How to develop an IP strategy for functional food in the digital transformation?

This is the first case study work for MIPLM (master of intellectual property law and management) students 2020/2021: Develop a IP strategy for probiotic yogurt in the digital transformation. Here is the case and the student solutions:

People are increasingly looking for foods which solve their health problems. In recent years, manufacturers have developed products with additives they claim to be beneficial for people’s health and wellbeing. This has resulted in a new category of products referred to as “functional foods” – and probiotic yogurt has pioneered this revolution.

Probiotic yogurt contains specific bacterial cultures which supposedly promote their consumers’ health. Most people are unaware of what probiotics actually are. French food manufacturer Danone recognized the opportunities provided by a “little bottle full of bacteria” early on and developed Actimel. Here is the Actimel advertisment spot from 2008:

Current trends permit the development of new business models for functional food: Health and fitness-conscious individuals take great care of what they eat and adjust their diet specifically to their lifestyle. They continuously monitor their fitness and other health data by using wearable tracking devices such as fitness wristbands. The data collected by these “wearables” is stored by the relevant providers and can be analyzed in order to gain insights related to training progress, etc.

Simultaneously, these data are used to optimize people’s diet. The increasing digitization of value chains enables manufacturers to produce and sell customized products which meet the individual requirements of their customers. This also permits the addition of suitable health-promoting substances in order to customize functional foods to individual customers’ needs. The health and fitness data recorded by the wearables can be analyzed and used in order to manufacture products with the optimal formulation for each individual user at any given time. Here is an 2020 overview of medical wearable devices 2020:

Customized functional food could be offered to customers in the form of subscriptions. This means that the customer places an order to continuously buy customized yoghurt in a specific frequency. As soon as the next delivery is due the actual fitness / health status is automatically retrieved from the wearable manufacturers’ databases and the individual yoghurt is produced. Yet besides the individualized composition and production of the yoghurt there is another major challenge for setting up an adequate logistics structure. Due to the fact that yoghurt is perishable food the cooling chain must not be broken until the product reaches the customer.

Hence “normal direct delivery to the customers’ homes” as offered by logistics service providers is not applicable. For this reason, a different distribution channel can be created by partnering with fitness studios. It can be assumed that a majority of health / fitness conscious people regularly attends such a fitness studio. For this reason, the customized yoghurt could be delivered to these places and could be immediately cooled there. Additionally, such partnerships could create great credibility for the value proposition of health and fitness supporting nutrition.

Case study presentations:

Task 1:

• Please give an overview of the case on hand in brief words.
• Please explain which kind of competitive advantage will be created in the business model behind functional yoghurt. Please describe the goals of setting up a 360° IP strategy for individualized functional yoghurt. Which kind of generic IP-strategy might be applicable for the case on hand? Please refer as well to the “fortress monopoly” as to the “value-added monopoly” and give reasons for your answers. Please describe the role of IP as an instrument for protecting the resources of a firm as well as for designing market positions.

Here you can follow the presentation to task 1

Presented by:

• Ricardo Rodriguez Cortasa, IP specialist, Red point solution, Barcelona Spain
• Anahita Ahouraei, IP manager, Iran Central Bar Association, Hezardastan Group, Teheran
• Tobias Lipp, IP Engineer & Technology Manager, Santiageo de Compostela, Spain
• Vijay Shelke, Associate Director IP Counsel, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories SA, Switzerland
• Aurélie Messier, IP Professional, France
• Ivan Gauci, Seconded National Expert, EUIPO, Alicante, Spain
• Matthieu Norrant, IP Innovation Leader, Aptar Pharma, Le Vaudreuil, France

Task 2:

• Please outline the business model behind functional yoghurt. For this purpose, please distinguish the resource perspective and the market perspective of the business model. Please explain the concept of a 360° IP strategy and of a 360° Objectives Matrix. Please develop a 360° objectives matrix for the given case.

Here you can follow the presentation to task 2

Presented by:

• Christine Walmsley-Scott, Luxembourg
• Jan Glückert, IP License Manager, Hexagon Technology Center, Heerbrugg, Switzerland
• Natalia Hirska, Senior Legal Counsel, ISV Tech Limited, Gzira, Malta
• Rudina Ann Pescante, Patent Manager Executive, Mirandah Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore
• Maria Daniela Botticelli, Senior Associate and Responsible of the Trademark Department, De Tullio & Partners Intellectual Property Attorneys, Rome, Italy
• Alexander Gangnus, Manager IP Consulting, Dennemeyer Consulting, Munich, Germany
• Erica Smith, Executive Director, Copyright Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Barbados
• Adrien Renoult, French & European Patent Attorney, Regimbeau, Paris, France
• Valentine Favrod, Innovation Engineer & IP Administrator, Fischer Connectors, St. Prex, Switzerland

Task 3:

• Please explain the principle of value creation by means of IP. In your opinion, which impacts should IP develop in the individualized functional yogurt business model? What measures must be taken to create the desired IP impact? In the present case, please develop ideas for areas in which IP rights should be designed and explain why these IPRs would be useful for the conversion of the business model. How can it be ensured that the IP impacts can be internalized? How could IP also serve to fulfil this task? For the present case study, please give examples of how IP can used to be generate a unique communication position.

Here you can follow the presentation to task 3

Presented by:

• Christian Slisse, Head of R&D, Otto Männer/Arns Group, Bahlingen, Germany
• Martin Reynard, IP Engineer, Ray Group, Grenoble, France
• Pierre Lorin, Strategic IP Counsel, Hitachi ABB Power Grids, Genf, Switzerland
• Xiaoqing Zhang, IP Engineer, Ray Group, Grenoble, France
• Audrey Bastard, Patent Engineer, Ray Group, Grenoble, France
• Nicolas Renaud, Intellectual Property Leader, Total, France