Infotec 2019

Spending resources to obtain patent protection on innovation is not necessarily the right business decision for every company. In fact, for some companies, patenting can initially be a business detriment and/or an inefficient use of capital. Yet, this is not to say the patent universe is not one of (if not the) greatest learning tool on the planet for sparking white space innovation and driving disruption in an industry.

To demonstrate the disruption white space analysis can have on an industry, this presentation recounts a situation where the presenter used white space analysis to develop a technology centered around a unique solution to a real world problem, secured around 20 patents, and ultimately sold the technology to Garmin Industries. Learnings captured from an in-depth review of the state of the art and the identification of a white space gap led to the identification and refinement of technology primed for a less sophisticated industry. This presentation explores the development of the technology to fill the white space gap, and how that technology became valuable to one of the largest technology companies in the world.