Subsea innovation and IP protection

Subsea Expo, by the Global Underwater Hub (GUH), 22 to 24 February 2022

The world’s largest Exhibition and Conference on Subsea Technology is taking place in Aberdeen this week.

Subsea technology has a long history from the early work on cable laying to oil-field development, and has in recent times seen an explosion of new and innovative solutions in the field. Development is often driven by the harsh environment found subsea, which constantly pushes the technology further to improve the lifetime and increase safety, but lately also by the transition to renewable energy sources.

Looking at the agenda of talks, there will be plenty of opportunities for the interested to learn more about these developments, with headlines such as “Opportunities for the energy transition”, “Autonomous solutions”, and “Subsea technologies for offshore renewables”.

As the field develops it is important for participants with R&D commitments to determine the right strategy for their IP. International conferences encourage the spreading and sharing of ideas, which ultimately benefits all participants. However, when it comes to IP, sharing ideas is not always uncomplicated. Careful consideration needs to be taken regarding what information to disclose.

The steps taken pre-disclosure to protect any IP can be even more important. In subsea technology, patents are often used, since a patent can protect a technological and industrial invention. While other rights such as designs and trademarks also exist, patents can provide very strong protection for technological developments.

A requirement of obtaining patent protection is that the described invention is new. In order to establish if the invention is new the claimed invention is compared to what was publicly available before the patent application was filed. This could include the inventor’s own disclosure, such as printed publications distributed at a conference, a copy of presentation slides, or even a publicly delivered talk.

So, if you are heading to the Subsea Expo, or any other conference, to present your latest innovations, make sure to file that patent application beforehand, and make sure to include in the application all the information that is to be disclosed at the conference. Of course, it is still important to keep any further improvements after filing the patent application confidential.