Parking may seem mundane — but in the modern city, it’s at the very heart of real estate value, urban flow, and the digital transformation of mobility. The I3PM Case Study Smart Parking 2025 demonstrates how innovative companies and IP strategists are rethinking parking: not just as a static, concrete asset, but as a digitally connected, AI-optimized, user-centric experience that generates new revenue streams and unique spheres of exclusivity.

This post walks through the key ideas of the case study — from the role of parking in real estate, the evolution from classical garages to smart digital business models, and the use of advanced IP design, white spot analysis, and synthetic inventing to carve out strong market positions.

👉 Here you can download the case study: Synthetic, AI-assisted inventing as a part of the IP design process for the digitalization of parking uptoIP® and ABP

Why Parking Still Matters — And Why It’s Changing

In urban real estate, parking is far more than just a place to put cars. It’s tied directly to property values, tenant satisfaction, and a project’s competitiveness. In cities where space is scarce, adequate, well-designed parking boosts marketability and rental income. For tenants — whether businesses or residents — secure, convenient parking is often a key factor in choosing and staying at a property.

But the pressure is on. Rapid urbanization, sustainability targets, and changing mobility trends are challenging the traditional parking model. The rise of shared mobility and electric vehicles, alongside city plans for car-light communities, means that static concrete garages must evolve or risk becoming obsolete.

The Classical Business Model: Location, Price, and Margins

Historically, the business model for parking garages is simple but profitable: sell physical parking slots for hourly, daily, or monthly fees. Strategic location — near offices, shopping, entertainment, or transport hubs — determines pricing power. Operators tweak prices dynamically for events, peak times, or seasons.

Add-on services like valet, car washes, or reserved premium spots boost income. Efficiency is key: automation, maintenance, and staffing must balance costs with customer convenience. But while stable, this classic model struggles to adapt to new urban demands — flexible mobility, digital user expectations, and sustainability pressures.

Digital Business Models: Turning Concrete Into Data and Experience

The core shift is that parking is no longer just physical real estate — it’s becoming a digitally managed, data-rich, user-focused service.

  • Smart Parking Solutions connect IoT sensors, real-time data feeds, and mobile interfaces. Drivers find, reserve, and pay for spaces via apps. Sensors monitor space usage minute by minute. LED signage directs drivers efficiently, cutting emissions and frustration.
  • Dynamic Pricing uses real-time demand data to adjust fees, much like airlines or ride-sharing platforms do. Busy times command premium prices, while discounts fill empty spots at off-peak hours.
  • Subscription and Loyalty Models bring predictable cash flow and customer retention. Monthly passes, credits, or app-based perks create stickiness.
  • Integration With Mobility Ecosystems turns garages into hubs: park your car, pick up an e-scooter, hop on public transport — all coordinated through the same platform.
  • Contactless, Autonomous Options are booming post-COVID: license plate recognition, touchless entry/exit, or even self-parking vehicles managed by AI.

These digital elements shift parking from passive real estate to an active node in smart city infrastructure.

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The IP Perspective: From Protection to Value Creation

Digital business models bring new IP challenges and opportunities. Classical garages needed little IP beyond brand names or building leases. In contrast, smart parking depends on proprietary tech: sensor systems, navigation algorithms, dynamic pricing engines, user interfaces, and data analytics pipelines.

A robust IP strategy does two things:

  • Protects: It stops copycats from replicating unique systems and experiences.
  • Generates Value: Licensing smart tech, integrating with urban platforms, or monetizing proprietary data all create new income streams.

Designing Smart Parking: IP Design as a Competitive Weapon

The case study emphasizes IP design — a structured approach to building IP that matches business goals. It’s not enough to patent random bits of tech. Companies must identify:

  • What makes their solution unique.
  • Which parts drive customer benefits and willingness to pay.
  • How these features can be protected with patents, trade secrets, design rights, or trademarks.

For example, a smart parking operator might patent its occupancy sensors, algorithms for space allocation, or its user reservation interface. Meanwhile, the visual design of app screens, signage, or the brand identity itself can be protected with trademarks and design rights.

White Spot Analysis in the Smart Parking Case

In the Smart Parking 2025 scenario, White Spot Analysis is a strategic method used to identify untapped opportunities — both in the market and in the patent landscape — for digital parking solutions.

  • What does it do?
    White Spot Analysis maps out areas where customer needs are not fully met or where technology gaps exist that competitors haven’t yet covered with patents. It combines market research, customer feedback, competitor analysis, and patent data to find these unclaimed spaces — the “white spots”.
  • Why is it relevant for smart parking?
    In digital parking, this helps operators and inventors see exactly:

    • Where user pain points exist (like lack of real-time availability info, poor app usability, or missing payment flexibility).
    • Where technical solutions are not yet patented — for example, combinations like quantum-based dynamic space allocation, AI-guided pricing, or sensor-driven modular parking cells.
  • How is it done?
    In this case, the process uses:

    • Market segmentation (different cities, user groups, behaviours).
    • Patent landscape analysis, boosted by AI tools like patentbutler.AI, to scan huge databases for similar inventions.
    • Iteration — testing and modifying technical feature sets until areas with low patent density emerge.
  • What’s the benefit?
    Finding these white spots allows the operator to invent new technical solutions (using synthetic inventing) that target these gaps on purpose, secure exclusive IP rights, and protect unique selling points. This means new patents that competitors can’t easily circumvent, strengthening market differentiation.

In short: White Spot Analysis in this case is the bridge between knowing what parking users still need and creating protected innovations to meet those needs — ensuring that digital parking garages stay ahead of the curve in technology, customer value, and competitive IP strategy.

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White Spot Analysis: Finding the Gaps Before the Competition Does

A standout tool in the case study is white spot analysis — a way to map where the competition isn’t yet. By analysing patent databases, customer feedback, and competitor offerings, operators can spot unaddressed needs.

For smart parking, white spots might include:

  • Real-time reservations for multi-vehicle households.
  • Seamless integration with ride-sharing drop-offs.
  • Quantum computing for optimizing garage space dynamically.
  • Personalized customer interfaces that adjust based on user history.

Finding these white spots early and securing them with IP locks in an advantage that competitors can’t easily replicate.

AI and Patent Analytics: A New Edge

Traditionally, patent searching is labor-intensive. AI tools like patentbutler.AI now do this at scale — comparing thousands of features across huge patent landscapes in minutes.

The case study shows how AI:

  • Maps patent similarities.
  • Suggests modifications to push new inventions closer to “unoccupied” patentable zones.
  • Supports faster, smarter filing strategies.

In the Smart Parking 2025 scenario, AI pinpoints which combinations of features — like sensor placement, real-time data, or dynamic pricing triggers — remain underprotected.

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Synthetic Inventing: From Identifying Gaps to Filling Them

In classic R&D, inventions happen first — then companies protect them. Synthetic inventing flips this. Companies start with the customer benefit and market need, then use methods like TRIZ and AI to generate novel solutions that specifically fill white spots.

For smart parking, a synthetic invention could be a new algorithm that predicts peak occupancy using real-time city data, or a feature that dynamically switches parking configurations for EVs versus traditional cars. These tailored solutions are then locked down with IP, securing a unique selling point.

👉 Glossary entry for Synthetic Inventing

The IPFD Methodology: Connecting Customer Benefits and Patents

The Intellectual Property Function Deployment (IPFD) method connects all of this. It ties:

  • Customer Benefit — What problem does the parking solution solve?
  • Technical Feature — What enables that benefit?
  • Patent Protection — How do we ensure exclusivity for that feature?

Workshops with product managers, engineers, marketers, and IP experts align these layers, ensuring that innovation hits the market with clear legal protection and real perceived value.

👉 Glossary entry for IP Function Deployment

Cognitive Walkthroughs: Testing Usability and Patentability

Smart parking is a service, so usability is key. The study illustrates cognitive walkthroughs — a method to simulate a user’s journey step-by-step.

Example: A driver books a space via app, gets guided by signage, parks with sensor assistance, and pays seamlessly on exit. Each touchpoint reveals possible improvements — and potential patentable elements.

A Morphological Box: Structuring Complex Innovation to Measure the White Spot

When features multiply, structured tools like the Morphological Box help. For quantum-based parking optimization, it maps all possible combinations:

  • Different sensor arrays.
  • Data processing approaches.
  • Algorithms for dynamic assignment.

Each unique combination might be patentable — or reveal overlaps where the company should pivot.

The Payoff: A 360° IP Strategy for Sustainable Competitive Edge

The case study closes with the 360° IP strategy model:

1 . Freedom to Operate — Avoid infringing on others’ IP.
2 . Suppress Imitation — Use strong patents to block copycats.
3 . Design Market Position — Use IP to shape how and where you compete.
4 . Communicate Differentiation — Use branding and design to signal value.

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For smart parking, this means:

  • Protecting core tech.
  • Keeping operations efficient.
  • Partnering with cities and mobility providers.
  • Building a recognizable, trusted brand.

In Summary: Parking As a Smart Mobility Powerhouse

The Smart Parking 2025 case study is a blueprint for how mature industries can reinvent themselves with digital business models, proactive IP design, AI analytics, and synthetic inventing.

It shows that even a static asset like a garage can become a high-tech hub — optimizing traffic, boosting property value, and generating recurring digital revenue.

In a world where urban space is precious and sustainable mobility is a must, the companies that master this strategic IP playbook will park themselves firmly at the front of the innovation race.

This case study on the application of the AI-based tool patentbutler.ai was presented by Hannes Burger on June 26, 2025, as part of the CEIPI-EPO Master Program IP Law and Management (MIPLM) and carried out live in the system with the participants of the program as a practical exercise – here is the report.

About the Authors:

Dr. Hannes Burger is a long standing supporter of the MIPLM education at the CEIPI and acted as a co-examiner in the MIPLM since 2022. Dr. Burger has been specialized in intellectual property rights for many years and is nationally and internationally active in prosecution as well as litigation regarding the field of IP. Hannes studied law at the University of Linz and is Attorney at Law in Austria, admitted to the bar in Germany, as well as European Patent Attorney. This double qualification is quite rare in Europe and especially in the German speaking countries, where only a handful of Attorneys at Law hold the qualification before the European Patent Office. Hannes has almost twenty years of experience in cross national IP litigation and enforcement, and advised clients in a wide range of industries, from mechanical engineering to medical devices, from chemicals to biotech.

As Managing Director of ABP Patent Network GmbH, Daniel Holzner heads a company that has been serving international clients in the field of patent, trademark and design protection for over 40 years and develops innovative software solutions for the intelligent management of intellectual property rights. With extensive experience in the digitalization of IP processes and the integration of artificial intelligence into patent management, he is setting new standards throughout the industry. Under his leadership, the innovative IP software “uptoIP®” was developed, which enables IP managers to efficiently manage and monitor IP rights.