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IoT, or the Internet of Things, is bound to impact healthcare, consumer goods, education, industrial manufacturing and transportation at an unexpected pace and to counter next-gen legal issues, proactive technology lawyers, international patent attorneys and strategic advisors are required to update their knowledge and skills regularly. Get in touch now to discuss your queries with for IoT patent experts in areas of intellectual property rights, patents, life sciences, high technology and corporate lawyers.
IoT implies an infrastructure of networked physical objects forming an ecosystem including sensors, smart devices, networking capabilities, advanced data analytics and cloud services. Considering the complex nature of IoT, it presents various opportunities and challenges to multiple stakeholders, including consumers, technology corporations, software companies, hardware manufacturers and service providers.
Opportunities include connecting equipment and devices, building domain expertise and customer relationships. Threats include security and shaping platform standards.
IoT patent strategy includes integration of hardware and software invention elements while drafting patent claims. The Internet of Things (Iot) is transforming how we do business, live, work and do personal interaction. It’s even going to lead to the next industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0. In industry 4.0 the “things” will be things that are computerized and have artificial intelligence inside them. Think about all of the appliances you use to run your life: cars, televisions, computers, washing machines, etc…? Every one of those items was either invented or developed through some form of automation.
If you’re reading this article right now, you probably use at least one of those things, if not all of them. I’ll break it down into smaller components, starting with the most important one – Internet of Things or IoT. It’s a term that actually encompasses a lot of things. The term itself implies a massive change, something that will change how we live in a period time. But what exactly does that mean? Well, the IoT refers to the convergence of several different technologies, all coming together to create new capabilities and possibilities. Some examples of such technology include: sensors, cloud computing, electronic health records, telematics, artificial intelligence, cellular connectivity, real-time communication and multimedia interconnectivity.
The IoT will change how we connect to each other and to our world in a period of maybe 10 years. The internet of things will provide a massive boost to one of the most important aspects of human life: the ability to connect human beings to each other and to the physical world around them in order to create new living possibilities. One example of this is the development of Dubai’s Ashwell Air, which utilizes over 1.5 million wireless devices to power everything from retail stores to restaurants, to hospitals and even government buildings.
Opportunities include new products and services via connected networks, edge analytics and real-time services. For example, patient monitoring in hospitals, quality control in factories etc.
Challenges include long standing relationships with new equipment makers (Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia) and telecom service providers. Challenges include improvement in connections and better services to locate, authenticate and connect remote devices. Additional challenges include lifecycle management services to maintain, upgrade and secure complex devices and sensor networks.
Opportunities exist for traditional analytics vendors (IBM, SAP), cloud service providers (AWS, Alibaba), system integrators for strengthening external customer relationships and to offer tailored products and services. Challenges include multiple data sources whereby selecting right ones for insights and decisions becomes difficult. As custom solutions grow, it can result in limited integration witFh2>
Opportunities include new products and services via connected networks, edge analytics and real-time services. For example, patient monitoring in hospitals, quality control in factories etc.
Challenges include long standing relationships with new equipment makers (Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia) and telecom service providers. Challenges include improvement in connections and better services to locate, authenticate and connect remote devices. Additional challenges include lifecycle management services to maintain, upgrade and secure complex devices and sensor networks.
Opportunities exist for traditional analytics vendors (IBM, SAP), cloud service providers (AWS, Alibaba), system integrators for strengthening external customer relationships and to offer tailored products and services. Challenges include multiple data sources whereby selecting right ones for insights and decisions becomes difficult. As custom solutions grow, it can result in limited integration with broader data services.
Opportunities exist for latest technology sectors including robotics, drones and driverless cars, as most sensor information is collected locally and processed on board, which results in lesser need for remote data storage. Challenges include real-time capabilities and technologies, including computer vision, machine learning etc.
Internet of things have penetrated across multiple industry sectors and IoT applications can be seen in transportation finance, healthcare, retail, industrial automation and even the military. Some of the IoT examples include iBeacon (retail), smart industrial machines by GE, drones with powerful sensors for military applications, etc.
Products embodying internet of things possess certain core characteristics, including, limited user interface (UI), limited processing power, limited bandwidth and limited battery life. Such characteristics provide a perfect combination for IoT applications that demand massive outreach without burdening the infrastructure.
IoT devices and applications cover a diverse range of innovations eligible for creation of intellectual property rights by way of patents. Valuable Iot patent portfolios can be created by focusing on patentable IoT patent inventions, which get approved after preliminary prior art searches and patentability analysis.
Innovations can be launched after ensuring that there exists freedom to operate and any third party patent rights will not be infringed. In case of IoT based innovations, scenarios of joint patent infringement may be possible considering the interactive and collaborative nature of the Internet of Things.
While drafting patent claims and writing patent applications for IoT based inventions, quality of IoT patent is crucial for highlighting the inventiveness and novelty of the technology. In use, majority of innovations belong to the field of consumer devices and software. Secondly, IoT patents protecting next generation technological innovations may set industry standards or utilize existing ones, such as, BLE, 6LoWPAN, etc. Since most of inventions in this space are collaborative and interactive, patent owners may face patent enforcement issues.
Valuable IP and Patent Portfolios can be developed to include Internet of Things based innovations, which can be commercialized and monetized by exploiting the evolving nature of IoT.
Owing to the big data generated by IoT applications and devices, drafting a data collection policy to suit the needs of the business is crucial. Across all stages of IoT, including manufacturing, use, generation and utilization of data, legal issues can arise. Key is to have strong understanding of core products and to engage in strategic counselling for creation and enhancement of IoT.
Technology lawyers and patent attorneys working with clients in IoT sector have to understand their scope of work to cover telecom and consumer protection regulations. A thorough understanding of IoT based businesses is required to advise clients on multiple aspects, including, operations and infrastructure, growth and finance, privacy and cybersecurity regulations, IP disputes, payment systems, and related aspects of disruptive technologies.
IoT innovations are prone to raise ethical issues in collecting million devices, which can easily expand to a billion. Apart from issues pertaining to patent infringement, related issues include data security, data privacy, authentication, data and IP ownership, information governance, product liability programs, confidentiality, industry standards, educational outreach, equipment authorization, tax, custom compliance and legal strategy patent strategy, public policy, government representation, audits, international commercial and technology contracts etc.
Industry wise, IoT is bound to grow multifold in autonomous and e-mobility sectors, thereby requiring multi-tiered supply structure, application of telecom and media regulations, opportunities for information technology (IT) and media companies, cybersecurity in vehicles, payment models in cars, big data in automobiles, etc.
Rahul Dev is a Iot Patent Attorney & International Business Lawyer practicing Technology, Intellectual Property & Corporate Laws. He is reachable at info (at) techcorplegal (dot) com & @rdpatentlawyer on Twitter
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