Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Mon, Feb 08, 2010
Imagine being two weeks away from your go-live, when suddenly out of nowhere comes a value (or a lack of a value) in a column that just shouldn't be there. Paranoia kicks in!
The success of any IP management software project implementation is highly dependent on successful data migration. This is however, one of the most overlooked aspects of an IP management implementation project. This is partly because so much emphasis is placed on re-engineering the business processes that the quality and accuracy of data often takes a lesser priority. And when the data is critical, even small errors or delays can impede or shut down operations, leading to a frustrated team and lost productivity.
Data migration is a complex operation, and because it is so complicated, many migrations run into issues. The following 5 tips will help you to avoid hidden issues and prepare for a successful IP management data migration.
Tip 1: Establish a multi-disciplinary Team
While an experienced patent paralegal can easily interpret the data quality anomalies associated with a docket, it is essential to assign a senior IP counsel to oversee the entire data. If you are graduating from legacy patent docketing software to an enterprise-wide IP management system, there's a good chance that the business units, technology areas, products, and other field values are not current.
Ensure that you have firm commitments from the entire patent team. Also, ask your IP management vendor to provide you the most qualified and experienced resources who can help you with preparation. If you take the time to prepare, importing your data from your existing patent docketing system into the new IP asset management system will be less painful.
Tip 2: Invest time to improve data quality
From our experience, we know that most legacy patent docketing systems have quality issues. Different people have entered the data differently in the same fields. The extent and complexity of these may not be fully understood. "Our data is good enough" or "we don't have the time for a big data-cleanse" can often leave docketing data quality on the back burner. You should put a data quality framework in place right from the outset. Share your concerns openly with your IP management vendor from the start and ask them for suggestions on data cleansing. There are several tools available for improving data quality; The proper use of spreadsheets can also get the work done.
Tip 3: Walk before you run
The approach of executing data migration "over a weekend" into your new IP management system creates a rigid, inflexible framework. It will likely fail to cope with the inevitable changes and problems that invariably arise.
The IP department should opt for an agile, iterative delivery approach. An iterative cycle of learning and delivery makes it far easier to plan the project in well defined segments.
It is advisable however to limit these iterations to 3 or less.
Tip 4: Learn to hit a moving target
It is vital that you start the IP docketing data migration project in parallel with the rest of the project. The data migration team must be updated with all changes and updates as they happen to avoid reworking costs. Although the final system may be different from "out-of-the-box", you can still develop a large amount of migration functionality by agreeing to a "common model".
Tip 5: Documentation
Most IP departments have poor quality or non-existent documentation on how their legacy patent systems and docketing data models were designed and are currently being used. Without this knowledge, mistakes in data mapping and transformation can cause data defects to flow into the new IP management system.
After your data is migrated to the new IP management system, start working on the documentation. This will help you save a lot of time for future data migrations.
Lecorpio has an excellent track record of successful IP asset management project implementations. Lecorpio's professional services use a powerful combination of strategic insight and superior execution to optimize the cost and efficiency of our client's IP operations. Feel free to contact us if you need more information on best practices for IP management data migration.
Image courtesy of svn.eionet.europa.eu
Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Mon, Feb 01, 2010
Docketing is one of the most crucial functions within any Intellectual Property department. An excellent IP docketing system combined with structured docketing procedures can provide substantial reduction in IP spending to IP departments.
At its core, IP docketing software works like a virtual assistant to the IP department. It keeps track of deadlines, outstanding payments for applications and annuities, and sends reminders to the IP team at a predefined schedule.
Here are the top 5 features of great IP docketing software:
1) Country-specific Law Support
The IP docketing software must provide proactive management of your portfolio with rule-driven due dates. The system should calculate the deadlines based on filing, prosecution, and grant dates for each patent, jurisdiction, and type of filing. The system should be pre-programmed with required deadlines for all major countries. It should also provide an interface for you to create your own automated deadlines and reminders.
2) PTO File History
Tracking statutory deadlines is critical for managing patent and trademark portfolios more effectively. Your docketing software must enable you to store Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) correspondence. The users should be able to upload all documentation into specific folders for faster access. If an extension is filed for an office action response, you should be able to view the office action, its response, and the reason with a single click.
3) PTO Data Integration
Several PTO offices are providing electronic data access for filing, prosecution, and maintenance-related activities. The IP docketing software should leverage this technology for better data accuracy. For example, PAIR provides access to real-time valuable information from USPTO. The patent docketing software should be able to make PAIR an extension of its own infrastructure.
4) Workflow
Workflow plays a major role in leveraging key data stored inside IP docketing. The workflow allows for distributing the right information to the right people at the right time. Several key decisions such as filing international applications or filing divisional/continuation/CIP and annuity payment review can be triggered directly from the docketing. Your IP docketing system must provide integrated workflow capabilities for faster task management.
5) Adaptability
If your IP department considers IP docketing as a critical component of your infrastructure, the IP docketing software should be able to accommodate your needs. The docketing system must provide tools to easily configure layouts for data capture, reporting, document generation, and workflows.
IP docketing is just one—albeit a crucial component of Lecorpio's IP management software. Some features include: comprehensive IP docketing capabilities including country-law-based due date calculations, repository for storing file history, correspondence and references, sophisticated workflows to automate each activity, and point-and-click configuration.
Feel free to contact us to get more information on best practices for using IP docketing software for your advantage.
Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Mon, Jan 18, 2010
If you are part of an IP department in a mid-to-large size organization, you are probably facing the same issues as other organizations: More filings with limited budgets, and a greater need for responsiveness to the business clients with a smaller team. In short, you and your team are being asked to do much more with less resources.
Maximizing process efficiency is one of the IP department's biggest challenges for effective patent management. Here are the the top 5 tips to optimize your patent management processes:
1) Self Service for Inventors and Service Providers
Create a self service portal for inventors where they can track the status of their patent filings. This will reduce the number of incoming inquiries and improve inventor satisfaction.
The portal can also help your outside law firms and agents collaborate with you and inventors in real-time and enter information directly into your system. This will help you reduce administrative costs related to data reentry and follow-ups and improve data integrity.
You will be able to delegate tasks with confidence and transfer matters seamlessly to another firm when needed.
2) Electronic Case Repository
As a progressive legal department, you will get much better visibility into the entire patent lifecycle by setting up a centralized case repository.
The repository should include a complete filing history: documents, cited references, all correspondence, and docketing. It should also provide the most up to date information about all matters including current status, filing and prosecution history, outstanding actions, and annuity information.
Having a centralized repository will provide you with the tools to selectively share relevant information with all stakeholders. For example, getting formal reviews by the patent committee on international filing decisions and annuity payments for collective decision making.
3) Integrate Billing and Estimates into Workflow Processes
You can optimize your financial performance by integrating budgets and estimates in the workflow processes. This will help you track firms and attorneys who have a better turnaround time over other firms that routinely file extensions. This information will provide you with effective tools for future work allocation and for reorganizing the workload according to your budget constraints.
Integrating billing will also allow to forecast your costs more accurately and help you measure the overall spend by firms, by countries, and other metrics.
4) Automate Manual Operations
Where possible, automate manual operations. If your team is spending 2 days a month calculating patent awards, it is time to automate that function. If your law firms are directly working with inventors for drafting application specs, it is time to give them a system where they can work together in a collaborative manner. If you are spending too much time reentering data provided by firms or patent offices, use technology integration to interface with patent offices and law firms.
Identify all opportunities to automate manual operations and use technology tools to get them automated.
5) Patent Characterization
Characterize your patent portfolios according to technology areas, business units, products and ratings. Establish workflow processes for regular updates to the categorizations and use analytical tools to spot trends, find anomalies, identify strengths and weaknesses by leveraging your IP assets data.
Lecorpio patent management enables IP departments to collaborate with inventors, law firms, and other stakeholders as one for competitive advantage. The system provides a self service portal and organizes all patent information in a centralized case repository. It brings structure to patent preparation and filing through prosecution and maintenance processes. With Lecorpio's Spend Management solution, you can manage budgets, estimates, and actuals for each activity to efficiently manage resources and reduce costs.
To schedule a demo, visit http://www.lecorpio.com/schedule-a-demo or call (408) 850-7260.
Image courtesy of aboveboardpatents.com
