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The portfolio management is closely related to the IP strategy and aims at making the best use of the resources that a company provides for IP protection. If resources are for example spent for the maintenance of IP rights for products at the end of their life cycle at the expense of patent filings for new ideas, the future development of the company may be jeopardized. For an effective portfolio management, the decisions that have to be made are derived from the superordinate IP strategy. We counsel our clients on an effective portfolio management and shape the portfolio such that it supports the success of their company.
KKM has available the resources required for performing an effective portfolio management. If desired, we can take over the portfolio management for our clients.
An overall IP strategy has several components. The most prominent component is the protection strategy which aims at achieving an advantage over competitors, for example by obtaining a monopoly for a technical solution or a design or by protecting the reputation and uniqueness of a product by using trademarks. By leveraging the protection conferred by these IP rights, distinction over competitor products and unique selling points can be achieved which promotes the advancement to a better market position.
A further component is the defense strategy which has the target to minimize risks originating from third party IP rights, such as competitor patents. Elements of a defense strategy are not only the risk identification, but also the risk mitigation, which can involve the taking of active countermeasures against competitor IP rights, the finding of work around solutions to avoid competitor IP rights, the building up of strike back potential or the negotiation of cross licenses. A third component of the IP strategy is the exploitation strategy which aims at exploiting the available IP rights in the best possible way, which can include the licensing of IP rights to other companies or the sale of unused IP rights.
Each company is different – we provide our clients with a patent strategy tailored to their business needs. Such strategy can be an overall patent strategy or may only comprise selected components, such as a protection strategy for a newly developed product. With the practical experience of our attorneys, we will find the right strategy for your business and support you with the implementation of the strategy. This does not only involve the definition of general targets and measures, but also putting the strategy to practice, for example by specifying details of the filing route and prosecution strategy.
