Roxtec’s core product, a modular-based safety solution for sealing cables and pipes, is a hidden but very important part of many constructions. It’s a lifesaver – protecting both people and investments. Main market segments are power, telecom, marine and oil and gas, and Roxtec is nothing but a success story. The company was founded in the south of Sweden in 1990 and celebrated 20 years in the marketplace last year. Launched in a garage in the city of Karlskrona, today the company employs a staff of 500 and has 18 subsidiaries worldwide.

The Roxtec “family” is a global one and a tight-knit group as well. The core values of the company are present in every product and each employee, everywhere in the world, and the customer is always in focus, Jenny explains.

– We remind each other across the desk. “Let’s think simplicity.” It’s a great thing! We are not strangers at Roxtec and everyone knows how to talk to each other, no matter where in the world you come from. It’s the Roxtec family way: we do it together and everything is for the customer.

Jenny evidences great pride in telling me about the company, its core values and the collaboration between the people who work there. She believes this is a great strength and makes for a creative environment. There are no imaginary glass ceilings and the staff are in many ways very free. If they are up for a challenge – they go for it. It’s not surprising then that Jenny, with no IP background at all, was given the chance to help build up a functioning IP department.

– I thought it was exciting. The important thing was having the will and the drive to make and create something, not necessary the right “profile.”

Roxtec implemented the Ipendo platform™ about a year in from Jenny’s arrival. That made life a lot easier for the IPR team. However since there were no given rules on how to work at Roxtec, there was much freedom but also a big responsibility. Getting to know the Ipendo system has gone hand in hand with working out how to best handle Roxtec’s IP.

– When I started as a coordinator at Roxtec, IP was managed part-time and there were all these binders and documents. It was an untenable situation. If someone asked me what our protection in for example China was, the answer would be: give me a week and I will get back to you. The documentation was massive! Now I answer that question with the click of a button. It was like day and night when the Ipendo Platform™ was implemented. For me it was like a revolution! [Laughs.] The old routine also entailed that everyone sent everything at all times, every little receipt – report upon reports. With the Ipendo Platform™ this doesn’t exist anymore, which is a relief.

- The Ipendo Platform™ is easy to get to know and easy to navigate. The difficult thing for me in the beginning was all of the choices that had to be made. And being new to this, perhaps I would have needed more guidelines when implementing the system. Not having that means we have had to change our structure a few times in the last few years. But we have had great help from the outside counsels that also work in the system and handle the filings and applications. We work very much together and have a good dialogue, and we value their input and their participation in the process; it´s teamwork.

When Roxtec started out in 1990, the company had the necessary protection against direct competitors for its core product, and similar companies on the market knew each other quite well. But as the need for protecting assets increased at Roxtec, the IP strategy turned to protecting everything, everywhere, at all times. The work of sorting out what is important to protect and retain in the IP portfolio – and what is not – has been a big task.

– The old structure was thrown out quite fast. When we had everything in order we started deciding case by case – and through this effort the structure and basics for our work processes have evolved.

Jenny gets support from colleague Eva-Lena Andersson, whose primary role is to scan the market and identify commercial threats and different competitors.

– Eva-Lena and I start from a blank page and we take it from there. That might be a good way or a bad way – but it’s our way, and for us it is a great way to work. Also I have started using the Forecast Lab (module in the Ipendo Platform™) when calculating and setting strategies for defining value – it’s quite basic from my part so far, but it’s a good tool.

Fighting competition

The biggest threat when it comes to protecting Roxtec’s IPR is not from traditional competitors, which are mostly based in Europe. Roxtec competes with products that are nothing like its own but which offer varying sealing solutions. Here Eva-Lena’s work plays a big part, scanning the marketplace and figuring out where applications are needed. Jenny works the traditional IP and Eva-Lena the less traditional, and they meet somewhere in the middle.

– We continually go into new markets and compete with products that are nothing like ours. In these cases you can’t always protect patents; you have to find other ways to compete, for instance through good arguments and having the best and safest solutions. The biggest threats are in China, which is a huge market for us and also where our biggest subsidiary office is located. But the protection is not always what we hoped for, unfortunately.

- Many want to ride the wave of our success and copying is a huge problem. Our products may be easy to copy when it comes to the look and feel of the product – but not the actual product. It’s a great risk for us. If there is an accident with a copied product that can be confused with a Roxtec product, that is our reputation on the line. You take something blue and glue it up and it’s not safe and does not seal properly. This is a problem.

The staff at Roxtec, consisting of about 80% sales, understands the value the company holds in its intellectual property. Jenny is constantly in contact with different parts of the company, from R&D to sales reps, and she continually promotes the fact that everyone needs to protect the Roxtec brand and product.

– Last year when Roxtec had its 20-year anniversary, many realized what IP is and what role it really plays for our company. Most people didn’t know that the firstt filed patent only have a life span of twenty years and it caused a bit of commotion. But it’s great to see the change in the company – how everyone is concerned and asks the question: Is it protected? People understand the value of IP – it’s not just something that costs money.

We discuss the role that intellectual property has as a whole in the world and how fast things have changed over the past decade.

– It will probably make people think more and more about it. We watch huge global players fighting it out. And we do the same, only on a much smaller scale.

Alone but together

The day-to-day work in the Ipendo Platform™ is something that Jenny and the outside counsels take care of, and even though they are a team in that manner, Jenny prefers additional IP discussions and learning more tips and tricks in the system through interacting with other Ipendo Platform™ users.

– I work mostly with actions in the system, a few days a week. In the beginning all of the notifications stressed me out a bit. But then I remembered the documents and the paper trail and I relaxed. [Smiles.] It is so much safer with the system. Paper makes you nervous – not only that you might miss something, but that it takes such a long time to go through it all…

I ask if the fact that she is an engineer who understands the Roxtec product in a way that perhaps a lawyer doesn’t at times can be an advantage in her work.

 - Yes, I think so. However the best thing would be if I was both an engineer and a lawyer! I do have an advantage when it comes to reading applications, but many times the law is difficult. But you have to ask many questions – and never be afraid to ask.

- The annual Ipendo User Forum is so important in that sense – you meet other users and you get new perspectives. I would wish for more user forums during the year! You learn a tremendous amount from speaking to the other users, and for me personally that is very valuable. Many times there is a weakness in sitting alone. At larger companies you might have a big IP department and it’s easy to have discussions regarding solutions on a regular basis. But for other Ipendo users that work alone I believe there is an advantage in “linking” us together.

I ask: Like an Ipendo Platform™ User community – “alone but together”?

 – Yes, exactly. Especially regarding new features, for example. You seldom have the time to sit down and read the manual. But also to ask more simple things about different actions – all kinds of questions.

Asked what tips she would give someone using the Ipendo Platform™ for the first time – being experienced in IP or not – Jenny replies that it would be to really have a plan. She knows from experience that it makes things easier.

– When you have used the system for a while you take it a bit for granted, and you forget that for someone who is inexperienced it might not make sense. If you have a plan to begin with, adding new users is probably easier. Another tip is to use the system on a daily basis as well as taking help from your outside counsels when you need it. Again, it boils down to not being afraid to ask questions. Of course it depends on what your previous experience is as well. Maybe you have worked in a different system or have a good routine. But I believe that many haven’t and aren’t always super users. So listening to others and asking questions is a good tip.

-The first time I attended the Ipendo User Forum the penny hit the pot during a presentation by Välinge.

And I realized what IP is and what it can be.