ISO 56001, a lever for innovation
In the world of innovation, R&D departments are familiar with two tools: standards and patents. Patents act as a bonus for innovators, while voluntary standards – which are often confused with regulations and are therefore less spontaneous – act as a bonus for distributors.
And one serves the other. A good example of this is a voluntary design standard, ISO 56001, which aims to provide innovators with the tools they need to develop and monitor their innovation, in the form of a management system, with an essential intellectual property component.
Standard and patent, an inseparable couple
Patents are often thought to be the preserve of start-ups and large corporations. Not at all, say the experts at the Institut national de la propriété industrielle (INPI), an organization under the supervision of Bercy, which is to patents what AFNOR is to standards. However, France is lagging behind in this area, with just 14,700 filings by 2022, compared with more than 24,000 for neighboring Germany. One of the reasons? The process is thought to be too complex and perceived as difficult to understand. Patents provide effective protection for inventions,” points out Gonzalo Doisenbant, an examining engineer at INPI. It guarantees industrial ownership of the invention, to avoid counterfeiting, generate income via licenses, or communicate with customers or investors.
To help French companies and organizations take the plunge, there’s a solution: intellectual property management standards. At international level, the NF EN ISO 56005 standard, published in 2020, provides recommendations for protecting intellectual property. To complement this, the French standards document FD X50-146, drawn up under the aegis of AFNOR and due for revision in July 2023, provides a concrete, practical guide to support players in their approach. ” The texts are similar, but FD X50-146 is more precise and perfectly reflects the French position on the subject” , summarizes Gonzalo Doisenbant, who also sits on the AFNOR standardization committee on innovation management.
Managing innovation, a major economic challenge
These guidelines indicate, at each stage in the development of a technical solution, the verifications to be carried out and the steps to be taken, describing in particular the means of tracing and securing the invention,” explains Pauline Michel, examining engineer at INPI and also a member of the AFNOR standardization commission. Sometimes things happen very quickly, and by the time a technical solution is ready to be marketed, it’s already too late to think about protecting it. This means learning how to keep things secret, and putting processes in place to prevent disclosure before filing a patent application. “
When can we expect ISO 56001 certification?
At international level, the challenge is currently focused on the “umbrella” standard, ISO 56001. Debated for over three years, the text is now entering the public inquiry stage. You can take part from September 28 to December1, 2023, via your Norminfo account here. ISO 56001 approaches intellectual property as a management system, like ISO 9001 for quality. And, like it, will be certifiable. Independent auditors will therefore observe companies’ innovation management practices, including intellectual property, and, if requirements are met, issue a certification. What’s in it for you? ” Providing investors with proof that the company or organization is managing its inventions properly, and that the financing is therefore all the more likely to be successful,” anticipates Pauline Michel. It usually takes a year before such certification is commercially available.
Intellectual property: a question of sovereignty
Over and above investment, protecting innovation also raises issues of sovereignty. Faced with the dynamic American and Asian patent markets, Europe needs to catch up and better secure its inventions. Defending European sovereignty is part of the EU’s standardization strategy. ” In this context, existing and future standards repositories provide tools that our companies and organizations need to make their own if they are to remain at the heart of the game,” insists Gonzalo Doisenbant.
To raise awareness of these issues, AFNOR is organizing an information day on ISO 56001 on October 10, 2023. You can register here. Members of the standardization committee on innovation will exchange views with companies, universities, research centers and laboratories directly involved in the project. Voluntary standardization is a lever for developing intellectual property and thus having a positive impact on business activity,” concludes Pauline Michel. Now is the time to seize this tool to make the difference, structure your innovation efforts, improve your performance and strengthen your legal security. ” AFNOR is announcing two other dates in the regions to find out more about the subject: October 12, 2023 in Lille, with France Qualité Performance Hauts de France and the University of Lille, and October 26, 2023 in Lyon.
