We work on a lot of IP commercialization projects. If you ask, what is our motto when we are working on such projects, we would say: “At GreyB, we are committed to help our clients monetize their IP.” It might sound absurd/offbeat right now, but once you read what we did, we will get your vote of confidence.
This project was related to a semiconductor IC. We had to confirm the presence of few claim elements in it, which was demanding micron-level analysis of the chip. As there is a scarcity of public literature on the internal architecture of the chip, a digital search was not going to be useful.
In GreyB, we always execute our projects having an attitude that if it exists, we will find it. Hence, to find the right information, we decided to perform reverse engineering of the IC. We needed some specialized instruments and machines to perform the tests on the IC.
Continuing with this thought, we quickly identified the laboratories (private/ government/educational institutes) where we could perform the tests. Reverse Engineering of an IC is a process full of uncertainties. You never know what’s inside the IC, what may come next, and where you may get stuck. And on top of that, we had limited time with us. Hence, we made alternative strategies so that if one doesn’t work we have another running in parallel.
We brainstormed on all the hindrances that might come up during testing and built alternative strategies. The plan was to run all strategies in parallel so that the client gets the result on time. Since different strategies required different types of instruments, which were not available in any single lab, we had to run tests in different labs located at different corners of the country. This resulted in extensive traveling in a short span of time.
As we predicted, our initial few tests failed. However, later some tests worked and led us to confirm patent infringement. Although it gave us a feeling of success, we realized that the real test lies ahead.
Our work doesn’t get over by delivering claim charts. We work with our clients till their deal closes. The reason is: we always want to assure a smooth deal closing. We stick with our clients to answer every question that may come up from the potential buyers.
Since this was a big infringement that would cover 70% of the market, the buyer suggested few more advance tests for his due diligence. Now the buyer’s concerns needed to be addressed urgently, as we were in the middle of the deal and GreyB’s actions were going to decide if it goes through (in the next one week) or not.
Due to the limited availability of the instruments required for reverse engineering, these advance tests could be performed at specific laboratories in the US. Our MD, at that time, was in the US to meet some existing clients. As soon as the buyer communicated his requirements to us, our MD got into action.
In the next two days, we got results that answered the buyers’ queries in a thorough manner. In this way, we helped the client close the deal by sharing a shoulder with his requirements.
Being in this industry for more than a decade and working on hundreds of projects have taught us that sometimes it’s the attitude that matters the most. You may have all the resources available to you, but if you don’t have the attitude to find the result, even if it exists, you will not be able to find it.
Also Read: Do You Know How We Think Internally?
