Someone once said , “At the Intersection of two different realms, you can create something beautiful”.

Though we had known this for long, we never quite understood the essence of this line, until we came across this poem.

“Poem, am I reading it right? This is a blog of a patent analytics firm. What has a poem or poet to do with it? “- That’s what you’re thinking, right?

We felt the same way until we came across this beautiful poem written by Anjali, one of our fellow GreyBians. The poem not only unraveled that we had a poet amongst us, but also introduced us to the beautiful world of Patent poetry.

Patent poetry, is a field of literature so uncommon, most of us are not even aware it exists. But it has its roots tracing back to 2004, when Steven Michelson composed the piece: How Do I love thee – A poem by a patent attorney. 

This beautiful field of literature is least explored,  and there are only a handful of poems in this field. Anjali’s poem, one among those few, describes the work of a technology scout in a brilliant manner.

Without any further ado, here’s the poem. Do let us know in the comments, your views on it.

The Life of a Technology Scout

One fine morning, a Gentleman asked me,

“What do you do for a living dear?”

I pleasantly replied,” I’m a technology scout, Sire”.

* * *

“That sounds interesting,

And a bit confusing.

Can you tell me more?”

“Yes sir”, I replied, looking at the moor.

* * *

“The work that I do, is least bit queer.

I track the developments, past, current and future, of a technology sphere.

Akin to finding diamonds, I mine for the best in technology,

So that companies could acquire the right set of patents, as a part of their strategy.”

* * *

“Patent strategy, as they call it, is a branch, very interesting,

The right set of patents when bought could be truly game changing.

Acquiring a portfolio of exceptional technologies, is a move just right,

Figuring out the right innovator to buy from, though, might be a puzzle quite.”

* * *

“The early innovators in a field, I try to figure out,

Be it startups, universities or large organizations,

or an individual inventor experimenting about.

For the technology, I find the products, prototypes and patents that surround,

All in an attempt to track the early innovation around.”

* * *

“Now that you know the gist,

Let me walk you through the process.

Though a bit strenuous,

I’ll try to make it swift.”

* * *

“Take your time sweet lady”, said the Gentleman.

“I have nowhere to reach at the moment.

For there is no pleasure better than learning something new

How can I miss it when you describe it with a poetic view”

* * *

“Lovely is your intention, of seeking knowledge.

I respect you whole-heartedly, now let’s continue.”

“A four-step process it is, Dear sir.

In the beginning, all that’s present is a blur.”

* * *

“I figure out the search logics,

and search all major databases.

English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean,

nothing significant I spare in the process.”

* * *

“Once I have all the information,

The next step is to filter them down.

Discarding the unwanted, the relevant ones I cluster,

An Eureka! moment every time, a diamond I discover.”

* * *

“”Technology analysis, it is called,

is not a simple task.

You need to be an expert in the field

And a master at the searching task.”

* * *

“For a technology in hand, I try to uncover

The early innovators and the key players,

Who could pose a future risk for my customers .”

* * *

“Sometimes I study their patent portfolios, to find how good are they.

Check if they have patented enough to create a toll-gate.

If not, that’s great, as I find the ideal set of patents,

That would help my customer venture in the field of desire, with a portfolio statant.”

* * *

“The key patents are always great candidates,

Ideal for an acquisition.

But when a customer needs something in line of his existing products,

I change the strategy and find something aligning, the mantra’s customization.”

* * *

“Universities, as you might know, are a hub of innovation.

I’d risk not to skip them, when licensing can replace an acquisition.

Research matrices and technology transfer pages are something I leverage,

In an attempt to find whether the technology in question, is something on which they innovate.”

* * *

“My findings on the Universities, does not end here.

I keep looking for liaisons that they do adhere,

For these collaborations could be a great read,

Hinting whether a university could be a possible collaboration lead.”

* * *

“I slice the clusters to look deeper, and find the White spaces.

Windows of opportunity, they are, if you create meshes.

The toll gate strategy works great when a technology is new,

Buy patents I suggest, as leveraging those could millions accrue.”

* * *

“While I scout a technology,

I do not leave out the geography.

As people often say,

You can tell a lot by examining the country of priority.”

* * *

“I look at a bit of this,

And a bit of that.

At the end of analyzing the geography,

I have the trends related in my hand.”

* * *

“When I am done with my analysis,

I don’t discard the clusters.

I rather accumulate them to make my system intelligent,

So that upon every next use, the results are much more relevant.”

* * *

“I work for an organization, that rewards the best.

In the team of top players, I try not to be any less.”

** *

“Patent strategy, as they say, can make a company a lot of revenue.

I just play my part in the process which gives them the innovation cue.

And that sir summarizes a bit of what  I do.

It was indeed a pleasure describing it to you.”

* * *

“Lovely is the description of your role, O sweet lady”

I am the owner of Microhard,  a very big company.

I indeed was thinking this morning of acquiring some patents,

Of a technology that’s rapidly growing, with related information latent.”

* * *

“I feel you might be a perfect fit for the job.

I would love to get in touch with your company to discuss the next part”

“Lovely it was meeting you sir”, I said with a big smile.

Guess I will make a move, now that I have a customer who’s impressed with my poetic style.

Saying farewell, I started towards my destination,

Knowing well, that this very description would remain etched in the gentleman’s memory for a while.”

***

Composed by: Anjali Chopra,  Research Analyst, Market Research.