WHIRLPOOL corporation PUTS
A NEW spin on innovation
Case Study
DERWENT WORLD PATENTS INDEX
SUMMARY
The century-old Whirlpool Corporation has
withstood the test of time, providing consumers
around the world with kitchen, laundry
and other appliances. It has sustained this
success through innovation, the lifeblood that
keeps the company relevant to consumers
and drives growth. Derwent World Patents
Index® (DWPISM) on Thomson Innovation® is
an important part of Whirlpool Corporation’s
innovation activities, providing the critical
patent data and analysis tools that enable it to
offer unique solutions valued by customers and
aligned to its brands, sustainable competitive
advantage, and superior shareholder value.
As global competition in the household appliance
arena increases, Whirlpool Corporation has adapted
its innovation strategy to maintain its leading
market position. One way it’s done this is through
the implementation of a cross-functional innovation
process involving members from the Brand
Marketing, Engineering Technology and IP Legal
teams.
Whirlpool Corporation provides the teams with
access to DWPI, the world’s most trusted source of
patent information, via the IP research and analysis
platform, Thomson Innovation.
The teams work together in a unique and symbiotic
way to drive product development. The Brand
Marketing team is the market-facing group that
keeps its finger on the pulse of consumer trends,
shifts in technology and competitive threats. It also
manages the company’s brands to align innovation
with the values of each target market demographic;
it is the hub of Whirlpool Corporation’s innovation
teams.
IP SOLUTIONS
Joel Van Winkle
Chief Patent &
Group Counsel
Steve Kuehl
Principal Technologist &
Global IP Coordinator
Moises Norena
Director of
Global Innovation
“Everyone involved in innovation at Whirlpool benefits from
analysis powered by DWPI. It is the best tool for timely review and
provides a quick grasp of patent information for our technology
organization.”
- Steve Kuehl, Principal Technologist & Global IP Coordinator
Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation initiates IP research early
on in its innovation process, to explore whether an
idea is novel and worth pursuing, and to evaluate
the competitive landscape around the idea. IP
protection is key to the company’s long-term,
competitive advantage.
PAGE 2: whirlpool corporation puts a new spin on innovation with DWPI
The Brand Marketing team works closely with the
Engineering Technology team to translate customer
and market insights into winning innovation. It
provides direction on the need for new products,
which might include dishwashers with shorter
cycle times, refrigerators with more shelf space or
washing machines that use less water. With this
knowledge in hand, the Engineering Technology
team researches and develops technologies that
deliver benefits to customers.
The Engineering Technology and IP Legal teams use
DWPI on Thomson Innovation to explore potential
growth areas and identify competitive activity. DWPI
also provides a fast and effective way to evaluate
the patentability of new inventions. Frequently,
the initial search results from DWPI serve as a
springboard for more in-depth research and
analysis. The Engineering Technology and IP Legal
teams collaborate on the best IP strategy to follow
- pursuing protection of the unique and compelling
solutions developed by Whirlpool Corporation to
drive sustainable competitive advantage.
IP generates sustainable competitive advantage.
To continue its growth into the next century,
Whirlpool Corporation needs to continually
develop innovative products that will be valued
by consumers. DWPI on Thomson Innovation
is instrumental in giving the company visibility
on competitive technology development, which
can be used to shape its innovation efforts. The
comprehensive content combined with powerful
visualization tools make analysis of opportunities
much easier.
“Innovation is a core driver to deliver long-term
goals at Whirlpool Corporation. It is the lifeblood
of the company – how we bring to market unique
and compelling consumer solutions that provide
sustainable competitive advantage. We don’t want
to be in a commodity business, we want to be in
the innovation space. We differentiate Whirlpool
Corporation through our innovation - and DWPI
helps us do that.”
Moises Norena
Director of Global Innovation
Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool
Corporation is
recognized as a
global innovation
leader. In 2011,
it was ranked
the world’s 6th
most innovative
company by Fast
Company magazine
and was named the
#1 most innovative
company in Brazil
by Negocios
magazine.
LESSONS LEARNED
IP is a team sport.
Driving innovation within Whirlpool Corporation
is a collaborative, team activity. The Brand
Marketing, Engineering Technology and IP Legal
teams work closely together to identify areas for
potential innovation, assess the technological and
competitive landscape, and develop an effective
IP strategy. Since users’ patent knowledge varies,
DWPI on Thomson Innovation is the ideal solution
as it offers tiered access levels, robust analytics
and an intuitive interface.
“DWPI gives us a window into what’s happening
around the world in terms of patent activity. It is the
best single source of global patenting. For those
who don’t deal with patents on a frequent basis,
the Derwent summaries help them look at patent
families and not just individual documents, so they
are looking at the invention.”
Steve Kuehl
Principal Technologist & Global IP Coordinator
Whirlpool Corporation
Monitoring the global IP landscape is essential.
DWPI on Thomson Innovation has English
translations of Asian patent data, making patent
information developed in that region more
comprehensible for English-speaking researchers.
The expertly indexed patents with enhanced
titles and abstracts helps Whirlpool Corporation
quickly identify information relevant to its research.
Without the English translations of Asian data
in DWPI, the company could not be as effective
evaluating the relevance of foreign patent
documents in considering the patentability of its
inventions.
“DWPI and Thomson Innovation are global resources
that enable us to see what the competition is doing,
build patent landscapes and create IP strategies in
support of developing a strong patent portfolio.”
Joel Van Winkle
Chief Patent and Group Counsel
Whirlpool Corporation
To learn more, visit ip.thomsonreuters.com/dwpi.
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IP SOLUTIONS
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