Patenting the Future: How Intellectual Property Shapes the Tech Industry
The global food robotics market is projected to grow from about USD 1.5 billion in 2019 to about USD 3.5 billion by 2026. Capital-intensive research and development in complex robotics warrants intellectual property protection. Data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reflects an annual growth of 55% in patent filings related to robotics and control methods.
Food robotic solutions frequently require an interdisciplinary approach in software, electrical, mechanical engineering to commercialize a product. Our robotics kitchen is constructed with a complex body, each part of which is supported by its own patent filings: hands — the cooking process, eyes and ears — sensors integration, control and safety technologies, subsystems — smart environments construction, brain — software engine. Computer vision and speech processing, as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning, encompass some of the essential functional and desirable functions in a robotic kitchen product and a robotic patent family.
Regulatory approval and compliance are common to certify and bring to the market robotic features, ranging from a significant innovation to a minor change. For innovators, the patenting process is a bridge that signifies a connection between the birth of an initial idea, product development, and a final product. Patent portfolio development resembles that each filed and issued patent is a bearing stone of that bridge.
A Burdensome Process That Protects Innovators
The patent process takes planning, investment and patience as the international patent systems are complex and arduous that generally take several years before yielding fruition. Entrepreneurs and innovators who have formed a start-up will require a deliberate effort to procure an early patent filing with the requisite fund while juggling competing factors. Protecting the core IP is an essential factor for providing a legal recourse for the years of technology development for the company as well as providing some security to the investments from copycats. Trailblazing a new technology from scratch requires an even greater resolve, resources, and comes with high risks and unpredictability.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) applying for all types of intellectual property — designs, trademarks, and patents — have more chances to grow quickly and succeed than companies with similar features but without IP applications.
Research done jointly by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) confirmed that SMEs which have filed at least one trademark right are 10% more likely to experience a growth period afterward. Applying for at least one trademark, patent, and design right increases the chances of becoming a high-growth firm (HGF) up to 33% compared to firms without IP rights applications.
After more than five years of intensive research and development, Moley Robotics is about to bring the idea of the world’s first robotic kitchen to life. Significant amount of technologies had to be conceived from scratch, as the existing robotic technologies around 2015 through 2018 were quite limited. As a result, we have built substantial patent assets with 70+ patent assets in major markets worldwide, which several key patents have already been granted. Most of the patents are invention patents, protecting the foundational technologies of the core business. With the world’s first robotic kitchen, Moley Robotics has revolutionized the advancement and approaches to the robotic kitchen development industry.
With the upcoming launch of Moley Kitchen later this year, we will unveil more patented innovations that are unique to this robotic kitchen.
