PURUS A/S and how it makes sense to sell patents
PURUS A/S. (formerly Jan Olsson aktieselskab and now part of the Swedish Purus group) was founded by an inventor. The Purus group of companies has over 30 years experience with product development and selling sewer systems and other environment-related products to the Danish plumbing market.
Creative and untraditional problem-solving on Denmark’s building sites was what lead Jan Olsson to set up his company, as some of the ideas were so good and inspirational that they could be put into production and a few were even patented.
One idea was so brilliant that the patent for the developed product was sold to an international group of companies.
The product rights sold to the Norwegian Joti Group are for something as simple as a flexible pipe bend. What was previously a difficult process suddenly became a far simpler operation. It is now much easier to fit drain pipes, e.g. the waste pipe for the kitchen sink. This process, previously requiring 6 rigid bends, now comprises an infinitely variable pipe with three adjustable pipe bend parts which can be rotated in relation to each other.
Even though the patent was originally sold because Jan Olsson Ltd did not have the resources to cover development of the product we now know as Jotiflex, it hasn’t been a bad business move.
Selling the patent gave the company financial security and at the same time gave them exclusive right to sell Jotiflex in Denmark. A good example that patents are for trading when e.g. finance or company structure preclude a company from producing their product themselves.
The Danish patent was granted in 1993 and the adjustable pipe bend was subsequently patented in many other countries.
According to Birger Christensen, Danish Director for Jan Olsson A/S (now PURUS A/S), patent protection has had the effect that so far nobody has tried to copy Jotiflex.