Innovation and Competition

“These days when I go to my grocer and see him type on a computer, I say ‘Wow! He’s using something I put together in my mind. It’s wonderful.”

Albert Fert

I’m sure you heard about the 2007 Physics Nobel Prize. This year, the Swedish Academy honored Albert Fert (France) and Peter Grünberg (Germany) for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR). This innovation can be regarded as one of the first major applications of nanotechnology which, according to Borje Johansson, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, opened the doors to “The MP3 and iPod industry“.

One Invention two Awards.
In 1988, Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg each independently discovered and published this new physical effect. Quickly, they realized that their discoveries would have a huge impact. In his first scientific publication on the effect, Fert predicted it would generate important applications.

Today, GMR is used in many applications from laptop and mobile phone to IPOD. This is the kind of inventions, that everybody working in technology transfer would like to manage one day. Seeing these results for the first time, we’re sure that they’re going to solve a problem. A Problem? Which Problem? Where? When?
These are the kind of questions we have to address in a timely manner that we will patent the good innovation before the competition.

First to Fill
In that case Grünberg was the first to fill a patent and is probably the only one to receive the returns from this breakthrough. On his side, Albert Fert patented, at least, two 2 other inventions in the US.

If you work in tech transfer, I’m sure that reading this post, you’re thinking of some of your projects. Writing it, I’m…