https://medium.com/@frank.tietze/intellectual-property-challenges-for-the-digital-economy-2214be9e5839

In the emerging digital economy, disruptors are bringing new ideas into the industry with the potential to transform existing and discover novel ways of working. The problem for the incumbent companies in many industries is not only that the technology has evolved and become increasingly complex, but also that they may not own the intellectual property (IP) that new digital technologies are built upon. In this fast-changing digital world, they face a fundamental problem: their power base is built on traditional business models and ideas that are in danger of becoming outdated and diminished. Many firms have built huge value into intellectual property portfolios for those traditional models, which are in danger of being displaced by disruptive new approaches.

The automotive sector is a case in point. It is likely that in a decade cars will mostly be powered by electricity and electric engines, and that these vehicles will be more ‘intelligent’, if not autonomous. Such changes are enticing different kinds of companies into the sector, including established digital giants, posing a whole new challenge to traditional automotive manufacturers. These transformations in automotive come with an enormous IP risk for incumbents. Two significant risks arise: First, the firms that dominate the automotive sector of the future are likely to be those that actually own the IP for the emerging technologies, or key elements of them. Knowing how to use them is insufficient. If this know-how belongs to digital giants entering the sector, it could mean that traditional automotive manufacturers need to forge partnerships in order to survive, and end up paying for access to the technology. Second, those large automotive companies that have dominated the sector for years have built patent portfolios around the technologies relevant for the current (or previous) business model. Those portfolios are in danger of becoming seriously devalued.