Protective Shield for the Spirit of Invention 

Each year Endress+Hauser (Switzerland) invests more than five million euros worldwide in the protection of intellectual property. This strengthens the Group’s position against its competitors – and spurs on the company’s inventors. The strategy proves successful: In 2013 Endress+Hauser filed initial patent applications for 236 new developments. The total number of ‘live’ patents and patent applications amounts to almost 5,700.

“We operate in an intensively competitive industry,” states Michael Ziesemer, Chief Operating Officer(COO) of the Endress+Hauser Group. “Our advantage is secured by innovative products – and in turn we can safeguard these innovations by protecting them with patents at a very early stage.” Michael Ziesemer, member of the Group’s Executive Board and responsible for patents, is therefore pleased with last year’s total of 236 patent applications; six more than in 2012.

In measurement engineering, the medium-sized company is one of the leaders amongst applicants for European patents. Endress+Hauser invests heavily in research and development in all fields of activity. Of the 720 employees working in this area, 365 were involved in filing an initial patent application last year. “We strongly encourage our employees to register their ideas as soon as possible and without any reservation,” emphasises Angelika Andres. The physicist and patent lawyer heads the 20-strong patent department of the Group that assesses and processes all invention disclosures.

Germany and the European Union, the United States and China are the countries in which Endress+
Hauser has applied for patents and holds the majority of files. Only about one third of these patents are actually used, as Angelika Andres explains. The patent portfolio is therefore regularly reviewed, keeping an eye on markets of decreasing importance: “The older patents become, the higher the fees.”

Even the 70 percent of patents that are technically unused nevertheless have an economic weight – “in order to stave off attacks from competitors,” as Michael Ziesemer explains. From time to time competitors believe that their industrial property rights have been infringed. “A large patent portfolio acts as a protective shield,”the Group’s COO confirms. The more patents a company can throw into the balance, the better the prospects in a dispute. “Our patents are our insurance.”

How innovative a new invention really is and what advantages it can offer customers often only becomes obvious after many years. Michael Ziesemer cites wireless technology as an example –the wireless transmission of measurement values, which is used more and more in the monitoring of industrial processes. “The peak time for patents was ten years ago. If we hadn’t patented technologies and the corresponding software and hardware back then, we would have to pay license fees today and would only be able to supply our sensors as components.” Instead, today Endress+Hauser is a successful system supplier in the field of wireless solutions.

For Michael Ziesemer the Endress+Hauser intellectual property rights strategy fits seamlessly into the long-term goals of the company management. An integral part of this strategy is the honoring of inventors at the annual Innovators’ Meeting, which took place in 2014in Freiburg, Germany. All employees involved in patent applications in the past year are invited. Prizes are awarded for patents that areof particular economic significance for the company.