As founder and CEO of Blu Halo, what does inspiring leadership look like to you?

The role of leadership is to set a true north. Once the direction is in sight, it is for leadership to bring stakeholders to the table and drive discussions to achieve the ultimate goals. It is about listening and helping to develop and shape competencies with stakeholders.

Blu Halo acts as an “in-house IP function for businesses”. Can you tell us more about this approach, and what makes it stand out? 

At Blu Halo, we cater to start-ups and SMEs. These are high-growth organisations and since they are small, they are nimble, flexible, innovative and high on IP creation. Often, what gets missed is protection and management of the right kind of intellectual property and aligning these assets with the business strategy. Even though management is aware, getting experienced personnel to handle such matters is an expensive affair. This is where Blu Halo comes in – we help companies get started with intellectual property from scratch. 

We start by understanding the business first – as intellectual property is a business asset – then the product and technology. This understanding involves both the current revenue model and the details of where the company sees itself going and how it intends to get there. We then set up the IP department, which includes establishing IP processes, integrating these with the development process, creating an IP portfolio, managing budgets and costs and other IP operations that help enable and drive business – essentially, everything that an in-house IP team does, hence the phrase “in-house IP function for businesses”.

Patent pool business models are evolving; what, in your view, is the most innovative approach? 

There is no one-size-fits-all or most innovative approach. What helps is to identify why the pool is created and what purpose it intends to serve. Is it being created to serve a certain sector or serve a pocket of application – or both? Then, carve out the pool. Since technology is multifaceted and can be used in more than one sector, it is crucial that companies remain elastic when it comes to catering to different work areas. 

What do you predict will be the biggest opportunities in the aerospace sector over the next five years, and how are you preparing to help clients take advantage of these? 

Aerospace is a very high-growth sector and is estimated to reach a value of close to two trillion US dollars by 2035. We are looking at in-space habitats, interplanetary travel and space tourism in times to come. To facilitate all this, in-space mobility technologies will need to be developed in order to reduce travel time and cost and enhance efficiency.

Another area of market opportunity in this industry is earth-observation technologies with a greater resolution, wider swath and better obstruction penetration capabilities.

While the sector is promising, it also is strategic. We help clients to balance the protection between patents and trade secrets. Both of these are equally essential as clients expand to other jurisdictions. While these technologies are curated for space applications, we also help clients identify allied sectors where the same technologies can be used and commercialised even further.

What advice would you give to a start-up looking to build its IP portfolio in India?

First, it is crucial for start-ups to understand why they need intellectual property and then align this with their business strategy. When such a clear understanding and alignment is lacking, intellectual property becomes an expense centre instead of a value centre. 

Second, all stakeholders need to be careful handling and sharing intellectual property when interacting with third parties or even within the organisation. Basic IP hygiene helps. Awareness brings in more conscious efforts by stakeholders to contribute towards IP protection and risk mitigation.

Third, prioritise and balance IP filings while keeping the costs in mind. It is essential to build a balanced portfolio of different IP assets (ie, patents, design, trademarks and copyrights).

Finally, seek help from experienced personnel to help identify, build and manage portfolios, as any lapses may lead to loss of IP protection. We are here to help.

Vivek Doulatani

Founder, CEO
[email protected]

Vivek Doulatani deals with setting up companies’ IP departments from the ground up, helping them to grow. He has been instrumental in devising IP strategy for clients in line with their business, and also helps the C-suite to enable their business models using patent information. 

Mr Doulatani has a master’s degree in space and telecommunication law, IP law and automotive engineering and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.