Elizabeth Ward - If Youre So Clever Why Arent You Rich

Published by The Big Ideas Library, 2015

Copyright Jacky Fitt, 2015

Elizabeth Ward has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved.

This book is sold or supplied subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise:
a) be reproduced or copied in whole or in part and in any form or by any means without the publishers consent; or
b) be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent acquirer.

Copyright , 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

First published in Great Britain
First edition 2014

The Big Ideas Library
20 Fountayne Street, York YO31

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-9929859-0-5
eBook ISBN 978-0-9929859-6-7

Typeset by Ned Hoste

Printed in by CPI Group (UK)

The Big Ideas Library is the publishing division of The Big Ideas Collective Ltd.

This book is dedicated to my mum a midwife who brought the breath of life to many and was a breath of fresh air to everyone who knew her.
Marion Elizabeth Ward
24 September 1922 -17 May 2011

It is also dedicated to my wonderful friends who have supported me in writing this book.
You know who you are!
Thank you.

Introduction

Im indebted to a very dear friend for the title of this book. The phrase If youre so clever why arent you rich was, in fact, a family jibe used by my friend on his two sisters, both of whom were academically, if not financially, very successful in their careers. But in this case the title could well be used by any number of businesses who have great ideas but struggle to make money from them. This book is unashamedly focused on those who do want to make a fortune from their ideas but dont know where to start.

Containing lots of practical information about Intellectual Property (IP) and its application in business, this book is for start-ups, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and those businesses who are looking to dig deep into new territories to future proof their businesses. It is for those ambitious business owners, directors and entrepreneurs who want to benefit from their IP right from the get-go and/or strengthen their business before an initial public offering (IPO) or trade sale within the next five years.

This book is NOT is a substitute for taking expert legal advice. Its a guide; it will help you ask the right questions and point you in the right direction. It will add value to your business and increase your knowledge bank. The man who uses himself as a lawyer has a fool for a client. In an increasingly complicated and litigious world, this saying has never been more apt.

Ever wondered what would happen if Nike or Adidas took their names and logos off trainers? Would you be left with just another pair of trainers? Would you recognise the build quality or styling of the trainer in the absence of the name? I know that Id struggle with that conundrum.

Within every brand is a product, but not every product is a brand. David Ogilvy

Do you ever give any thought to food packaging? The style of the packaging, its name and position on the supermarket shelf? Do you wonder why food manufacturers give such thought to colour, name, and styling of what they sell? One style is used to sell a value product and another to sell an upmarket version of the same with usually similar contents. The same also applies to drinks manufacturers who make sure that bottles, labels and brand names have a particular look that entices their customers to buy them.

The look of such goods is carefully researched and a different look will attract different buyers according to label design, brand name, type face and message to the consumer. Clever marketers can carefully construct the look of a product to attract a certain age group or a particular audience.

Did you know that pharmaceutical companies patent not only the drug, but also the way the drug is made? They also patent incremental improvements in the drug, such as an improvement in the way the drug is delivered to the human body or the way it is manufactured. Clever technologists will landscape the patents already filed, months before they undertake any research and development (R&D). After all, where is the sense in researching technology that is already ring fenced by a third party? Yet many businesses do just that!

The packaging industry and some toy manufacturers review their designs and register the look of a concept where they think a product will become a best seller. Indeed, the Tetrapak carton style of packaging, which revolutionised the packaging industry for liquids, was originally patented. Those patents expired years ago and are now long gone; however, Tetrapak is still a successful packaging company. Do you ever wonder what made it a longer term success?

The words, layout, metadata and links of a website, as well as its domain name can greatly contribute to how easily a website is found on Google and therefore the traffic and volume of business it conducts. If someone slavishly copies the copyright of the website, including headings, metadata and format then the website owner can and will lose lines of inquiry and profit overnight.

Some businesses make a business out of creating super databases. Take the British Horse Racing Board (BHB) and the quantity and quality of data it produces on horses, riders, trainers and owners. The data it creates is of huge use to the gambling industry. Even modest businesses can have very valuable databases.

These databases are of particular interest to some buyers, even though the buyer may not be at all interested in the core business. Some of my biggest and fastest growing clients have made significant money using computerised databases that extract key information, which can provide amazing accuracy and detail in respect of consumer trends or data for Government statistics. You see a database isnt just a customer list or random information it is a map, a landscape that when interpreted correctly forms vital data for many businesses. How do you navigate the waters of your industry? Do you use the shore as a reference point, the stars or a GPS? You see winning the business race isnt about sailing the boat faster; it is about sailing the boat as safely and as quickly as you can in the right direction. Information can be used as a powerful directional tool.

What the BHB and other businesses are doing (sometimes without understanding it) is acknowledging the intellectual property in their businesses and making sure their investment is both protected and commercialised, thereby creating, not only a revenue stream, but also a strategic tool for growth. Sadly, however, quite a number of businesses simply dont recognise or see the value of mapping and documenting data to differentiate themselves from their competitors and miss out on creating a unique competitive edge.

Its high time we all got IP savvy, but why is it taking us so long to work out how to invest and exploit our wealth by creating intangible assets?