Effectively managing your intellectual property portfolio directly impacts the return on investment of your company. It also provides you with a competitive edge that restricts potential competitors from easily entering the marketplace with a similar product, process or brand.
However, IP portfolio management requires intricate knowledge of how to maximize the potential for each IP asset and your consolidated portfolio. Therefore, managing your portfolio internally is rarely the best route to follow. Here are five reasons why you should work with an IP provider to manage your intellectual property portfolio.
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1) IP providers have more experience
When developing and managing your IP portfolio strategy, it’s important to bring as much knowledge and experience to the process as possible. IP providers consult, develop, and manage IP strategies for many companies in a wide variety of industries, each with their own unique set of requirements.
Using a wealth of experience, an IP provider guides the development of a smarter intellectual property portfolio that aligns with your business strategy and maximizes your IP assets. In this way, you can leverage the knowledge of industry experts to develop a strong, competitive, and productive portfolio that is closely aligned with your core business strategies. They also help you to navigate unique legal obstacles your business may face when acquiring new IP assets.
2) You can save valuable resources
The ongoing process of aligning your IP portfolio with your corporate strategy requires attention to detail and constant adaptation to suit your business needs throughout its lifecycle. Capturing, protecting, and leveraging your IP assets can put a strain on your company’s resources, especially when your team needs to focus on innovation rather than commercialization.
IP providers help you to maximize the commercial benefits of your IP assets from an early stage. They increase the lifetime value of your portfolio by ensuring that your IP assets consistently provide value to your corporate strategy. Meanwhile, your company’s internal resources are unburdened from the ongoing requirements of portfolio management.
3) Expand the horizons of your IP portfolio
There are multiple types of IP protection that can apply to your business. Do you have a unique method for manufacturing your product or providing your service? Have you trademarked all elements of your corporate identity? Do you copyright the written and visual materials that support your inventions or services? And how do you leverage your IP assets: licensing, royalties, selling, or enforcing?
An IP provider strengthen your portfolio strategy by working with your team to capture all potential assets in your portfolio and ensure that they are being used effectively. This may include strategic assets that your business does not use, which prevent a competitor from gaining a foothold in the market. As such, your business strategy and intellectual property portfolio are consistently aligned for maximum performance and profitability.
4) Lack of relevant internal resources
Developing an IP portfolio requires a unique combination of knowledge, platforms, and resources. These can be excessively expensive to build as in-house resources. Therefore, many businesses look to IP providers to access valuable resources in a cost-effective manner.
An IP provider delivers the same (or even better) standard of service for a fraction of the costs of maintaining in-house IP management teams. Using an IP provider, your company can access high-quality resources that are crucial for optimizing your portfolio. For example, data resources can be intelligently used to rapidly profile the risk and reward of different IP assets, so your team can make smarter decisions and reduce potential costs.
5) Knowledge is power
Your intellectual property portfolio is the most valuable part of your business. It is one of the first aspects of your business that current and potential investors will evaluate. This is because your IP portfolio is the only part of your business that protects you from new market entrants.
Building a smart portfolio provides the strongest level of protection for the future of your business. You will want access to the most knowledgeable contributors to build different strategies for your IP portfolio, so that you can effectively capture, protect, and leverage each of your IP assets. These assets should work cohesively as a strong portfolio. Consulting with an IP provider enables you to leverage the knowledge and resources of industry-leading experts so you can maximize the potential of your IP portfolio.
