Transcript Slide 1

Intellectual Property Ownership in
Association Education
Presented by:
Robert Watters
Director, Education & Training
ASQ Learning Institute
Mission
• ASQ’s education system is to
benefit community (society)
as a whole, enabling
individuals and
organizations to achieve
excellence by providing a
comprehensive curriculum
offered through a variety of
ASQ, corporation, educational
institution, and other society
channels worldwide.
2
The Intellectual Property Journey
• ASQ’s education system was
redesigned and launched in 2009
• Key Inhibitors Identified:
– Intellectual property conflicts
– Intellectual property ownership
– Variation in contractual relationships
– Variation in revenue share agreements
– Variation in program design
3
A Long Road Ahead (5 Years)
Past State
Future State
% IP
% IP
20%
80%
20%
ASQ
Owned
3rd Party
Owned
80%
ASQ
Owned
3rd Party
Owned
What problems was this causing ASQ?
•
Limitations on content use
•
Difficulty taking the content Globally
•
Conditions that limited the use of repurposing
portions of the content for new courses
•
Restrictions in customizations
5
Establish a Strategy for IP Ownership
– What is ASQ recognized for?
• Certifications
• Content Validation (Subject Matter Expertise)
• Quality Body of Knowledge (QBOK)
– As stewards of the QBOK, what should ASQ
Own?
• Basic Quality Tools
• Certification Preparation Content
• Compliance-Based Courses
ASQ Solutions in the Strategy
• Develop and licenses materials,
others deliver
• Create partnerships to expand base
and ease burden of logistics
• Standardize IP contracting and
agreements
• Optimize modular material design
• Optimize product development
A Return on Intellectual Ownership (ROI)
• We have built out our Certification Preparation
Portfolio
– ASQ owns 98% of this product type
• We keep 100% of the revenue generated by this
product type (gone are the days of the 80/20 or more
split)
• Getting out of these relationships and building our
own content and investing in learning technology
improved our bottom line by $150k the first year
Things we are learning on our Journey
1. Have a strategy in place that identifies what you
want to own and how you plan to own it
2. Manage your relationships with faculty and
independent contractors such to maintain and
control ownership of your IP
3. Invest strategically in technology and content.
Understand your economics and opportunities
4. Have standard contracts and agreements that you
use
5. Choose your partners wisely (win/win)
Thank You