Dr. Bernd Drapp and Troung Le of Fraunhofer IAO presented the Fraunhofer IAO IP Management Award to Dr. Joachim Fetscher of HOMAG AG at the annual conference of patent specialists Patente 2010 in Munich on March 15th. This was the third time the IP Management Award had been presented during the annual conference of patent specialists in Munich for outstanding services in the field of patent management.
HOMAG Holzbearbeitungssysteme AG succeeded in raising its selective patent management to a professional level. As Truong Le of Fraunhofer IAO emphasized: “We were particularly impressed by the prevailing active IP culture and the internal communication work performed by the responsible patent officers in order to encourage relevant decision-makers to make available the necessary support and resources for operative implementation of the selected IP strategy. The result of their hard work is a successfully functioning integrative system of patent management in which R&D departments and the Patent Division work in close cooperation on innovation projects.“
The successful development achieved by HOMAG Holzbearbeitungssysteme AG over recent years is inextricably linked to its enormous innovative drive. From the very beginning, with the invention of the world’s first edge banding machine in 1962, an enterprising pioneering spirit and ambitious technical developments have been a trademark of HOMAG Holzbearbeitungssysteme AG.
To date, the HOMAG Group holds over 800 industrial property rights and registers an average of four patents a month.
HOMAG Holzbearbeitungssysteme AG was selected on the basis of an on-going comparison process of many companies of different sizes and orientations to find the “best performers”.
As well as honouring the achievement of HOMAG Holzbearbeitungssysteme AG, the purpose of the IP Management Award contest is to allow all companies taking part the opportunity to improve their patent management processes. Fraunhofer research analyst Troung Le from Stuttgart commented: “All companies taking part are provided with an anonymous appraisal which highlights strengths and weaknesses in patent management in comparison with all participants.” This does not involve the publication of any identifiable company-specific data – with one exception: The best company is officially presented with the IP Management Award of the Fraunhofer Institute IAO.