Boosting deep tech business performance with the right IP strategy

Before Ben Halford, CEO of Surface Generation, met our patent attorney Phil Sanger, he was struggling to link his business goals with his IP strategy.

As a deep tech supplier of cutting-edge manufacturing solutions, to maximise Surface Generation’s commercial and competitive potential, the right protections needed to be in place.

Discover how the close relationship between Ben and Phil has helped the business thrive for more than a decade.

What challenges did you have with your IP?

I’d been working in consulting and taken various courses where they’d talked about IP strategies, so I knew a bit about how to build one. But I was very much going through the motions without any first-hand knowledge. As Surface Generation is a tech business, backed by internationally-renowned investors, we needed a proper plan in place to be able to grow. So I started looking for patent agents.

I met Phil while he was working at Withers & Rogers. While a lot of the patent attorneys I’d spoken to before just focused on the legal side of things, he had worked with big, blue-chip companies, so he was more commercially savvy and pragmatic. He obviously had great legal knowledge, but was grounded in reality. This was exactly what I needed, which is why I started working with him. The relationship just clicked, and we’ve been working together ever since.

What appealed to you about Phil’s approach?

The ability to have sensible chats is the main reason why Phil has been so great. He challenges me so I have to think outside my own echo chamber. He’s always looking to weigh the pros and cons for individual tech and the broader portfolio.

He has an approach of ‘Yes, you can file a patent, but what are you actually trying to do with your business?’. He actually understands our advanced engineering markets, what's happening generally, what the trends are, and what's coming over the horizon. This perspective is invaluable.

It’s also the premise on which we’ve built our filing strategy. We have filed for a combination of core technology, applications and subsidiary inventions. Each has its own approach in terms of how and where we protect based on our commercial goals. Phil’s essentially become part of our inner circle..

He’s also never gouged us where other firms try to make additional money, like renewals and ad-hoc conversations. When Phil took the portfolio on, we compared a few different suppliers for quality and cost and he refreshingly stripped a lot of cost and admin from the process. He has also taken an active role in managing the portfolio to make sure it is operating as leanly as possible. He earns money by adding value and we like that a lot!

How has this kept your business competitive?

The proactive approach has been particularly helpful in keeping us ahead of the competition. We have a rolling watch for competitor activity, which has helped us file observations or oppositions to any applications that could cause our business problems.

It can also help us see where our IP has been unfairly used by third parties, so we can assert our rights. For example, someone had used some of our own drawings in one of their patent applications. These watch lists mean we can keep an eye on those operating close to the wind.

Where we’ve needed to react, even with multinationals, Phil has helped us navigate issues globally. Just from a sanity point of view, he’s an excellent litmus test as to whether I should be wound up about something or not!

How did Phil work with your team?

Phil regularly visits our office in Rutland. As well as sitting down and talking strategy, he grabs team members and talks through what they're doing. This gives him a clear insight into potential opportunities well ahead of time, which allows us to budget effectively.

We even got him to come in and run training sessions with the wider team. This showed them what we were looking for and, by bringing them into the fold, set the context for what we wanted to achieve with our various types of IP.

As the founder-inventor, my skill set is to bring all the subject matter experts together to create something. By investing in these training sessions, it made the team more likely to come forward with something we’d want to protect.

What are the main benefits Phil has brought to your business?

He has helped shape our thoughts and strategy. We will often discuss new ideas at the conception stage, and Phil will open a file. This allows us to track the invention’s development all the way through to filing as appropriate.

He also sifts ideas and material in the above context, so we know where to channel our energies and resources. We then construct a portfolio around that.

Finally, the monitoring of competitive activity creates a closed-loop feedback on what other people are doing in the space. This helps us make sure we’re current with our thought processes and keep up with the constantly changing landscape.

Phil’s support has truly been invaluable to us and his jokes aren’t even that rubbish.