Technology Management 2 - Protection of Entrepreneurial Startups

The course will give the student sufficient background to understand how new ideas can be developed and protected within existing judicial systems. The course starts with a look at these judicial systems, and then discusses how entrepreneurs can create and develop business models that are in line With the existing judicial systems.

Main elements in the course are:
Property rights - including patent law, design law, trademark regulations, marketing regulations, competition regulations and regulations concerning name of companies

Knowledge assets - including models for creating and exploiting knowledge assets, open innovation networks,exchange and trading of knowledge assets, relation between material and intellectual value chains

Business models - including development of business models, differences between industrial and knowledge-based business models, innovation strategies, relationship between judicial systems and business models, relationship betweeen busines models and IP-management

The course is meant for engineering students in the 4th or 5th year of their 5 year integrated master programme.
The course will teach the following knowledge:
- General knowledge about the challenge of protecting entrepreneurial start-ups and their core business ideas
- General knowledge about the range of variuos ways of protecting business ideas
- Specific knowledge about laws and regulations that can impact on protection of business ideas
- Specific knowledge of different non-judicial ways of protecting business ideas
- Specific knowledge of the connection between protection from competition and Strategic choices related to Technology development

Competences developed in this course:
- The ability to analyse a situation for a start-up company and decide how best to protect its core business ideas.
- The ability to link protection of business ideas with strategies for technology development and marketing of finished products and services.

Other important learning outcomes:
- By means of handing in a report, students will develop their skill in writing reports

The course has lectures and exercises. One exercise within entrepreneurship is obligatory AND Counts as 30 points to the total evaluation. The other 70 points are based on the written exam which is based on both juridical and entrepreneurship themes. If there is a re-sit examination, the examination form may be changed from written to oral.