As a producer of high-quality cleaning machines, products and appliances, i-team Global has one targeted goal: to simplify the cleaning process for the business market and to bring back the joy of cleaning.
An adjustment to the license agreement offered the opportunity to review its own position regarding intellectual property.
The Eindhoven-based company operates in 75 countries and has a distinct philosophy, says director Frank van de Ven. “We make customers think about cleaning in a different way. We do this by informing, innovating and inspiring. You can see that philosophy in everything at our company. For example, the office has a one-to-one replica fast food restaurant, a bus and a daycare center. That’s all with the aim of having the products experienced on site, in the work environment”.
Innovation is in our genes
i-team Global offers a wide range of innovative cleaning solutions. Each innovation must contribute to the five icons: faster, cleaner, greener, safer and better. The showpiece is the i-mop: a scrubber-suction machine that intelligently and conveniently scrubs and mops. I-mop machines clean faster than conventional mopping and scrubbing and are also much more practical and pleasant to use.
New license agreement
“The basic technique of i-mop is protected by a German patent. Due to expansion of our market activities and innovations, the agreements in the license were squeezed,” says Van de Ven. Therefore, i-team Global asked V.O. for assistance in renegotiating the license agreement. i-team Global had already generated a great deal of value for the patentee. “The patentee realized that, too. In good cooperation, V.O. then negotiated a better license agreement”.
Creating more synergy
The license for the i-mop is one part of the cleaning innovator’s IP portfolio. V.O. also helps i-team guard its own brands and patents. i-team Global was initially focused on product development for their customers. Van de Ven: “Thanks to V.O. we recognized that we could deal more strategically with our intellectual property and that we can create synergy by combining different forms of protection”.
Partners
The collaboration between i-team Global and V.O. is going smoothly, Van de Ven thinks: “I like the fact that V.O. does not wait and see, but continuously progresses. They also come by regularly. I think that’s important too, because that’s the best way to physically show what we’re doing. That’s why I also involve them in our strategy and corporate events. I see them as partners”.
