Roya Ghafele: A Leader Paving a new Era in Intellectual Property

In recent years, we have seen leadership roles drastically transforming to cater to the needs of the dynamic business environment. Traditionally leadership was under less scrutiny than it is today. At present, leaders have to perform all sorts of roles and duties along with running the businesses. Another challenge added in the leadership role is dealing with pandemic and post-pandemic situations. We can say that numerous leaders were forced to reinvent themselves and their companies to meet the rapid demand. Roya Ghafele, Founder and Managing Director of OxFirst.Ltd is the ideal leader who has transformed the Intellectual Property Valuation and Competition Economics space with her (I am a girl) vision and sheer determination. “I am fascinated with the economics of intellectual property and competition law. Intellectual property valuation remains by and large understudied and we embarked on a journey to change that,” says Roya.

With the Establishment of OxFirst in 2011, Roya saw the opportunity to fill the gap between intellectual property law and economics. In particular, she saw a massive opportunity for companies to proactively manage intellectual property. Moving from a primarily legal approach to an IP business strategy is the key motivator for the team. ‘Worldwide, the patent volume is continuously increasing, but much IP sits gathering the dust and many firms lack an understanding of the business of IP,’ observes Roya. Since its inception, the company has been able to shake up a well-established legal industry and force legally trained minds to think about the business of intellectual property.

OxFirst has successfully helped Fortune 100 companies, alongside Law Firms, Private Equity Firms, and Public Institutions around the world unleash the value of intellectual property and foster competition strategy. OxFirst’s Intellectual Property valuations and economic analysis have been instrumental in assessing the value of patent infringements, the economic impact of investments, or the determination of an adequate licensing rate for IP. OxFirst’s valuations and economic assessments have a proven track record of success. They have assured innovators, lawmakers, and investors alike to get a grasp of the economic value of intellectual property, while adequately managing competition concerns. This helped formulate policies, determine business decisions, and execute on mergers and acquisitions.

Meeting current Demands

The IP and Competition space has been characterized by intense patent filing and litigation. Similarly, the new US presidency and Brexit have translated into demand for research on the economic role of intellectual property in the innovation ecosystem. OxFirst’s economic research and IP valuations have been key in meeting these current demands. The company has contributed to formulating the debate and understanding key drivers of economic performance.

OxFirst focuses on two key areas; Intellectual property valuation and economic assessments of intellectual property and competition law. An IP valuation helps to better understand the business dynamics around IP. It is at the core of any managerial, financial, legal, or business decision pertaining to the firm’s technology. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and more broadly also software and data rights offer a business the opportunity to generate income.

The OxFirst law and economics approach allows clients to get in-depth insights into the economic effects of the law. The company’s IP Valuation allows to uncover the relationship and gauge its importance to the company’s portfolio. The practical applications of the firm’s expert analysis can be used in a wide range of use cases. It has for example been used for licensing, sales, litigation, and policy formulation, or the commercialization of intellectual property.

A Team of Experts

Roya and her team at OxFirst have been constantly working towards offering a quality service to clients. Through its IP valuations, OxFirst has helped several companies obtain the capital needed to bring groundbreaking technologies to market. For instance, it has helped, a high-tech firm focusing on enabling super conductivity at room temperature access institutional funding of a significant amount through an IP valuation. Recently, it also succeeded in pulling off a major licensing program for a company specialized in social entrepreneurship. In the spirit of Open Innovation, the company’s IP valuation formed the cornerstone of a business strategy hinged on licensing key IP. In less than six months, the company (a three-man show!) generated over 20 Million Dollars. Furthermore, the OxFirst patent valuation helped sell patents of a distressed European company to a US-based private equity firm. Within 16 weeks, this raised 10 million for the firm.

At OxFirst, the team knows the science that underpins the work:“I think what sets us apart, is that we have our roots in academia. I spent over a decade as both a law and economics scholar at Oxford, Berkeley, and Edinburgh University. In addition, I also worked as an economist for the World Intellectual Property Organization. Very few can claim such a wealth of experience in patent valuation and economics,” says Roya.

The outbreak of COVID-19 redefined the team. They utilized the opportunity to fully digitalize their services and operations. For them, it has been an amazing leap forward for the usage of a whole range of ICT applications. Instead of sitting all in the same office, the team operates at across the globe.

The team at OxFirst consists of a highly motivated group of young and dynamic entrepreneurs who are highly focused on offering the best services to their clients. The culture in the company motivates to release one’s own fascination for the economics of innovation. They are always looking to explore more in each scenario.

Inventing The Future

The team at OxFirst is active in the field of innovation. Innovation is a key driver of growth and also great fun. In doing so, the company is paving the way for a new era. An era, where businesses trade intellectual property like any other commodity. The Intellectual Property valuations OxFirst undertakes will be key in achieving this.

Who would not like to be part of inventing the future?

The futuristic approach of OxFirst has helped in gaining numerous positive testimonials along with several rewards and recognitions. “I am extremely grateful to our clients and colleagues who have voted for us in these various competitions. The recognition of our peers is very important to us. We have worked very hard to achieve the award as ‘Best Intellectual Property Valuation Company’, ‘Best Intellectual Property Management Consultancy’ and ‘Best IP Law and Economics Firm,” asserts Roya. These awards, prices, and recognitions showcase the importance of advancing the state of IP valuation and economic analysis of IP and Competition. “I very much hope that going forward, we will be able to help more people unleash the value of their IP assets and how to go best along in managing them,” concludes Roya.

A Special Message to the Readers

Says Roya, ’this article is not about me. It is about a much bigger challenge: How do we establish an intellectual property economy and how do we make use of patent, copyright, data rights, and trademark valuations to help come to grips with the economic relevance of intellectual property. This is why I offered to contribute to this article.’