Powerlase

A CIPA case study

Powerlase patented technology attracts investment capital and helps bring down retail price of Korean-manufactured plasma TV screens by 30 per cent.

The retail price of TV plasma screens has dropped by up to 30 per cent in a year, thanks, in part, to patented laser systems being made by Crawley-based Powerlase, a spin-out business from Imperial College, London.

Powerlase’s high-power lasers are replacing established industrial processes in several industries – including aerospace and automotive – but it is the flat screen TV market where the company has rapidly achieved market leadership.  Powerlase technology is already used by the main TV screen manufacturers in Korea and is under evaluation in Japan and China.

Dr Mike Mason, Powerlase VP of Technology, explains:  “Until we introduced our technology to the market, flat screen TV manufacturers were still using conventional wet-etch photolithography to create pixel patterns.  This was an expensive six-stage process with poorer yields compared to the simple two-stage process of rapid laser patterning (RLP).  As a result of using Powerlase’s patented technology, companies such as Samsung and LG are now achieving a lower cost – to the benefit of consumers, who pay around 30 per cent less now for high-quality plasma screens than they would have done a year ago.”

University spin-out

The technology behind Powerlase’s current products was initially developed by a small team of researchers working in the Chemistry Department at Imperial College, London.   Imperial is often acclaimed as the UK’s most successful university when it comes to protecting and commercialising promising intellectual property, and the early stage research work was soon the subject of several patent applications.

When Powerlase was first spun out of the university, getting the IP strategy right was a top priority.  The company’s directors appointed patent attorneys Kilburn & Strode to advise and assist.  Powerlase now has eleven principal IP groups and has filed patent applications in all the major markets for its technology. 

Kilburn & Strode patent attorney Gwilym Roberts says, “Having a strong IP portfolio is a huge factor in attracting investment capital into a business.  We work with Powerlase to try and ensure they have a sound basis on which to build their future.”

IP pipeline attracts investors

According to Dr Martin Greenaway, a member of Kilburn & Strode’s Powerlase team, “It’s not just the existing patents that investors are interested in, they also need to be reassured that the company has a new technology pipeline and a sound IP strategy.  Good patent attorneys work closely with their clients’ management to maintain and develop an IP portfolio which is robust enough to support their business as it grows.”

Powerlase’s approach to its IP and to its worldwide marketing has won the company a string of accolades, including a UK government Smart Award for its technology in 2003, and the mantle of ‘fifth fastest-growing venture capital-backed company in the UK’ in April 2006, with an annual growth rate of 233 per cent.  Powerlase continued this trend with a growth of 400 per cent between 2005 and 2006.

Powerlase continues to invest heavily in new technology and the associated IP.  In 2007, it doubled its R&D facilities in Crawley, where it now has a team of 25 researchers working on the next generation of products.  The additional space gives the company the room it needs to expand its manufacturing capacity.  The company has also opened customer support centre in Korea and announced a partnership agreement with Japan Laser Corporation to strengthen its position in Japan.

For more information, contact:

Peter Prowse, CIPA : 01372 271234

Mike Mason: 01293 456216

Kilburn & Strode (patent attorneys): 020 7539 4200