Expansion and growth

Expansion and growth will usually entail recruitment.  When identifying talent it might be worth taking into account any IP experience that applicants have had and particularly experience in the patenting process.  If a new hire’s experience of patents has been relatively painless, they may not only be likely to identify patentable innovations but will be likely to push these forward and remain engaged throughout the process.

IP education of new joiners will be an important part of the process.  New joiners should be made aware of the IP strategy and of the company’s objectives.  Online IP training may be an efficient way to bring them up to speed quickly.  Of course, the need for confidentiality should be driven home to reduce the risk that key IP is disclosed prematurely, particular when new joiners are coming directly from an academic environment in which publications are a key focus.

Expansion and growth will likely include an increase in the quantity of IP assets.  Assuming that you have in place an efficient process to identify potentially patentable inventions (designs etc), and you don’t have unlimited financial resources to invest in IP, you will likely need a process to filter submissions and identify those that are worth seeking to register.  Commercial relevance will of course be key.  But also think about getting some quick wins, that is IP assets that might be registered relatively painlessly and therefore cheaply. For patents, this means innovations that are seen as very clearly novel and inventive.  This can be useful in building up the IP balance sheet. 

Inevitably, filtering out those assets that will not be pursued to registration may result in disgruntled inventors.  If an inventor ends up having all of his or her proposals rejected, he or she might be less likely to make proposals in the future.  This requires careful balancing, and at the very least praise and encouragement.

More IP assets will of course result in the need for more internal resources.  This should be factored in when planning recruitment and when budgeting for future IP spend.  Some re-budgeting will likely be necessary. This will be a tricky balance as growth will likely entail increased spending on salaries and the like, putting pressure on the IP budget.