Implications of the organizational changes in IPR management : an illustration with the Thales' case

The defense industry in France as well as abroad has in recent years undergone important technological, organizational and institutional changes that have profoundly altered its architecture. These changes have introduced a new division of labor that has brought about new interaction opportunities thanks to which additional assets can be created. In this context, the question of the protection of innovations and of their exploitation has become central. All the more so as the management of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) requires new competencies from industrial groups. This article analyses these evolutions and focuses particular attention on the new organizational arrangements that have accompanied them. The case of Thales, which in 2005 outsourced much of the management of their intellectual property, is representative of these changes. The question is, are we witnessing the emergence of a new division of labor with the creation of new co-specialized assets or that of a new form of spin-offs specializing in protection activities. Our analysis will show that what is happening is less the emergence of a new form of co-specialized assets than that of «entrepreneurial spin offs».