Author: Jia-Ying Guan, PMP

On 25 November 2025, the PMI Switzerland Chapter hosted an evening event in Lausanne to explore a vital project asset: Intellectual Property (IP). While often seen as a legal hurdle, the session framed IP as a strategic legal and economic tool that can determine a project's commercial success or failure.

Expert Insights

The keynote was delivered by Saidakhmad (Said) Azimov, Program Officer for the IP for Business Division at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Drawing on an 18-year career, Mr. Azimov highlighted a staggering shift in the global economy: by 2020, intangible assets, such as IP, accounted for 90% of the S&P 500 market value.

Said Azimov’s Key Quote: “IP is a powerful tool for businesses. IP Rights give you control, deciding who can do what with your invention, creation, or brand.”

The 10-Step IP Lifecycle

For project managers, managing IP must go hand in hand with managing the project itself. Mr. Azimov introduced a comprehensive 10-step lifecycle as a circular process essential for long-term value:

1. Identify your IP: Recognize existing or potential assets.
2. Territoriality: Understand where to register and use your IP (protection is not automatic globally).
3. Timing: Determine when to start the registration process to avoid missing priority dates.
4. Task Assignment: Decide who will handle the IP tasks within the organization.
5. Commercialization: Explore licensing options (exclusive or non-exclusive, cross-licensing, etc.) to generate revenue.
6. Valuation: Use cost, market, or income methodologies to value IP assets.
7. IP Audit: Regularly revise assets, as not all IP remains viable over time.
8. Enforcement: Prepare for mediation, arbitration, or court action to protect rights.
9. Legislation: Stay informed on national and international treaties.
10. External Support: Utilize National IP Offices or WIPO self-learning tools.

A major takeaway for PMs was that IP is either Registrable (Patents, Trademarks) or Non-Registrable (Copyright, Trade Secrets), and both categories may significantly impact project success and business results.

Risk Management: Lessons from the Field

The session used high-profile cases and a dedicated "Risk vs. Actions" framework to illustrate the stakes:

• Infringement Liability (The BlackBerry Case): Unauthorized use of someone else's IP can lead to massive settlements. Research In Motion (BlackBerry) ultimately paid $612 million in 2006 to settle a patent infringement suit with NTP.
• Strategic Licensing (The Fractus Case): Fractus adopted a sophisticated IP strategy early, pivoting to a model where 90% of its turnover comes from licensing its technology rather than physical product sales.
• Barriers to Launch: Missing IP rights can delay or even block the release of project deliverables.

Key Actions for Project Managers:

• IP-related Contracts: Include clauses to secure IP ownership (work-for-hire agreements, NDAs).
• Monitoring & Controlling: Ensure every change and version of project deliverables is documented.
• Legal Counseling: Seek expertise from patent attorneys or IP consultants early in the project.
• Team Training: Raise IP awareness within the team to coordinate management efforts effectively.

Deep Dive: The Q&A Session

The Q&A session reflected high interest in how traditional IP frameworks are adapting to modern technological shifts. Several key themes emerged from the audience’s questions:

The GPL and "Copyleft" Risk:  A critical question was raised regarding the use of open-source components. Mr. Azimov warned about the "copyleft" nature of certain licenses, specifically the General Public License (GPL). He explained that copyleft is a play on the word "copyright". While copyright is often used to restrict use, copyleft uses the law to ensure a work remains open. If a project incorporates GPL-licensed code, the "reciprocity" rule may require the entire resulting software to be released under those same open terms, potentially forcing the disclosure of proprietary source code.

The Practicality of "Freedom to Operate" (FTO): Audience members asked how often an FTO check should be performed. Mr. Azimov suggested that project managers conduct "pulse checks" using tools such as WIPO PATENTSCOPE, Google Patents, or other relevant databases at the end of the planning phase. This ensures that the project’s direction doesn't infringe on existing patents before significant budget is spent on execution.

Distinguishing Copyright from Patents in Software: There was an important clarification on software protection. While the code itself is protected by Copyright (like a literary work), some jurisdictions, under certain conditions, allow patent protection to software-based inventions.

Extended Resources & Further Reading

To explore the tools and frameworks discussed during the event, we recommend the following official resources:

• WIPO IP for Business: A central hub for practical guides on patents, trademarks, and designs.
• WIPO IP Diagnostics Tool: A flagship self-assessment tool to help project managers identify IP assets and risks.
• WIPO Frontier Technologies (AI and IP): A dedicated portal for policy papers and observations on how AI is shaping the global IP landscape.
• Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI): The primary resource for local Swiss IP regulations and trademark searches.

Networking and Thanks

The evening concluded with a Networking Apéro, where attendees discussed how to apply these legal insights to their current projects.

A warm thank you to our organizers, Nikola Goran Čutura (VP Events), Anna Sinkevich, Armida Bayot, and Mai Nguyen (Events Team Romandie), for putting together the event, and to Saidakhmad Azimov for sharing his expertise.

We also extend our gratitude to Regus Lausanne for kindly providing the venue and supporting our community.

Jia-Ying Guan, PMP

Author: Shahidah Foster, CAPM

Every other month, the Curator’s Pick brings you selected learning content from the PMI library. Each article spotlights one key topic drawn from PMI focus areas, PMI Switzerland Member’s Choice, or emerging trends.

This edition focuses on a question many PMO leaders are actively grappling with as we begin the new year: how can PMOs continue to demonstrate relevance as AI reshapes how organizations make decisions and execute strategy?

In a world where AI accelerates the pace of change, the role and positioning of the PMO are becoming harder to classify. Relevance is no longer defined by reporting alone, but by the PMO’s ability to enable decisions, align portfolios to strategy, and deliver measurable value. The PMI offers a wide range of learning resources that explore how PMOs can evolve into a strategic partner, a decision enabler and leverage AI proficiently to deliver value. 

The following curated resources offer practical and strategic perspectives to help PMO leaders navigate this shift and strengthen their impact in the year ahead.

Our first resource, the Bridging the Gap report, highlights what PMOs should focus on to become future-ready: a strategic, customer-centric, and value-driven approach supported by the adoption of new technologies (e.g. AI and data analytics). As more senior leaders expect strategy execution partners instead of reporting functions, this report outlines how PMOs can evolve from process enforcers to value-driven strategic enablers and why using AI and data analytics is critical to doing so. 

The next resource, AI-Powered PMO: From Dashboards to GPS, explores the evolution of the traditional PMO into the AI-powered PMO. By defining what an AI-powered PMO looks like and identifying what makes it work, this article offers guidance on how PMOs can effectively leverage AI to support prioritization, foresight, and strategic alignment.

As useful as AI is, there are important caveats. To balance opportunity with responsibility, 7 Mistakes PMO Leadership Must Avoid in an AI-Driven Environment outlines the common pitfalls that can undermine impact. It highlights risks such as failure to integrate AI into processes, understating the importance of governance and data quality as a basis for strategic decision-making as well as ignoring the ethical complexities that AI introduces into the project economy. 

Lastly, no matter where your PMO sits in its maturity journey, the ability to demonstrate its value is critical. One of PMI’s many on-demand webinars, Project Headway: Demonstrating PMO Relevance, focuses on asking the right questions to establish shared meaning of value and purpose while identifying ways to ensuring PMO resilience in the face of challenges. 

Whether you are reassessing your PMO’s strategic role or refining how AI is applied in practice, these resources offer valuable perspectives to support informed action. We invite you to explore PMI articles and webinars to identify which insights are most relevant to your PMO’s current priorities.

Shahidah Foster, CAPM

Author: Mariia Fufaieva, PMI Switzerland Anniversary Team

As PMI Switzerland approaches its 25th anniversary, we’re taking a step back to revisit the very beginning. What sparked the idea to start PMI Switzerland? What hopes drove the early team — and what challenges did they face along the way?

In this article, we speak with Dr. Alexander Matthey, PMP, the Romandie team pioneer, who shares personal memories and insights from those early days and reflects on how it all began.

Alex, what first sparked the idea to join PMI Switzerland and establish the Romandie team?

In 2001, I was already a Project Manager with 17 years of experience, the last 5 or 6 full time, with several diplomas / certificates in PM and related matters. I was hungry to learn more, to do better and apply best practices. In most of my employment I was following their methodology, processes and templates, but struggled every time I changed a job or did a new course, learned a new approach. It was hard to transpose my previous experience. The technical breakthrough was at Scala Business Solutions, we were trained in a heavily PMI inspired ERP implementation methodology. I learned about PMI, the PMBOK Guide, and the PM framework. The human breakthrough was that we lacked a likeminded community to share, to learn from each other, to inspire each other with successes based on PMI’s approach, in general in Switzerland, but particularly in Romandie. Then my ex-colleague, Erhard Zingg, from Cap Gemini Ernst&Young contacted me about founding a chapter. Believe me, it was like rain in the desert.

What was the biggest organizational challenge for you? 

For about 3 years I was very much alone deploying organizational energy. Some friends and colleagues were coming to help me here and there, for an event, a lunch, a presentation, but no constant support, professional companionship. For liaising with the PMI Switzerland Chapter I was alone, for representing the PMI Switzerland Chapter at PMI Leadership Meetings at congress venues, I was alone. 

In the early days, how much of your free time did PMI actually take up?

I just about added a 50% occupation on top of my Orange Telecommunication PMO Manager job. Some of it was admin work, emails, phones and event, some more intellectual, such as presentations on professional PM, on the PMBoK, on PMI as a Worldwide organization, on PM Leadership, some of it networking. Some of it was fun with great colleagues, beautiful minds, dedicated professionals: the Swiss Chapter Board members: Andrea Behrends our 1st President, Erhard Zingg, Martin Härri, James Greene just to cite a few.

What were those first events like: well-organized and focused, or more people moving around and figuring things out on the fly?

Well-organized? Well, I/we aimed to give this impression. However, the truth was we looked like the proverbial duck: calm and gracious above water, pedaling frantically below it. Always something or several things were going wrong, when no reserves in manpower, no way to double check, no extra time, no financial backing. But once I was talking, it was all smooth and nice and easy. It was just flowing, I mastered all the aspects of my topics. Our on the fly arrangement became the hallmark of a project manager working in his professional environment. Some humor and the problems became a reason to engage, to ask for help between old friends – aren’t we all PMs?

When did it first feel like “this is really working”?

Immediately. For two reasons. First, PM is improvisation, so at ease in it, at ease when explaining and popularizing it. Second, being alone there is no room for doubt, for self pity, for trial and error. Just do it and engage others, that’s it. When it became easier you can ask, after about 3 years, when the chapter life became more visible, there were some successes, there was some traction to become a volunteer even around me in Romandie. I could breathe. 

What was the funniest or most memorable failure from the early days?

After a successful first Chapter event I launched the second some months later. I invited the same 4 people who helped me to organize the first event. We had our first meeting, agreed on the topic, the timing, the audience, and distributed the roles, then went about working on those. At the second event organization meeting a month later, only one of the four showed up -30 minutes late. Needless to say I was feeling very – very, no idea what. Funny, stressed, disillusioned? I drank 3 soda waters with lemon in 30 minutes to drown my sorrow. But with the colleague in question, Sonia Boutari from Orange, by now retired back to her native Rome, we pulled together our improvisational skills and friendship, helping us stand up a second team. The event was spotless.

Looking back, what achievement makes you most proud today?

Over the 7 years I was involved with the PMI Switzerland chapter in various roles, Romandie grew at double the rate of the Swiss German part. For 20% of the population we had 50% of the events, about 40% of the member numbers, and about 45% of PMP certified professionals in Switzerland. It pleases me to think, and my colleagues tell me the same: I stood firm alone against 5 other board members. The effort is locked in similar numbers even today.

If you could give one piece of advice to today’s PMI Switzerland volunteers, what would it be?

Although pioneering is not really possible today, as we are well oiled now, there is always room for improvement, introducing new ideas, covering new fields both in a PM area or in Leadership. The good thing is volunteering allows professionals to develop skills which may be denied as an opportunity in corporate life at the time when one is ready. No one can stop a focused PMI volunteer. It can save 10 years of corporate ladder climbing to be a recognized PMI volunteer for 3 or 4 years. And the comradery and fun with it, is priceless.

Join us on 6 March to celebrate the 25th milestone of the community! 

Register today to meet Chapter pioneers in person, to learn more about the early days of PMI Switzerland. 

Author: Joachim Dehais, PMP

It is a brand new year, you have received gifts of calories and material, so why not gift yourself leadership? That is what the book Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, promises.

The work is based on a short survey sent to industry heads about what makes a leader and what are the greatest mistakes. The content is delivered pragmatically, with three axes: communications, appearance and feedback, and for each explanation, examples and advice.

In communications, we find the classical items such as verbal excellence, conscientiousness, assertiveness, and relatability. The key killers to communication excellence lie in attention deficit and nonverbal signs of weakness.

When it comes to appearance, the key to shining is grooming, followed by classical beauty and age appropriateness. The key killers are over/undergrooming and insecurity.

When it comes to feedback, the author recommends - as would I - to gather frequent and constructive feedback. What may be lacking here is recognising destructive feedback, as well as asking about project insecurity.

Eventually, the author refines the different standards for men, women and various ethnicities.

The analysis is quite egocentric unfortunately, and fails to make an unbiased analysis of intersectional pressures on subgroups, often siding with the politically convenient ones.

Overall, the book is a good reminder of what makes us appear successful, with assertiveness and emotional security being at the heart. While I find some of the politics-infused examples distastefully irrelevant, the things that I find are truly missing are:

- A reflection on the contexts that welcome leadership. Game theory and survivorship bias would do short work of some of the statements therein.

- A broader cultural reflection, as we remain on the textbook American leadership model.

- An integration of the drivers behind the judgments made in the survey, a survey that in itself is a rather tenuous base for a publication.

- Exercises to build the aspects recommended.

Joachim Dehais, PhD, PMP