Portfolio
management enables the efficient review and maintenance of all the intellectual
property assets you own, whether they are trademarks, copyrights, patents,
utility models, or industrial designs. This service provides numerous advantages,
such as the monitoring of your processes, outlining of the best strategies of
representation, maintenance and legal protection for your IP rights if managed by
a dedicated account manager.
Intellectual
property portfolio management oversees a collection of IP rights in order to
better protect them this involves various processes and procedures to increase
that protection; thereafter, let us dissect more its characteristics:
An intellectual
property portfolio is a collection of all intellectual property rights of an
individual and/or organization while managing the entire collection of an
individual or organization intellectual property rights, on behalf of a
business is known as IP portfolio management it allows for a better protection
of all aspects of that specific business.
Intellectual property rights are an incredibly useful and valuable assets for any kind of business; even as an intangible assets, it is possible to leverage IP rights, similarly to physical assets they still have a huge value. IP rights take several forms such as trademarks, patents, trade secrets, copyrights, brands and goodwill. When a business has a multitude of IP rights, it is important to organize and manage them properly in order to maximize their value. Typically, an IP portfolio contains rights that share a commonality, for example, a company may develop an IP portfolio just for the entity itself, and it may include the following:
·
Copyrights for marketing materials.
·
Trademarks for the business name and logo.
· Patent protection for a product, especially
when the business markets a single main product it is possible for a business
that develops a product containing a software component per example to
originate an IP portfolio that only contains IP rights that relate to that
single product.
IP portfolio
management leverages different types of IP rights and other legal protections
to defend against competitors or turn them into a source of income; there are
several benefits of developing an IP portfolio, it does create a barrier of
entry for competitors while attracting several investors, it can as well be used
to obtain licensing income and increases the value of your entity in any
potential acquisition. Different IP rights in a portfolio may provide different
benefits and are stronger together, developing a collection of IP rights gives
you the ability to protect many aspects of your business, while any one type of
IP right alone might cover only a portion of what makes your business unique
and potentially valuable.
Building a
comprehensive IP portfolio may do several things for your business, due to the
fact that IP rights are intangible assets it increases the value of your
business in the eyes of potential acquirers or investors. IP rights can also be
leveraged to create income from licensing ideas, products, or the goodwill
associated with your brand name to other businesses. Finally, a comprehensive
IP portfolio means having full protection from those who seek to profit from
the hard work you put into building your business.
Intellectual
property portfolio management oversees a collection of IP rights in order to
better protect them, it is more important than ever to effectively manage an IP
portfolio, for several reasons, such as the technological development tempo
this past several years which has made the reach and atmosphere of the technology
field increasingly competitive and in return augmented the volume of patent
application and invention in all forms.
Anyone who
manages a business understands how important it is to maximize their return on
investment or ROI, this includes the ROI delivered by equipment, products, and
employees; it can be simple to overlook a very important asset such as
intellectual property due to its intangibility, yet nowadays to a business
intellectual property is vital, it can help you find new ways of making your company
stand out from competitors by giving you a competitive edge and increasing your
market value by expanding investment and partnership opportunities. Just as
important as it is to manage generally your business, it is important to manage
your business's IP portfolio in parallel by experts which can be very valuable
to your entity; having a comprehensive IP protection on a product which make choosing
the appropriate IP representative, as well as understanding the scope they may
have in carving out a section of the market exclusively for your company very crucial.
IP rights are
valuable business assets and the various ways an IP portfolio management can support
your business includes:
· Adding value: A comprehensive IP portfolio can make your
business more valuable, so it can increase your profits if someone wishes to
purchase IP rights associated with your entity or product. When you manage your
IP portfolio properly, you add value to your company and give it important
protections in today's increasingly competitive market.
· Creating a barrier of entry: Your IP
portfolio may stop competitors from coming into your valuable commercial space,
for instance, holding an IP portfolio around new technologies involving the
main product or patent, along with additional patents covering variations of
your invention, will prevent competitors from using, making, or selling your
product or anything that is similar; basically, your well-managed IP portfolio
creates a protective space that prevent IP theft.
· Attracting investors: Once you
create a barrier to entry, investors will be more interested in investing in
your business because they understand you have an exclusive space in the
market. Your IP portfolio shows them you have a devolved interest in your
company and product.
Managing your
IP portfolio properly by professionals and experts can improve your efficiency
and give you a competitive edge in today's marketplace. In order to do so, the
use of four specific steps such as the following is a must:
·
Analyze and acquire data.
·
Mine data and set up a database to gather and
store information.
·
Effective communication connecting legal,
business, and technical teams.
· Program management methodologies.
When you couple
continuous, effective improvement processes with given tools, you create a
standard for intellectual property and management that can result in balanced
risk and predicted outcomes.
At Scutum IP
Law Firm, we help many businesses apply the same consistency and eminence of
thought to the building, maintenance, and leveraging of their IP portfolios as
they usually apply to other decision making processes. Our objective is to incorporate
IP activities with the overall goals and plans of your business. We have the ability,
knowledge, capability and experience necessary to acquire intellectual property
rights and to leverage those rights in the marketplace and courts while having
the savoir-faire to help a business make enhanced, more conversant decisions
regarding what to protect, how to protect it, and when and where to seek
protection.
In undertaking
a portfolio assessment, our attorneys review both the technology spaces in
which a client operates and the market prospects that the client seeks to
pursue, beyond IP prosecution we can categorize a variety of tactics to achieve
a portfolio’s development, including through a licensing agreement or an
acquisition. Similarly, we can leverage a client’s portfolio to monetize their
existing IP applications by selling or licensing the rights to them; no matter
what strategy we follow, it is always with your business best interest purposes
at the forefront.
Our
business-focused intellectual property portfolio management rests on these
tenets or as we like to call it the K.K.A rules:
Ø
Know What You Have: This is far
more than doing an inventory of a business’s patents, trademarks, and copyright
registrations; we provide comprehensible, evocative portfolio reviews by
identifying and assembling the specific intellectual property assets of a given
organization, then work with our clients to efficiently drive an
information-based IP acquisition and maintenance program.
Ø
Know What You Need: We help clients
to coordinate business plans, industry intelligence, technology road maps, and
strategic planning and to develop cohesive knowledge management tools that can
willingly interconnect the intellectual property needs of a business at all
levels.
Ø
Acquire What You Need: Besides providing
the fundamental services to acquire protection for inventions, we can also help
detecting opportunities to acquire needed assets through licensing,
acquisition, joint business ventures, or other business arrangements.
This last tenet
reflects an increasingly important aspect of portfolio management related to
the patents held by non-practicing entities (NPEs). We have a refined
understanding of the portfolio objectives for all patent holders including
NPEs, having represented them in both patenting activities and in infringement
litigation. We are often able to resolve infringement controversies by helping
to orchestrate the sale of entire portfolios or the licensing of specific
patents in a portfolio, to help the parties monetize their patent rights while
avoiding the cost of a trial, this ultimately creates more meaningful market
opportunities that encourage innovation.
Our integrated
portfolio management approach has helped a number of clients maintain vigorous
portfolio development strategies and we constantly seek to identify new
techniques and innovative approaches, including through our long-standing
relationship with the knowledge and Intellectual Property Management taskforce,
a research, development, and deployment consortium dedicated to strategic and
financial success through effective intellectual capital management practices
which makes our attorneys committed to advancing the critical thinking and
innovated planning essential in today’s global economy to become trusted
advisors to our clients.
If you have any questions about the different types of IP, how to build a comprehensive IP portfolio, or IP portfolio management, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
For more information on how we can assist you with all your patent
matters please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kindly note that, the
above information is simplified and must not be taken as a definitive statement
of the law or practice.