Benchmarking
Wikipedia describes Benchmarking as “…the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. . While it is usual to view your IP as being of high quality, it is even more common that the view is “subjective” and moreover, does not fully compare all aspects such as volume of filings for different product mixes and industry averages. Benchmarking can provide a guideline to determine if your efforts match new or existing product lines, maturity of the technology, volume, varying quality and even industry knowledge of your IP activity.
Strategic Planning & Analysis
Drafting or review of strategic plans projecting over 1, 3 & 5 years (and sometimes longer) including coordination with the overall strategic plan and goals of relevant departments or the entire business unit. This typically includes expense and revenue projections for licensing and portfolio sales.
Quality Review
While the quality or overall value of a patent or family of patents is important our team is skilled in setting up periodic reviews of a portfolio or section of a patent portfolio in order to determine whether maintenance fees should or should not be paid. Additionally, although frequently overlooked, our team will perform or set up a procedure to do an “audit” of a sampling of patents to see if and to assist in coordination with foreign prosecution efforts are consistent, prior art or elements of the invention are characterized the same so that statements in one region or country do not conflict with or adversely affect protection in another region or country.
Processes & Education
As important as patents are and while due date docketing is an obvious requirement, our team has extensive experience in designing and implementing procedures and criteria to property categorize each patent from a technology standpoint but also to projects and products. This allows not only quality and economic review but also allows for cost tracking in order to ascertain how much money, time and effort are attributable to a specific project or product.
Skilled staffing Requirements and recommendations
Whether a company is trying determine staffing levels, increasing or decreasing staff, use of in-house or outside service providers our team can provide guidance. This includes not only the number of staff in specific areas, i.e. docketing, administrative or professional. On the professional side, employment of a 3-5 year out IP professional for small or medium size companies usually seems like a simple matter, it is important to consider that this approach is frequently inadvisable – not all plant managers, engineers, financial individuals are the same. While selecting financial or engineering managers is a challenge which companies are familiar with, IP is an area in which most hiring individuals are not familiar with and therefore choosing the right individual in an IP role is an area where Patent Intelligence can provide guidance.
Specific Projects – Valuations
Frequently, in the early stages of a business unit of product line sales revenue or customer lists are thin at best which means that the value of the IP is the only quantifiable value. Equity holders and investors need to know and understand how this value is quantified. When requested Patent Intelligence assembles experts in the specific technology or area of interest.
Intellectual Property issues related to Investors, Sale or M&A
Whenever a merger or acquisition is contemplated, aside from the customary due diligence, it is important that the appropriate questions are asked/answered; the IP is gathered, categorized, characterized and properly reported in a professional manner. This can be a major task or one which you do not have the bandwidth or expertise to handle. Patent Intelligence is prepared to handle this task.
Licensing (Inbound & Outbound)
While licensing seems straightforward, you either pay money or receive money it is frequently much more complex and can require that the end result be creative – something that Patent Intelligence has excelled at in domestic and foreign regions. This is even more important when a licensing program is contemplated or you are on the receiving end of a third parties licensing program. Relevant factors should include an analysis of which IP is included or should be included, who is first in line (not necessarily the largest target), running royalties or paid up, royalty structure based upon geography, sales volumes, escalating or de-escalating royalties, minimum or maximum periodic or life of license royalties just to name a few areas.
Portfolio Brokerage (divestiture & acquisition)
Patent Intelligence can and has assembled expertise to compile, review and analyze small to large portfolios including preparing or reviewing appropriate presentations as well as conduct negotiations.