Intellectual Property & Research and Development Plans
This was the topic of the assignment due today in class. Our class was meant to go from 5 till 9pm, but well...we finished at 9:45pm. Long and grueling. Shawn and I shouldered a bulk of the work for this presentation, reading through comparable timelines for similar devices and reading up on patent claims for our device and other devices. (I took a patent law course last Fall, and appreciated the density of these cumbersome documents). The end result?
more feedback, "Israeli style."
I think I'm getting used to the very upfront, blunt VC feedback...and am learning to appreciate it. I think self-esteem and confidence is rock hard. I'm learning that the key is to not take it too personally and roll with it, holding true to the belief that they aren't trying to tear you down (completely), but rather trying to encourage us to recognize our weak points and move forward and progress. It will be interesting to see how things go this week, with the business model and time to market plans due the night we return from a road trip sans internet :P
We leave tomorrow early (8AM) for the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee. It is going to be amazing I hear. Some swimming, mountain hikes, water hikes, a "kosher" goat slaying (perhaps that's the wrong terminology...I'll correct myself once I learn more about the practice). We'll also have a chance to meet with some companies also, which I'm looking forward to because one is a water company. I'm really interested in learning more about how Israel manages to recycle 70-80% of all it's water (with finland coming in second at ~17%). That was what I had hoped to get into when I first signed up for this program. I've really appreciated the diversity of the lab visits that we've been doing in conjunction with this program. As interesting as the medical device field is, it's refreshing to live and breath one thing for "work" and then have the opportunity to switch gears.
We had a discussion today on the ride home, perhaps more of an argument about Gitti and the roll of researchers in the world. I made the argument that if researchers weren't hindered by the patent and commercialization process, they would be able to publish more often and freely and the world would benefit from advancing the world of others. Currently, researchers are often forced by institutions to not publish their research because doing so forfeits their right to file for a patent and establish sole rights to the exercise of that technology or method. The problem with this is that the patent issuing process can take from 2 to 5 years, even longer. Meanwhile, the opportunity for new technologies, such as the new solar cell technology, to advance is slowed as people are unaware of advancements elsewhere in the world. This can result in redundant work and lost time. Despite being part of an MBA, I sympathize more with the researchers and their desire to "answer questions" rather than make money. I realize that patent systems and business sectors are important for making the theory of academia fit the context of the "real world," but also am not a fan of technology being held back for solely because someone wants to make sure they make more money. Hold it back because it isn't sustainable...yes. Hold it back because you want to make an extra million, while say others continue to go without water or electricity...no. I guess I'll never be a poster boy MBA :P
We had to visits today...
Bi-national Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Program
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