Food for Thought
Insights on IP for food-tech innovators
"Free money" shouldn't mean "Free IP"
January 13, 2026
Collaborative R&D grants can expose your startup to serious IP risks. Learn the 3 biggest consortium agreement traps and how to protect your IP.
How to Build an IP-Aware Culture in R&D Teams
December 11, 2025
Building an IP-aware culture in R&D teams transforms innovation from reactive filing to strategic asset creation by embedding IP thinking into daily workflows —…
What Does Direction with Purpose Mean in Business?
November 19, 2025
An effective approach to innovation isn't just a collection of activities — it's a clear trajectory that aligns scientific work, business goals, and competitive…
Remilk's "The New Milk": How IP Strategy Powers Food-Tech Breakthroughs
November 13, 2025
Remilk's launch of The New Milk marks a milestone for animal-free dairy — and for IP strategy in food-tech. How does intellectual property turn revolutionary sc…
Is Your IP Portfolio Strategically Positioned or Just a Collection of Assets?
November 5, 2025
Owning IP assets without strategic positioning is like owning chess pieces without knowing how to play. Having patents, trademarks, and trade secrets means noth…
How Should Food-Tech Startups Protect Fermentation-Based Innovations?
October 29, 2025
Food-tech startups developing fermentation-based ingredients face a complex IP challenge: each step from strain engineering to final product formulation represe…
Should You Benchmark Your Competitors' IP Strategy?
October 23, 2025
Should startups benchmark competitors' IP strategies? Why copying patent filings can backfire, and how to build an independent IP strategy instead.
Should Your Startup Accept Samples from Competitors?
October 15, 2025
In food-tech and agri-innovation, collaborations often start with something simple — a sample. It sounds harmless, even practical. But from an IP perspective, t…
How Communication Choices Shape IP Strategy
October 8, 2025
When working as a fractional IP director inside a startup, a practical and surprisingly strategic question often comes up: should IP discussions happen in the g…
The Hidden Costs of DIY IP
October 5, 2025
In the world of early-stage startups, every dollar counts. In that environment, intellectual property can feel like just another checkbox — something to handle …
The Startup Dilemma: To Sell or Not to Sell Your Prototype Samples?
September 25, 2025
For many early-stage startups, the pressure to show traction is immense, and the temptation to sell prototype samples early is strong. But this seemingly simple…
Major Patent Dispute Emerging in the Alternative Protein Space
September 17, 2025
Recent filings highlight a developing conflict over ovalbumin production via precision fermentation, involving Onego Bio, its parent research center VTT, and Th…
How IP Protection Creates Market Power
September 10, 2025
Investors don't fund IP. They fund companies that know how to turn IP into revenue. The true essence of IP protection is rooted in one powerful concept: the rig…
How a $250 Patent Fee Cost Novo Nordisk Billions: Essential IP Management for Startups
September 4, 2025
Novo Nordisk will lose patent protection in Canada for semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) — a drug generating nearly $30 billion annually worldwide — all because of a…
TRL-Based Decision Making
August 28, 2025
When building new technologies, whether in food-tech, agri-tech, or alternative proteins, two questions always surface: What's our TRL stage? and Do we need to …
How Long Does It Take to Patent Something?
August 14, 2025
This is one of the most common questions I hear from CEOs, CTOs, and investors. Unfortunately, the answer is — it depends. The timeline isn't just a wait for an…
How Leprino Foods Used Patents to Dominate the Pizza Cheese Market
August 6, 2025
What does it take to become a market leader in a commodity-based industry? For James Leprino, the answer was clear: Intellectual Property.
When Should You File a Patent Application?
July 29, 2025
Innovators often face a critical question: Do we have enough data to justify filing a patent application, or are we rushing in unprepared? This timing dilemma c…