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The threat of reverse engineering

Profit From Your Ideas Magazine

25 Mar 2011

Patenting a product, doesn't mean competitors can't reverse engineer and claim it

The company is an established player in the electronics industry and provides a complete range of services from PCB assembly, box build manufacturing, OEM/ODM turnkey solutions and cable assembly manufacturing. it recently entered a new growth phase it its business by creating a new line of products that focuses on livestock tagging.


The electronic ID will enable farmers to do birth-to-slaughter tracking, protecting their reputation as suppliers of "clean" meat and dairy products and giving them a competitive advantage in domestic and export markets. The company spent a substantial amount on R&D in RFID technology and plenty of time garnering the numerous certifications from the various regulating authorities. Naturally registering a patent for such an innovating product was a necessity and the company filed the patent application in July 2009. Through the IPM for SMEs programme, the company also realised the extent of threat of reverse engineering by its competitors, to minimize the risks, it hired a team of full time professional staff to formalize and document the innovation processes and incorporate IP clauses in its legal documents, such as supplier and distribution agreements.

An added benefit of patenting the S-tag was realising the potential of the patent rights that reside within RFID Technology. That alone opened yet more doors of opportunity for the company.

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