New technology and changing processes are making oil and
gas drilling and extraction more and more economic, whether
involving conventional or unconventional resources. While
innovation is important, it's just as important to take proper
precautions to protect it and to be able to enforce these rights
against third parties, in order to maximise the value of the
innovation. You get a competitive advantage from being able to
prevent competitors accessing or using that technology, and IP
rights allow you to benefit from licensing and collaboration
arrangements with third parties.
Here are some issues to consider in protecting your IP:
- Patents are increasingly used in the oil and gas industry. In
2013 inventors filed a total of 12,062 oil and gas patent
applications - three times the number of approvals sought ten years
ago. This surge has been driven largely by innovations in fracking
technology, with companies seeking protection over improvements to
fracturing
