SUMMER 2022

Company: ASSA ABLOY

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Hi y’all,

Now it’s our turn to talk about our amazing CiP internship and master thesis work conducted during the spring of 2022 at ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions. Our names are Julia Häll and Jennie Ljunggren, the unique combination of a lawyer and an engineer creating a new perspective that we like to call “lawineering”.

Well, how did we spend our 6 months at ASSA ABOY?

The main topic of interest was intellectual asset mapping by developing an intellectual asset framework for ASSA ABLOY, to help capture and structure intellectual assets within the firm. The work has been underpinned by the CiP IAM Framework as well as Michelle Fransson and Marta Sadriu’s thesis project regarding data as an intellectual asset.

The rise of intellectual assets comes on the back of the knowledge economy and the increase in the amount of a company’s market value that can be accredited to intangibles. The ongoing march of digitalization around the world further shifts the focus away from tangible assets and traditional industrial manufacturing companies are adopting more digital technologies. There is a lack of comprehension, a knowledge deficiency, and plenty of ambiguity associated with concepts such as intangibles, intellectual capital, intellectual assets, and intellectual property. This creates misunderstandings and increases communication difficulties. The aim of our work has been to assess which intellectual assets contribute to value creation and how these assets can be divided into categories. Furthermore, in relation to the setting of digital transformation, we aimed to investigate if it might have affected the categorization of intellectual assets. Finally, we aimed to investigate how intellectual assets may contribute to value creation through control mechanisms to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

We have learned an unquantifiable amount about working with IP during this time period, however, the major highlight has been the interaction with knowledgeable business professionals and getting the opportunity to pick their brains.

To wrap this up we would like to give a shout-out to Bowman Heiden, his pragmatic approach to life helped keep us grounded as we went through different cycles of highs and lows. Karla Soler Riba’s efforts to facilitate this internship deserve a special recognition. Finally, we would like to thank all the people at ASSA ABLOY, Michelle Fransson and Marta Sadriu, and Katarina Wendin, the best thesis supervisor out there.

Kind regards,

Julia and Jennie