Assignment 12: Part 3

IP MARKETPLACE STRAGETY:: micro (what we can control)

-       Open innovation: you don’t have to build everything yourself, term coined by Berkeley HAAS professor

-       We have a first to file system: start filing patents very early, file a provisional (not very expensive!)

-       Freedom to operate (FTO): know your market, this is how you can actually build a product
Wait, what is FTO though??
FTO = when testing or commercializing a product can be done without infringing valid intellectual property rights of others.

Since IP rights are specific to different jurisdictions, a "freedom to operate" analysis should relate to particular countries or regions where you want to operate. If you want to commercialize a new variety in one country, you might have complete freedom to operate if there are no patents or other IP rights covering that product.

However, you might not have the same freedom to operate if you want to export the seed to another country, where patents or other IP rights may have been already issued.