Nuage Vision offers services related to IP, business development and board mentoring for those commercialising scientific research.


Nuage Vision offers services delivered by Pete Hotten across three broad categories: intellectual property, business development and board level support. Detail of each area is given below.

The services offered by Nuage Vision are tailored to individual client requirements and can range from small, e.g., a few hours mentoring interactions, to larger projects, e.g., helping a team develop business plans and associated business models to longer term involvement as a non-executive director. 

In addition to services provided by Nuage Vision our sister company Commlit.online Ltd (Commlit.online – Become commercially literate for business success) offers practical on-line training in commercial literacy, i.e., developing an understanding of the disciplines that underpin a business and building the confidence and language to engage with business people and specialists.

 
Intellectual property strategy support

Intellectual property strategy support

Nuage can help with the design, and implementation, of systems to

It is important to recognise the IP that is being created within an organisation so that optimal decisions can be made in how to maximise its value

Management will need to consider a wide range of factors from spanning fit to overall business plan, to financial and market competitiveness will all affect the decisions needed to optimally manage an IP portfolio.

What to protect / what to give away / what to keep secret / what to develop
Management will need to take key decisions

Keeping an eye on the competitor IP landscape; important to identify new technologies, market trends and even potential partners

Strategies range from the ‘defensive’ to the ‘proactive’; each level of strategy has its own merits and issues. Deciding what is correct for an organisation is a skilled task. Whatever level of strategy is chosen there will be resource requirements, whether it is internally driven or relies to a greater or lesser extent on external expertise.

 
Business development support

Business development support

Nuage Vision offers business development support with respect to assisting with or mentoring individuals or teams involved in scoping and negotiating agreements, particularly where intellectual property elements are crucial. For example:

Knowing how to negotiate and then construct appropriate licensing agreements to maximise the value of IP assets can make a significant difference.  Licensing involves both out-licensing aspects, where the IP owner (the licensor) grants rights to their IP to a third party (the licensee), and in-licensing aspects, i.e., the perspective of the licensee. There are many variables (terms & conditions) that can be used in drafting license agreements and making sure that both licensor and licensee have clarity on the rights they are providing and/or accepting and that these rights are aligned to an optimal business relationship is important.

When developing business relationships, it can sometimes be important to create a time dimension for both parties to analyse and reflect on the potential value of current and potential future IP that might be developed. Option agreements give a degree of certainty to both parties that if specific milestones are met, these could be, for example, time or technology based, then specific agreements will be triggered.

Intellectual property like any other property can be bought or sold. An alternative to licensing, where the licensor retains ownership of the IP, is assignment where the IP owner sells the IP assets to a third party, i.e., transfer of ownership. This is another way to realise value of IP assets and knowing how to structure assignment agreements is a valuable skill.

Business development relationships can involve projects where two or more companies agree to develop new IP and products with all parties contributing specified inputs into the project, e.g., money, facilities, expertise etc. Knowing how to define who has rights to commercialise existing IP (background IP that exists prior to entering into an agreement) and any new (foreground) IP developed during the project is critical.

Quite often when developing business relationships one or all companies involved may wish to test the products (materials) of others before committing to any agreement. This can be facilitated by use of material transfer agreements (MTA). MTAs can be constructed to allow one party to fully examine and test another party’s product and related IP for a limited time and to a defined extent. Making sure that MTAs provide sufficient licence for one party to do the required testing while ensuring the ‘product’ owner maintains full ownership and commercial rights is important.

 
Board level support

Board level support

Pete’s career has centred on the creation and running of science-based companies. From the perspective of both spinning out companies from research institutes, universities and parent companies and from the perspective of helping create, mentor and being part of the initial management team.

As a result, Pete has experience in the wide range of disciplines and skills needed to make a success of young and growing companies. From: 

  • nurturing the relationship between founders and, where appropriate, the parent or originating host institution, i.e, often where the initial intellectual property was developed,
  • to advising founders on the rigour of creating a business plan and associated pitches, or presentations, that will attract investment,
  • to implementing the business plan and growing the management team.

With over 30 years’ experience in this overall area of activity, including over 25 years as a Board director for various companies (all SMEs), Pete is well placed to mentor and advise individuals and management teams involved in creating and establishing companies. 

It is not only the new management teams that benefit from this experience but also where host institutions are not deeply skilled in the genesis of spin-out companies then they too can be helped in creating the optimal form of interaction and relationship with spin-outs.

Board level support can range from, for example, initial discussions on the pros and cons of creating a new company to an analysis of a particular issue to becoming a non-executive advisor over a period. Some engagements may be relatively short, possibly no more than a couple of hours, others may mature into relationships lasting a year or more.
 

Nuage Vision, through Pete Hotten, has a lot of experience in negotiating these types of commercial deals to get to an agreed commercial position. However, Pete is not a lawyer and it is always advised that a lawyer is used to go over draft agreements to make sure they properly reflect the agreed commercial position.

" I have known Pete Hotten for many years and have seen him in many roles, but how I think of him as the master at getting the best out of intellectual property. Whether it is in the form of developing an IP strategy or in negotiating a favourable deal through the licensing of that technology"

Bruce Savage
GFC Diagnostics Ltd

“Pete helped raise the awareness of IP in the organisation and provided valuable input around integrating IP processes, thinking and management systems; the business continues to build upon these foundational elements as we strengthen our commercial and technical capabilities”

Robert Sherville-Payne
General Counsel, Medicines Discovery Catapult

“It was a pleasure to work with Pete who provided sound advice, particularly on IP matters such as freedom-to-operate and competitor analysis in the early stages of 4D BioMaterials”

Philip Smith
CEO, 4D Biomaterials