3. Knowing and being able to exploit innovation

You can find yourself exposed to a multitude of situations.

• You've developed a product or process specifically for a customer. Consider involving the customer in the financing of the studies, and, de facto , in the sharing of the exploitation. You may then find yourself in a situation where your customer is giving one of your competitors the opportunity to compete with you. Even if, in principle, you should be able to prohibit this type of approach, in practice it is impossible for you to oppose your customer.

• If, on the other hand, you decide to assume all the costs and force your customer into this advantageous situation for you, he may well refuse to feel dependent on this monopoly situation.

• The third possibility, which is sometimes used, is to offer shared use to one...