Re-thinking the role of intellectual property in nano-strategy

Abstract In two past studies we observed and analyzed a group of European new and adolescent ventures, looking in particular at how they were about exploiting nanotechnology-based business opportunities, what was the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs), mainly patents, in those strategies, what was the link between patent filings in nanotechnology and exploitation patterns in the market. We formulated hypotheses and proposed an interpretative model of the strategic decisions and business choices. After a couple of years we took the opportunity to revisit some of the hypotheses and outcomes of the proposed interpretative model. If the overall framework of analysis is still, at least partly, applicable to the current situation, new trends emerge, which involve: the creation of extended portfolios of IPRs and intangible assets, which are both technology and marketing related, the entry of strategic investors and the new role of the financial and funding instruments, and the emergence of new types of consolidation patterns which are rooted in the net of strategic partnerships, collaborations and new forms of alliances in the supply chain and in the market.