fos4X Idea Management Increases Innovative Power and Further Expands Patent Portfolio

In the past calendar year, fos4X expanded its already strong patent portfolio as number of living industrial property rights increased by approx. 50%. This development was enabled by professional tools and optimized processes, along with the introduction of idea management.

Successful Introduction of Idea Management

In order to take advantage of the inventiveness of its workforce, fos4X introduced an idea management system at the beginning of 2018. All employees can now contribute their own ideas and participate directly in the success of the company and its competitiveness. More than 200 ideas were submitted in the 12 months following implementation.

From the Idea to the Patent

The idea management is supported by the specially developed software tool IDEA. Here, employees can easily report their ideas online, whereupon they are evaluated by a committee. In addition to product, process, and cultural ideas, idea management also serves as a preliminary stage for invention disclosures, whereby patent and idea management are closely linked at fos4X.

“It is important that we were able to establish an idea management system very early on and take advantage of the strong growth in the past year. Compared to other companies, our participation rate is above average.”

Says Manuel Mai, IP and Idea Manager at fos4X.

Strong Growth in Patent Portfolio

Some of the ideas reported were so promising that they were filed for patent. This allowed idea management to contribute significantly to the continued strong growth of fos4X's patent portfolio. As in the previous year, fos4X was able to expand this portfolio with numerous new applications and grants worldwide. The number of living intellectual property rights could thus be increased by approx. 50% to more than 130.