All biologists’ homes must be surrounded by flourishing flowers and foliage. Or so you would think. Matthias Erb’s home told a different story. The plant scientist’s attempts to grow vegetables and plants on his balcony all failed miserably. And the plants around his friend’s holiday home often looked a bit sad too.
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“Patents are a key selling point in talks with investors”
After struggling to grow tomatoes and flowers on their balconies, a team of plant lovers invented a smart irrigation system. The system waters potted plants autonomously for weeks at a time, without a water or electricity connection. Before bringing their idea to fruition, they checked whether it was completely new with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI).
Thanks to his invention, you don’t need green fingers to keep your plants in bloom. Matthias Erb, the founder of Boum AG, is pictured in front of the start-up’s office in Bern.
© IPI
Start-up examined its technology sector in Assisted Patent Searches
The team decided to carry out Assisted Patent Searches at the IPI. This gave them an insight into existing inventions in the area of plant irrigation and helped them to determine whether their system was new and innovative.
The start-up found the search format excellent and inspiring. In the video, Matthias Erb, the founder of Boum AG, talks about the start-up’s experience of this service and why patent protection is important to his company.
