Sustainable Leafy is an agritech company that has developed unique indoor farming solutions for food sustainability. In gearing up to scale and expand overseas, the Singaporean SME worked with IPOS International to align its IP strategy with its business strategy and optimise proprietary technology and intangible assets for key global markets. 

Key Outcomes

• Identified key intellectual property (IP) and intangible assets (IA) key to commercialisation

• Uncovered gaps in existing IP/IA ownership strategy  

• Devised branding and trade mark strategy, and provided framework for cost-effective IP/IA management

• Recommended IP positions for effective, strategic collaborations

The Innovation

Founded in 2017, Sustainable Leafy Pte Ltd is a Singapore enterprise specialising in innovative Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) solutions. Compared to conventional indoor farming technologies like hydroponics and aeroponics, its proprietary CEA innovations improves yields by optimising plant quality, growing systems and conditions.

The Challenge

Sustainable Leafy was unable to freely commercialise its proprietary technology due to unclear legal ownership of its key IP/IA. While many aspects of its innovation were well-protected (including through various forms of IP registrations), not having a clear utilisation strategy in place meant low returns from its high investment into IP protection and maintenance, which threatened its business profitability. Additionally, Sustainable Leafy’s diverse product branding made it challenging for them to maximise value capture from its technology.

The Solution

IP Strategists at IPOS International first identified all IP/IA that were central to the successful commercialisation of Sustainable Leafy’s unique CEA solutions, along with uncovering gaps and risks in its current business structure and IP/IA management practices. The team then recommended strategies and actionable frameworks to determine right-sized IP/IA protection forms, safeguard its valuable know-how, navigate IP considerations in partnerships, and build a branding and trade mark strategy.

Results

With a clear overview of its IA portfolio and rights, Sustainable Leafy was empowered to strengthen its IP position and move towards commercialisation with confidence. This not only gave them an edge in negotiating IP ownership and business restructuring arrangements, partnerships, and collaborations, but also enabled them to develop a holistic branding strategy to effectively capture value with their product line. Based on the recommendations, Sustainable Leafy also resolved its IP ownership issues, and implemented cost-effective IP management practices to make more impactful use of its resources. Early identification of its IP/IA risks also helped them mitigate and minimise the impact of these potential obstacles as they embark on future innovation projects.

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