The research project “Technical Standards as Critically Intangible Capital for Finnish Companies in an Era of Strategic Competition” (StandardEdge) maps and analyses the current regulation of technical standards and intellectual property (IP) in the AI and IoT fields. The project also engages business leaders and policymakers to interactively anticipate and mold the future of technical standards through innovative use of a Delphi backcasting approach. Ninety-five percent of the project is funded by Business Finland.
Technical standards are a critical driver for innovation, economic growth, and productivity in the knowledge-based economy. They have emerged as a key battleground in the strategic competition between major powers. Standard-related IP is highly valuable intangible capital, yet it currently plays a limited role among Finland’s national innovation policy instruments and is only entering the strategic thinking of Finnish businesses.
The project explores how EU and global law on IP/standards have developed in the IoT and AI fields, how they are expected to develop in the future, and what the underlying drivers and tensions are. It surveys how Finnish companies utilize technical standards and related IP and suggests concrete ways to improve Finland’s and Finnish firms’ standards/IP strategies, management practices and policies. The project also pilots a Finnish Standardization Panel.
StandardEdge is a joint project between the IPR University Center (Hanken), LUT University and FIIA that started in September 2023 and ends in August 2025. The project is coordinated by the IPR University Center. The FIIA team is led by Research Professor Mikael Mattlin and also includes Senior Research Fellow Elina Sinkkonen and two other researchers employed for the project.
Read more on the website of the project.
