A comprehensive IP strategy and protection plan makes a company more attractive to a range of stakeholders.
There are a number of ways we can support the development and implementation of your IP strategy.
IP Strategy report
We review all opportunities for patents, registered and unregistered trade marks, registered and unregistered designs, and copyright. This is a broad, strategic assessment of your whole business, rather than just “invention harvesting”, and results in an IP strategy report enabling you to develop, grow, leverage, and monetise your IP assets.
IP valuation services
We provide IP valuation services, aligned with the latest standards such as the International Valuation Standards (IVS) and RICS Valuation – Global Standards. This service covers the full spectrum of IP assets, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
The starting point is an initial consultation to understand your specific needs. Moving through to defining the scope of work, a detailed proposal, and a formal agreement. The valuation process is thorough, involving data gathering, analysis, risk adjustments, and multiple valuation approaches to ensure a robust and defendable valuation.
IP Audit
We review all opportunities for patents, registered and unregistered trade marks, registered and unregistered designs, and copyright. This is a broader more strategic assessment of your whole business, rather than just “invention harvesting”, and results in an IP strategy document.
IP Due Diligence
When needed we perform due diligence on a patent portfolio to determine the validity, scope of protection, status and ownership of the applications and patents. We do this not only for innovators, but for investors as well. This means we can advise you on what investors are looking for.
Freedom to Operate
It can sometimes be necessary to identify what third party patent, trade mark or design rights exist that could form an obstacle to commercialisation. However, usually in the early stages, start-ups focus on filing applications for their own innovations, and consider freedom to operate at a later date when they receive more funding.
IP “Landscape” Reports
IP “Landscape” searches are often linked to FTO searches, but they are not interchangeable and have a different focus. In the early stages of R&D, some choose to conduct IP “landscape” searching to determine what others are doing in a particular technology sector. These “landscape” searches can reveal areas within technology sectors that are well protected and thus may be difficult to enter freely, and vice versa. These rarely add value to start-up stage companies, but can provide useful background knowledge to enhance R&D efforts. For those with an academic background, they are, in essence, an IP literature review.
Advising on ownership
We can advise start-ups and innovators on ownership issues and how to discuss their innovation with other commercial partners without loss of confidentiality. We usually recommend filing IP applications as soon as possible, but for some start-ups there are still a number of details to work out before the application can be finalised.
Advising on application timing
It is important to file for protection as early as possible, taking into account any future time needed to get your product, innovation or brand or innovation ready for launch. We can advise on whether you are ready to file.
Supporting implementation
Preparing an initial application
We can prepare applications for a wide range of purposes, including defensive filings to provide a deterrent against competitors, for due diligence reasons to demonstrate good practice for investors, as well as comprehensive filings intended to serve as the foundation of a future protective IP portfolio. Whatever the purpose, we can discuss and scope out different approaches to drafting applications based on the desired outcome.
Filing
We advise first filing applications at local offices in order to keep initial official fees low. We can file applications overseas within a later period in order to spread out costs as much as possible.
Overseas Protection
When you are ready to file in overseas markets, we can seek protection around the world via our international network of contacts.
Prosecution Strategy
There may be different routes to protection. We offer advice about working with intellectual property offices during the examination phase of your application to achieve the desired scope of protection and geographical coverage.
Portfolio Reviews
We can review your IP rights periodically, and at significant moments, such as in preparation for a significant funding round or IPO. Such a review is also important after a merger or acquisition to check ownership, assign rights between parties, or to review new competitor intelligence.
