IP is part of the intangible assets of a company. Only when having the opportunity to create value it makes sense to protect IP. But it depends on the type of company how that value can be created and on the ambition of the company which efforts to spend to create that value.The most commonly known way of creating value is patent licensing, but there is much more.

To define how to get most benefit from different value creation opportunities, the company strategy plays a crucial role as well as external trends in the world and in your particular industry. 

It is needed to consider upfront what that could mean for your company, what the IP ambition looks like and how the IP strategy can support the business strategy.Through an interactive workshop we support companies in defining or improving their IP strategy, how business strategy and IP strategy interact with each other and why it is important to have an IP strategy, no matter the size of the company. 

IP Portfolio Management ideally follows the IP Strategy. How should the portfolio look like when taking into account the IP strategy? Where to start? What to take into account?

IP can be spread throughout the company, managed by several functions and captured in different tools, while a central overview is not available. Our IP Discovery services help to get that overview as the first step in analyzing the potential value that the company’s IP portfolio is representing.

The next step is to review the existing portfolio in view of the IP strategy, define gaps and areas that may be overcrowded with IP and identify areas that bring high or less value. All of this will help to optimize the IP portfolio and create a healthy cost benefit ratio.

On top of making sure that all IP assets are captured, it is of utmost importance to prevent IP leakage, where we support in flagging and mitigating these risks.  

Value creation from IP is often seen as the result from licensing IP to 3rd parties in exchange of royalty payments. However, value creation is much broader. Next to licensing for royalties, IP can create e.g. an exclusive position in the market.

We help clients to create a deep understanding of the full scope of their intellectual assets and how to use them to their advantage. Understanding of the different value models and reporting capabilities help identify, map and recognize the value that each IP asset can bring to the business to act accordingly.

During execution of the IP strategy, operational excellence is key to balance costs versus benefits. Based on our IP Risk Framework we consider: IP portfolio discovery and categorization, lean IP processes and an efficient IP organization in combination with a synergetic IT landscape, pragmatic budget control and meaningful KPI reporting. Improvements in one or more of these aspects may safeguard IP management from operational risks or portfolio cuts that potentially jeopardize the long term value creation from IP.

We support IP organizations in defining and bridging the gap between the current and future state of Operational IP Management with focus on transparency, reduced complexity and budget control. 

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Where to start when the ambition is to get IP (higher) on the agenda?

Based on our experience, a broad IP maturity assessment is useful in creating awareness and willingness to invest in improving or developing the IP function. It creates transparency on the maturity in IP management aspects. Different stakeholders with different interest in IP will get involved.

Deloitte will leverage the stakeholder outputs to provide a gap assessment between the current and desired state, including advice and prioritization on how to bridge the gaps in areas such as: IP lifecycle management, IP portfolio monetization and value creation, IP operations, tracking and management of IP metrics, education and training.