An organization’s patent portfolio forms a critical part of its IP holdings alongside its designs, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Much of the value from a portfolio can only be realized through its effective management. A clear and effective IP strategy critically incorporates a clear and effective strategy for managing an organizations patent portfolio. But what are the key components of an effective patent portfolio management strategy? In broad terms, it comprises five components:

1. What do I have? (the IP audit)
2. What do I need? (the gap analysis)
3. Acquire what I need (the investment strategy)
4. Divest what I don’t need (the deployment strategy)
5. Ongoing maintenance and monitoring for effective development of the IP strategy over time

Our proprietary web-based patent management and monitoring software, offers a flexible and easy to use interface that makes internal and competitive patent portfolio management and monitoring intuitive, affordable and simple to maintain.