A R&D hub specializing in the development of an innovative fouling management system that can be utilized across a range of energy-intensive industries, including Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, and Biofuels. The Company’s technology aims to revolutionize how businesses manage fouling and to provide a low-carbon alternative end-to-end solution. The Company was in the early stages of commercializing and had generated minimal revenue to date, however had invested circa $16m in the development of its proprietary technology. It was seeking $5m investment prior to a $30m equity raise.
The Company instructed an intellectual property valuation of its IP assets on a fair value basis, in order to support its fundraise and internal decision-making. IP protection and IP management had been a priority for the Company during the development phase, and Management also wanted to understand the key value drivers behind the Company’s IP portfolio and how best to improve these prior to the Company’s planned fundraising activities.
We valued the Company’s IP portfolio on a fair value basis. Using our Metisology® approach we identified the Company’s critical IP assets include proprietary software with AI-enabled features, patent portfolio with international coverage and protection, key organizational knowledge and brand-related assets including registered trademarks. Through our IP and business diligence, we discovered that although the Company had appropriate IP housekeeping practices in place, there were gaps in its competitive moat, for example, limited trademark coverage in key commercial territories highlighted in its business strategy; and key patents being in early prosecution and not yet granted in a key commercial territory; and the lack of a trade secrets policy to protect critical Company IP. Whilst the Company could not control the timetable for patent prosecution; it could develop an action plan to address those gaps in trade secret management and trademark filings.
We delivered a Full IP Valuation report and provided advice to the Management team in relation to the key IP value drivers and the IP improvement activities that the Company could undertake to maximize future value. In addition, since the Company was in the early stages of commercializing its technology, it was crucial that our report narrated the key technical and commercial milestones that the Company had to achieve in arriving at the IP valuation, particularly as its software had not yet been deployed at scale.
IP Assets Valued: Patent Portfolio, Software, Key Organizational Knowledge and Brand-related Assets including Registered Trademarks
