Performing an internal intellectual property (IP) audit is vital for businesses hoping to maintain visibility into the revenue and expense attributed to their IP portfolio. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), formal IP audits should be conducted both during pivotal events for the organization, such as a merger, and in response to internal changes in strategy, personnel, etc. However, it is a good idea to perform regular reporting and “informal” audits to ensure production and innovation efforts are measuring up to the organization’s overall strategy, too. Regardless of the type of IP audit, there are a few important characteristics to analyze that act as indicators of success for IP Management.

Sometimes circumstances outside of our control lead to business closure, the unwinding of strategic partnerships, sudden cost reductions, or all of the above. In the various situations where a company is facing divestment, it tends to be expedient to “throw the babies out with the bathwater” with little regard for the intellectual property. This is a potentially massive error. Aside from possibly losing out on more value, overlooking IP in a divestment situation can lead to myriad forms of litigation - from shareholders, licensees and licensors, vendors and suppliers, and the very business organizations or partnerships you’re shedding. It’s safe to say that intellectual property management plays as significant a part at IP termination as during IP inception, growth and maturity. Consider the following in order to mitigate some of these concerns.

As with any facet of business — administration, sales, product development — data analysis and reporting is going to be key to the intellectual property management process. Depending on your process, your intellectual property can go through several stages of development, deployment, and maintenance. Considering the sheer volume of that undertaking, it’s no wonder that some organizations lose track of their IP’s life stage. Are you one of them?

Licensing intellectual property assets can be a powerful opportunity for both licensees and licensors to maximize their portfolios. For organizations with mature and dynamic intellectual property portfolios, becoming a licensor creates additional revenue streams. For growing organizations, licensing intellectual property from others allows fast product launch.

From startup to maturity, intellectual property can be a valuable asset to leverage at any stage in your company’s life. Leveraging intellectual property assets successfully can help your organization build and sustain effective product strategies over the long-term. This article will look at the ways your organization can leverage intellectual property at each stage of its journey:

Effective intellectual property management hinges on the ability to collect, analyze, and use data to make informed decisions. We’ve already discussed how data is the key to successful intellectual property management; in this article we’ll outline which metrics your organization should be tracking throughout the intellectual property process.

An organization’s intellectual property portfolio is an important asset that can be used strategically to drive value through revenue generating and cost saving opportunities. Conversely, when intellectual property is not managed effectively, those opportunities are lost and resources are wasted. This post will cover five key consequences of mismanaging intellectual property and how to avoid them.

Data is the key to making powerful decisions for any business. Intellectual property (IP) management solutions can provide your team with the data they need to manage IP assets successfully from ideation to commercialization. Here’s how data intersects with intellectual property management to drive success:

Your organization’s brand is a valuable, strategic asset which defines the identity of your company and its offerings. Brand image serves as a guideline for how your customers and prospects will view and interact with your organization. While many organizations understand the importance of brand image, not all understand how to build and sustain it by smartly using intellectual property assets. Here are some of the ways to use intellectual property assets to build brand image and benefits the organization:

An intellectual property management solution can provide your organization with many benefits, one of the strongest of these benefits is control. An IP management tool gives your organization powerful visibility into the performance of intellectual property assets and the operations surrounding them. With this insight, your organization is empowered with a higher degree of control strategically and operationally. Here are four areas your organization will have more control over after implementing IP management software.