Reform of the intellectual property management system of JSC «Power machines» has been recognized as the most effective in «The Best Legal Departments of Russia» contest

Power Machines won first place in the category “Effective Intellectual Property Management" of the professional contest "The Best Legal Departments of Russia", presenting the results of reforming the intellectual property management system in the company. The ambitious project has been implemented by the Power Machines team headed by Olga Fadeeva, Deputy General Director - Director for Legal Affairs and Personnel, with participation of Dentons, the global law firm.

As a result of the reform carried out during 2019 - 2020, a set of measures aimed at improving existing and implementing new end-to-end business processes for management technologies and intellectual property (IP) items, as well as at reviewing patent strategy, protection of design and technical documentation were implemented. Currently, all procedures - from creation and acquisition to use and protection of rights - are systematized in the framework of the unified automated register of IP items, taking into account the peculiarities of the life cycle of power engineering products.

The most important work cluster was devoted to strengthening legal protection of design documentation and protection of the company's interests in the market of components, where historically there has been a large volume of counterfeit products. In the years of the Soviet era, drawings of equipment manufacturers were often in free circulation, in the 90s, insufficient attention was paid to the protection of intellectual property. As a result, there are a huge number of companies producing outdated spare parts with deviations from the recorded sizes, with material inconsistencies due to stress-related properties. Their use is a serious risk for operating companies, as the cause of generation equipment failure may be the use of non-original spare parts manufactured with deviations during repair work.

According to Olga Fadeeva, Deputy General Director - Director for Legal Affairs and Personnel, Power Machines has a huge layer of developments, methods and technologies that make up the company's intellectual capital. Thanks to the convenient, clear, and unified system of IP and technology management for all divisions, it will be much easier to present one's developments to current and potential customers, as well as to protect one's rights.

Working in the field of high-tech innovations, Power Machines annually creates dozens of new intellectual property items, including inventions, utility models, industrial designs, production secrets (know-how), and copyright works. Currently, the intellectual property portfolio of JSC "Power machines" includes 93 valid patents (another 9 applications for new patents are under consideration), 42 computer programs, 2 databases, 73 trademarks, and over 1400 know-how.

"In cooperation with our Customers we managed to build a comprehensive protection of the unique experience of “Power machines”," says Viktor Naumov, Head of the Russian IP, IT and Telecommunications Practice Group, Partner of Dentons. "The new intellectual property management system should become a driver for effective commercialization of advanced solutions created by the company."