This doctoral research aims to analyze the dynamic standardization and patent licensing environment and address its challenges in the context of the Finnish economy. With the grant I received from the Foundation for Economic Education, I will be on a 6-month-long research visit to Prof. Frank Tietze’s Innovation and Intellectual Property Management Laboratory at the University of Cambridge and study these phenomena and collaborate with the leading researchers in the field.
Research design and objectives
This doctoral research explores the marketing of patent licensing programs and analyzes the patent licensing environment. It also provides an understanding of the learning process in the innovation ecosystems related to licensed technology, its value, and cost transparency. Cybersecurity standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 27001) build a structured approach to mitigate cybersecurity risks on the Internet of Things (IoT). Exploring the adoption of ISO/IEC 27001 at the national level could derive implications for the adoption of cybersecurity standards for policymakers and management.
It has been expected that standard essential patent (SEP) licensors and implementers will experience challenges in the coming years due to the complexity of the IoT landscape. An increased number of inexperienced companies in various industries are adopting IoT technologies. Presumably, these companies are unfamiliar with the technology and licensing process. Therefore, analyzing the IoT patent licensing in Finland could help to provide viable solutions.
This doctoral research adopts research methods such as online content analysis of patent licensing programs and the adoption of cybersecurity standards. It also includes a survey targeting patent attorneys and engineering companies to explore the challenges of SEP licensing in the context of IoT.
Expected benefits
This doctoral research aims to provide an extensive analysis of the dynamic patent licensing environment and address its challenges in the context of the Finnish economy. A deeper understanding of the patent licensing environment will enable managers and policymakers to make more informed decisions. The results will lead to managerial and policy implications, for example, how companies in Finland and elsewhere could navigate the complex standardization and patent environments in the future.
Gülfem Özmen is a PhD candidate and Junior Researcher at the LUT School of Engineering Sciences. During the 2024 grant round, she received a €16,000 grant from the Foundation for Economic Education for a research visit to the University of Cambridge. Her project Internet of Things in the dynamic standardization and patent licensing environment is one of the thematic special projects of the Foundation for Economic Education under the focus area Industrial Dynamics.