Innovation Asset Blog

Making the Case for an IP Management Software

By now, you’ve learned that intellectual property (IP) is a critical organizational asset and that it should be managed with diligence. However, your current IP management process is clunky and important details are falling through the cracks. You want to implement IP management software to gain control and efficiency, but you’re getting pushback from senior management that IP management is not a priority. You know that IP diligence is a senior management and board-level strategic issue as much as an operational, and IP management software will lead to long term benefits, but how do you build that case?

  • Leverage IP better than competitors.
    One of the greatest benefits IP management software provides is visibility into the IP portfolio as a whole. This enables you to determine if IP resources are being misallocated (e.g., over-patenting or expensively maintaining unnecessary assets) or misvalued (e.g., failing to fully appreciate the revenue potential or competitive advantage of a patent or patent family). In addition to raising awareness of potential issues, IP management software also provides your team with the flexibility to modify your portfolio where necessary to invest in the most strategic assets, improving financial performance and competitive position.

  • Enable faster, more thorough patent reviews.
    One of the biggest challenges of using a manual IP Making the case for IP management softwaremanagement process is the inefficiency of patent reviews or evaluations. Finding the right information across disparate files is tedious and time-consuming. IP management software eliminates paper files and houses all important details about an asset in one centralized location. Intellectual property managers can be notified of any invention disclosure, updates or filings automatically. This efficiency not only creates cost savings from quicker time-to-completion, it ensures that your organization is fast when time matters the most (like when you’re racing your competitor to the patent office).

  • Encourage organizational innovation.
    In today’s competitive environment, companies that have cultivated innovation cultures tend to be more successful than their counterparts. An innovation culture creates a situation where employees across the organization are inventing and pursuing new ideas that the organization can capitalize on. Why would IP management software have an impact on this? In organizations with poorly managed IP, employee inventions tend to get lost in the shuffle, and to the inventor it can seem as if their hard work has been written off or unnoticed - a morale deflator. On the other hand, when an employee’s invention is managed properly, he or she can see the value added to the organization.

  • Increase data security and protection.
    Data security is an incredible challenge for an organization, though many companies may not view IP data as needing the same security. Not investing in proper IP protection can put the organization at risk of infringement, which can be costly to pursue and to repair brand damage. Good IP management software gives you the ability to set roles so that anyone who needs to access IP data only sees exactly what they are meant to. Apart from the risk of infringement, IP management software also secures IP data against loss. Since every detail is housed in a secure system, there is much less risk of losing confidential assets and information than when using a paper system.

When making the case for any software investment to senior management at your organization, it’s always helpful to come prepared with an ROI view where the organization will be saving time and dollars. However, it’s equally as important to spell out where the organization will realize less quantifiable benefits like security, brand image, and competitive advantage. IP management software helps organizations start managing their IP strategically, and provides both tangible and intangible benefits

Once senior management is on board and you’ve made the decision to implement IP management software, it’s time to decide if you should build a system in-house or buy a solution from a vendor. This free whitepaper outlines some considerations of each method and can help you decide which is better for your organization.

 Download the Whitepaper: Build vs. Buy

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.