As our member community knows, innovation, invention disclosures and patents are not always a board or C-level topic. But Deutsche Telekom isn’t your typical company. Several years ago, the company began a multi-pronged effort to build and recognize a strong culture of innovation, spearheaded by Tim Oelmann.
At Deutsche Telekom Tim has introduced forward-thinking formats such as the Patent Garage, Ideation Lab, Patentathon (now Inventathon), and the Inventor Culture Initiative – bridging the gap between inventor engagement and IP strategy.
The results have been nothing short of stellar.
This fall, Tim will deliver a talk at Oktoberfest about the culture at Deutsche Telekom. Here’s a preview for our readers today.
Q: Can you tell us about your background?
A: Unlike most of the folks who come to this role, I am not a patent lawyer. My background is not in the legal field, but in business and innovation.
I joined Deutsche Telekom in 2004, starting with an internship and writing my diploma with DT. I worked briefly at T-Mobile UK in London in marketing, then became an in-house consultant at T-Systems focused on innovation management — including product innovation, tech innovation and business innovation. That brought me to patent management in 2008, and in 2009 I moved formally into the business patent department, where I was tasked with setting up monetization for DT. In 2017, I took over as Head of Business IPR Management, which is the role I’m in today.
Q: You pointed out that patents are not just a legal issue. Can you say more about this?
Patents are legal, yes, but they effectively bring together business, legal, and technology aspects – and no one element is more important than the other. It is the intersection of these areas that make patents critically important to the business today, and tomorrow.
I’d say that what is unique about my background is that I think differently because I come at this from a different angle. I don’t need to be the most well versed in legal, or in technology, we have our experts for that. But I do need to know how to realize new things, how to motivate people, how to think about business model innovation. I think that’s the biggest value I bring to this area of the business.
Q: How has Deutsche Telekom’s focus on innovation, invention, invention disclosures, and patents changed in the past several years?
A: In 2022, during the tail end of the COVID crisis, we saw shrinking numbers of invention disclosures. Our first response was to double inventor remuneration, and numbers came back up — but I worried we were just training inventors to respond to remuneration, and that the disclosures wouldn’t necessarily represent the best and most significant work. And, this was a short-term solution. We needed to invest, but to invest for the long haul.
We realized we needed a meaningful investment not just in remuneration, but in the broader culture.
So we designed and launched our Inventor Culture initiative.
The goal was to shift the mindset so people began thinking about patents and invention disclosures at the beginning of a project, not the end. We identified several business-wide measures, and developed ways of recognizing our inventors that go above and beyond remuneration, including:
- An Inventor Hall of Fame
- Event formats like the Patentathon (now called the Inventathon)
Q: I note that you’re wearing a 2024 Patenathon t-shirt. I love it. Listening to you talk about the programs I sense you truly “walk the walk” and care about the outcomes. Can you tell us how much time you spend evangelizing the program?
We got buy-in from Deutsche Telekom’s top management board right away, and we’ve been communicating about it continuously ever since, including at large kickoffs in front of large audiences. Over the years we reached more then 3500 employees with the PatentGarage and have specific formats like a roadshow to address Managers and leadership teams. This all is fueld by our inventors motivating others to become an inventor – our motivation is now spreading like wildfire!
Q: And you have seen positive traction among inventors?
A: Yes. I can say this is true both qualitatively and quantitatively. We see it when inventors are recognized — through the Hall of Fame and other measures. They become visibly proud and start talking about it, and it becomes a type of word-of-mouth marketing with the community growing organically.
And, the numbers support this impression. In 2022 — our low point — we had 190 invention disclosures and 93 patent applications. By 2025, we had 326 invention disclosures and more than 200 patent applications — over 100% growth from the time we identified the issue and launched the program to address it.
Q: How does LOT Network fit into this overall innovation approach?
A: The LOT Network and formats like an Inventathon operate at different stages of the innovation lifecycle—but they complement each other very well.
The LOT Network is a defensive IP framework: Members agree that if a patent is transferred to a non-practicing entity (a “patent troll”), all other members automatically receive a license to that patent. Goal: reduce litigation risk without limiting normal patent monetization. Effect: frees up resources and lowers fear of opportunistic lawsuits
An Inventathon (similar to a hackathon) is an innovation format focused on rapid ideation and prototyping, cross-functional collaboration, activating internal inventors (and sometimes external partners). Output: early-stage ideas, invention disclosures, plus patent filings.
One could say that it is front-end vs. back-end of innovation: Inventathon creates new ideas and IP. LOT protects against downstream IP risk.
Thus, finally from my point of view they are not alternatives, but complementary building blocks: Inventathons increase innovation speed, LOT reduces innovation risk.
Q: Give our readers a sense of what they can expect to hear if they come to Oktoberfest to hear you speak?
A: I will provide detailed insights in the measures of our Inventor Culture initiative, I will deep dive on the Inventathon format and in addition I will show an outlook what our next steps will be to further foster our Innovation and patent output.
Tim Alexander Oelmann, Head of Business IPR Management, Deutsche Telekom
Tim is an experienced VP with a demonstrated history of working in the telecommunications industry. Skilled in IP Monetisation and Patent Portfolio Management, Business Model Innovation and Strategic Management. Pioneer in implementation of Online Patent Auctions, as well as Pioneer in using Agile Management Methodologies for group wide Patent Management. Strong professional with a Diploma of advanced studies focused in IT and General Management from Henley Management College, as well as a German MBA.