2/09/2005

The Importance of a Coordinated IP Strategy

"Companies of all sizes focus their time and energy on building shareholder value by developing and implementing profitable business models, moving products closer to the market and/or gaining market share. In the shadow of these primary goals, the long-term investment in time and resources needed to ensure the development of a strategically aligned patent portfolio can be forgotten. In the chaos, many companies accumulate patents in an ad hoc manner, rushing to file patent applications when inventions happen to surface, omitting patent applications on potentially valuable inventions because their value is not understood, rushing to make patent investment decisions at the last minute and seeking to understand the output of this process only when the pressure is on.

Such a minimalist approach to IP planning and processes is clearly out of touch with the true value of IP. Strategy and tactics for managing an IP portfolio should infiltrate the biotech company from the business strategy to the product teams, from the boardroom to the bench scientist. Managing IP requires the implementation of an IP strategy and standards that control the development of the IP portfolio. Just as a company would never leave the development of its product pipeline open to chance, so it should actively and strategically manage its IP pipeline to ensure maximum return on its IP investment."

From this Bioentrepreneur article.