Action points for in-house patent counsel

  • Identify which technologies – whether hardware, software or data – are central to your business strategy, and identify how IP rights can add value to them.
  • Develop or license-in tools and procedures to analyse your patent portfolio, measure its effectiveness and review progress.
  • Be prepared to be creative with your portfolio: think about divesting assets, (cross-)licensing, patent pools or even making patents available through open source.
  • Review how you can work more effectively with other departments in the business, communicate better and ensure the IP department.
  • Be imaginative in recruiting: look beyond the normal channels to get a more creative, diverse and multi-skilled workforce.
  • Be ruthless with external counsel: negotiate over fees, insist on prompt responses and reporting, and consider how to better measure performance.

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