , funding partner for UK Tech Sector SMEs, to share with us how important IP is to their funding process. George Weir, Director at Factortech explained:

“IP is important to us during the funding application process as intellectual property has no limit on its value and can be leveraged in many different ways. We look at IP as one of our 6 investment criteria: Management, Management, Management, IP, Market and Product/Service!”

26/04/2021

First up in our line up is reigning IP100 champions Squared. The Glasgow-based photonics and quantum technology company have seen consistent success within the IP100 since their entry in 2017, reflecting their deliberate and clear IP strategy.

CEO said: “Our balance is that about 80% of what we do is product and product growth, but 20% of it is innovation and running programs that are about where technology might go in the future and establishing substantially valuable IP further down the track.”

It’s this competitive advantage that IP provides for SMEs that we believe has facilitated M Squared’s incredible growth and financing. Our IP100 veterans have recently announced £32.5m of funding provided by both Santander UK and the newly formed Scottish National Investment bank. M Squared has also leveraged investment as part of the project Square, meaning that total investment has reached £50m in a year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now at the forefront of UK efforts to commercialise revolutionary quantum technology, through their focus on IP assets they continue to expand, develop and innovate within the sector. M Squared are gold-standard example of the importance of IP in the sharpening SME’s economic competitive advantage.

Well done!

26/04/2021

Happy to all our friends and colleagues! To celebrate we will be giving you a rundown of our to demonstrate how its done when it comes to SMEs and IP Strategy ?

09/04/2021

Following on from our webinar last week in partnership with IP100, PatSnap and Peter Cowan, our CEO Stephen Robertson shares his twenty years of experience and insights surrounding IP strategy.

The theme is "managing and pruning" your IP portfolio. Whether you are an SME or a large entity, thinking strategically about your IP is vital for any sustained business growth.

Have a read and let us know what you think!
https://metispartners.com/2021/04/06/ip-strategy/

05/04/2021

As last week marked a year of home working for our UK team, we took some time to check in and ask about some highs and lows of the now all too familiar home office.

Despite the challenges of the past year, its refreshing to see that our varied team have thrived during the home working period. The past year has allowed us to spend extra time with family, learn a new skill or get out of bed that little bit later, in Analyst David Fitzpatrick's case!

Take a look at our latest Metis blog and share your own experiences from the year of WFH:

https://metispartners.com/2021/04/01/working-from-home-one-year-on/

31/03/2021

On Monday, Nike took legal action against a Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF, for trademark infringement over the designer's 666 pairs of modified Nike sneakers 'Satan Shoes.'

The shoes, which feature a pentagram, the words 'Luke 10:18' and, most shockingly, a drop of real human blood in the sole, have sparked a social media backlash.

Nike have requested a court order to permanently stop the sale of the 'unauthorised' shoes, noting that social media users have threatened to boycott Nike, creating significant harm to its goodwill, through its erroneous associations with Satanism.

There are many examples of independent designers who profit from the modification of Nike trainers, without threat of legal action. However, its the issue of damage to Nike's impeccable brand equity that has stimulated this legal response.

Nike's lawsuit in an attempt to maintain control of it's brand, protect its IP and clear confusion and dilution in the marketplace highlights the importance of brand & reputation and exemplifies IP protection at a high level.

It doesn't take an IP expert to understand that associations with Satanism are (generally) not great for your IP!

Nike sues an art collective over its 'Satan Shoes', produced in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X.

08/03/2021

Happy International Women's Day on behalf of everyone in the Metis team!

In order to pay homage to all women across the workplace, we asked three members of our team to reflect on their experiences as working women. Charting their varying experiences through generations, we celebrate how far we have come in the continued fight for gender equality.

https://metispartners.com/2021/03/08/celebrating-women-international-womens-day-2021/

18/02/2021

Only 1 hour until our second episode of 'IP Disruptors' in partnership with PatSnap.

Focusing on IP valuation for business strategy, we will discuss how you can use your often overlooked IP assets to create a positive impact on margins, growth rates and profitability.

Sign up here->

The IP disruptors is a fireside series developed in partnership with IP 100 to discuss about thought-provoking topics around IP.