The Importance of Patent Protection For Commercialisation
We delighted to receive the news that our clients, Restored Hearing were successfully awarded €2.3million funding from H2020. This enables Eimear, Rhona and their team to complete the scale-up of ‘Sound Bounce’ their sound-absorbing technology – building it into the next generation of cars, buildings, and planes to make the world a quieter place.
The Dublin-based company, which was a previous finalist in The Irish Times Innovation awards, uses metamaterials to create material that can absorb sound while remaining lighter than traditional noise reduction solutions. Sound Bounce is thinner than traditional materials and performs 100-1,000 times better than those currently available, particularly at low frequencies. The new material is designed to help deal with noise pollution, which has repercussions for human health and wellbeing, and the environment.
For us, and I am sure both Rhona and Eimear will agree, this is a prime example of how patenting an invention like Sound Bounce, has established Restored Hearing as a pre-eminent player in the market and will prevent others from commercially using their patented inventions. In addition, patent owners such as Restored Hearing have the opportunity to recoup development costs and obtain a return of investment in the development of the patented technology, which can then also can stimulate research and is a key requirement for raising venture capital. A crucial element for economic growth, patents also provide licensing opportunities with companies inside and sometimes even outside a company’s field.
Business partners, investors and shareholders are learning to understand that patent portfolios demonstrate the high level of expertise, specialization and technological capacity within a company, which for many can prove useful for raising funds, finding business partners and raising a company’s market and corporate value. This has proven true for Restored Hearing who previously received investment from SOS Ventures and also Enterprise Ireland prior to receiving the significant funding from the highly competitive European H2020 Investment instrument.”