Podcast: Patent harvesting – build IP awareness and reap the fruits of innovation

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Podcast: Patent harvesting – build IP awareness and reap the fruits of innovation

Sponsored by

Zacco_360 IP_RGB.jpg
zacco podcast artwork v3.png

Tomas Wässingbo of Zacco and Gunilla Larsson of Tetra Pak explain how patent harvesting can help in developing a corporate culture of IP awareness

It is all too easy for the recognition and protection of potentially valuable ideas to fall down the list of priorities as organisational departments focus on delivery under pressure. Patent harvesting is a solution.

This podcast focuses on how to develop an internal awareness of intellectual property (IP) and the importance of setting aside time to recognise and capture ideas as they happen. The purpose of patent harvesting is to sift through these innovations, to identify which might be possible to protect and explore which might hold commercial value.

The process harnesses the power and creative thought of an organisation’s R&D team and other areas of the business. The results are not just restricted to patents, however, as the benefit of using cross-functional teams means that ideas for advancing business innovation or development can arise as by-products.

The podcast also explores the role of patent attorneys in the future and how it will be affected as AI reshapes the patent landscape.

Tomas Wassingbo and Gunilla Larsson.jpg

Tomas Wässingbo, a partner at Zacco responsible for the development of the innovation assets area, and Gunilla Larsson, IP director in automation and digital at Tetra Pak, addressed the following questions in a discussion with Managing IP's commercial editor, Phil Myers:

  • What are the benefits of involving people from different disciplines?

  • Is the approach applicable to organisations of all sizes and natures?

  • How has the patent harvesting process been received by participants?

  • How are Zacco’s Forward Patenting workshops run and who should be involved?

  • What will be the primary considerations for patent attorneys in the future?

An active approach to harvesting inventions can form an important part of the IP development and capture process, and contribute to decision making.

Listen to the podcast to learn more about how patent harvesting sessions set the “innovative locomotive” in motion.

About Zacco

Zacco, part of OpSec, is a true European full-service IP firm with a 360-degree approach to intellectual property. Zacco has the expertise, knowledge and insight to assist with the development, maintenance and enforcement of IP rights across all current and emerging fields of technology, as well as physical or digital branding, e-commerce, IP transactions, and IP due diligence.

The following Zacco podcasts, from 2022, are also available:

You can find all the Managing IP podcasts here.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

The firm has added six practitioners in recent weeks as it takes measured steps to build its IP practice with a focus on trade secrets work
Partners at law firm Silva reveal how their recent geographical indication win in India for Chilean Pisco paves the way for future victories internationally
Lawyers at Finnegan unpick the UK government’s SEP consultation, and offer tips for patent litigators
In major recent developments, a request for automatic service to counsel in provisional proceedings was rejected and a PI covering Spain was granted
Julia Ericsson of Sandart in Sweden discusses litigating patents at the UPC, overcoming prejudice and how to encourage associates to develop their careers in IP
Reed Smith lawyers say that with the UK’s AI law in a state of flux, IP owners should look beyond the country's borders
We preview Managing IP’s ‘IP Ones to Watch’ list, meet our newest recruit, and look back over the final law firm rankings release of the year
Michael Conway and Flora Hachemi of Haseltine Lake Kempner consider what brand owners and prospective trademark applicants need to know in the wake of the UKIPO’s SkyKick guidance
Our exclusive survey reveals German firms are failing to manage costs and develop young talent, but some counsel believe this is happening behind the scenes
Ulla Loreth, IP counsel at Puma in Germany, says logistics intermediaries can no longer turn a blind eye after ‘game-changing’ judgment in the fight against counterfeits
Gift this article