English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 3 - 2016 | Page 11
INNOVATION
Obtaining a patent is an important way to
protect intellectual property and to ensure
that our customers can always expect top
quality.
Just over ten years: that’s how long the
juridical wrangling about the Pendle-X Euro
low-loader with excavator trough that was
developed by Nooteboom has lasted. Earlier
this year the European Patent Office finally
decided in Nooteboom’s favour: the combination of an excavator trough and pendle
axles is unique and Nooteboom is the only
party in Europe that can bring this product
on the market.
A REAL BOOST
“This has ended a long period of uncertainty,” says Manager Toon de Smit, who is
responsible within Nooteboom for patent
applications. “While we were filing our application for the patent in 2005 we were already
challenged: the low-loader with excavator
trough was not thought to be unique and
according to our competitors we could therefore not apply for a patent. The principle
of an excavator trough and the concept of
pendle axles have indeed been around for
a while. But it’s the combination of the two
that is in fact unique and has not been seen
before and this is what the Appeal Board of
the European Patent Office pointed out in
their verdict. This is a real boost for us; it
proves that we really are trendsetters when it
comes to innovation.”
ENCOURAGING INNOVATION
A patent is nothing more and nothing less
than the exclusive and temporary right to
exploit a particular invention.
■
The combination of a deep excavator trough and pendle axles is unique
For a company such as Nooteboom, who
invests heavily in R&D, this can be valuable:
the temporary monopoly gives the patent applicant the opportunity to recoup the investment and to profit from the invention. Then
they can use these funds to invest in more
innovations. But in a wider sense the patent
also has advantages for the sector as a whole.
Other parties may be able (for a fee) to use the
invention - for instance as a licensee.
SMALLER MARKET
When mentioning patents people tend to
think of the large-scale lawsuits electronics
manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung,
bombarded one another with.” It’s not that
bad in the market where Nooteboom operates
in,” Manager Toon de Smit says.
NOOTEBOOM PATENTS
A large number of patents has been granted to Nooteboom. A few examples:
1992
1999
2002
2002
2004
2004
2005
2011
extendible semi-trailer with canopy
pre-cambered beam
spacer block for securing container
tower adapter
pre-pressure hydraulic steering
semi-trailer with pendle axles and excavator trough
lashing eye
adjustable steering for a multi-axle semi-trailer
For several other innovations patents are pending.
“Nooteboom is active in a niche market with
only a limited number of manufacturers
who are predominantly based in this part of
Europe. In the countries where we are particularly active we often choose to invest in a
patent to make sure we have the best possible
protection. If other people’s inventions are
copied with impunity, it kills off innovation;
if parties like Nooteboom cannot recoup
their R&D investments it doesn’t bode well
for the innovative climate in the sector and
for the customers. Nooteboom will therefore
do all they can to protect their intellectual
properties and is heartened by the ruling of
the European Patent Office.”
HIGH INNOVATION TEMPO
The list with patents at Nooteboom is still
growing. And in the coming years Toon de
Smit expects that list to get longer very quickly. “The innovation tempo at Nooteboom
has always been high. Meanwhile we have
stated explicitly that we have a strong
ambition to intensify our R&D programme
further and to increase the innovation tempo. In practice this means that we want to
introduce two significant innovations every
year. With the objective, of course, of providing our customers with top-quality trailers.
Trailers that due to a low total cost of
ownership not only bring savings financially,
but also score high in terms of useful service
life because of their clever design. Inventions
that deserve to be protected.” ■
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