EasyPillow TU/e course 0ZK00 - Intellectual Property Rights for new ventures (graded 9.3/10)
As part of the a learning line called Technology Entrepreneurship, this project was less about the design itself and more about the various ways of protecting it using Intellectual Property Rights (patents, design patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks). Together with my team (Mirjam Welten, Eva-Britt Leliveld, Mick Decates en Jana Geurts we conceptualized EasyPillow, a foldout pillow that works based on the same mechanism as a fold-out tent. We researched patentability through trying to find prior art and assessing our product based on the patentability criteria. Finally we decided to instead of filing a costly patent, it would be better for our company, a young startup, to make a quick move to market and invest in our brand recognition and loyalty.