IP Firm of the Year 2010 Irish & European Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys
Patently Profitable
05 May 2004Dr. Christina Gates
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Irish Entrepreneur Magazine, April 2004
Intellectual Property (IP) Protection: Wonderful in theory, but how is it relevant to your business?
Intellectual Property (IP) protection should be seen as a strategic tool which can assist you in meeting your overall business objectives: to generate revenue. Just because Patent, Trademark and Design protection are available, it does not mean that they are all directly relevant to your business. Nor does it mean, that just because one or other form of IP protection is not relevant to your business in its current position that it won't come to be of major importance in the future.
As with all tools for business, you must identify how to best use them to suit your needs. In considering IP protection, you must look at its correct 'fit' within the operations of your business and integrate your IP strategy into your overall business plan.
You business plan will detail your 5 - 10 year outlook for the company with an action plan outlining your objectives and how they will be achieved. In developing your strategy you will review all your assets, resources, liabilities, environmental influences etc. and outline the most efficient way of achieving your objectives within the limits of your resources.
Your IP should be considered as one of the many resources you have available to you, and in line with your observations and plans you must determine the most effective way of managing all IP that is included in your business.
Patented technology is usually what comes to mind when IP is mentioned and it is important to note that patent portfolio management requires long term planning as the process of obtaining a patent can take up to five years - excluding the Research & Development time! In addition the decision to carry out in house R&D will raise questions of cost/space/HR planning etc. Even if you have just one patentable product - or intend to start an R&D programme, you must set out your action plan at the earliest stage to ensure the correct timing for beginning the patent process and launching your product.
When writing your business plan, some level of cost-analysis, scenario-planning and investment appraisal will need to be carried out in relation to both your own existing patents, those belonging to third parties (whose work influences your own), and the potential patents that will come from current/future R&D. Questions relating to incoming/outgoing licensing fees, the length of time remaining on your/third party patents, market demand, the importance of your/third party patents on your competitiveness etc., will all need to be asked and answered allowing you to understand the direct importance and influence that patents have on your business.
While patented technology can be extremely important, an essential ingredient to the success of your company is not only your product - but also the manner in which you sell it. An integrated part of any sales/marketing campaign is your brand. Your brand marks the identity of your product in the market place, differentiating you from your competitors, and will need to be protected accordingly. Trademark registration will assign legal ownership of a brand (a logo, name, slogan etc.) thereby allowing the owner to prevent unauthorised use of the brand by a third party. Similarly, if you intend using a brand belonging to a third party you may be liable to pay licensing fees for the privilege.
When developing your marketing plan, you will need to consider brand protection - not only for your existing brand, but any future evolution/extension of that brand or the introduction of a new brand. At each stage in the development of your brand it is recommended to carry out a brand clearance search to ensure the availability of your proposed brand, while the decision to register your brand will draw attention to your existing/future geographical or commercial markets.
In as much as Patent and Trademark protection will need to be considered, it is important not to forget the possibility of protecting the design of your product (or the possible infringement of a competitors). Design protection is available to protect the aesthetics of your product, allowing the development of a competitive advantage based upon the look of your product. As with patents and trademarks, when writing your business plan, you will need to examine how your own designs and those of others, will impact on your ability to meet your objectives.
If you look at your business as a collection of integrated and inter-dependant parts, you can see how IP can be of direct relevance to you. In addition, as your business grows and evolves, the role of IP, as with all other aspects of your business, will change. The key is to be able to predict when these changes will occur, and be able to, not only anticipate how they will alter the structure of your business but establish and implement an evolutionary business plan. If you can do this, you will be in a strong position to build and maintain a successful business. Understanding the relationship between the different parts of your business is the point you need to start from.
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