Posted by Lecorpio Marketing on Sun, Jun 13, 2010
A merger or acquisition isn't a success until integration is achieved. People, processes and systems need to be integrated into a cohesive entity. Each of these aspects has its own areas of complexity and requires different managerial skills.
From an IP Management Software standpoint, the diversity of the IP docketing systems and processes that existed in different entities now requires alignment. And the problem is compounded by the need for fast implementation.
Such an IP management software integration effort must essentially aim at integrating or consolidating intellectual asset management processes, eliminating duplicate IP docketing software systems, standardizing and conversing business-critical IP asset data and developing an overall implementation roadmap.
Post merger and acquisition, the Top 5 success factors for a successful IP management system migration include:
Get your vision down on paper
IP management integration is a multifaceted, multivariate problem requiring a solution that can analyze, evaluate, compare, and integrate the IP asset data from each of the merging organizations' core patent and trademark docketing management systems.
Establish key metrics to monitor your progress.
At a minimum, the plan must include:
- User Impact Analysis (including inventors, patent committee members, paralegals, internal and external patent counsels.
- Business process impact and consolidation of best practices.
- Risk assessment (including delays in recordation etc.)
- Data uniformity and data migration.
- Custom developments on the software for IP Management.
- Legacy docketing systems retirement.
- Testing and quality assurance
- Conversion and downtime impact
- Long-term support
Leverage Competencies
Too many patent departments have a very narrow focus during the post merger process, they focus too much on bibliographic and docketing data. There is no denying that docketing data is important, however don't let that drive the integration process. Post merger, both departments need to demonstrate features and capabilities provided by their systems and look for opportunities. The "not invented here" thinking should be banned. Just because an idea is originated from outside the acquiring organization does not make it redundant. The focus should be on leveraging the competencies of both companies.
Get Your Timing Right
After the merger, the intellectual property rights of the acquired company need to be transferred into the name of the new owner in each jurisdiction where such rights exist. Timely recordal of a change of ownership is critical to protect the ongoing validity and enforcement of intellectual property rights. This can drive the need
for fast migration. If the acquired entity have significant IP assets, break the data in parts and import it in phases. Here is the sequence that can help you get there:
Start with bibliographic data. Follow this with docketing, then IP licenses, IP assertions and other transactions, and finally invention disclosures.
It is a good idea to validate your plan with the IT department. For example, before you plan on transferring the data for invention disclosures, IT must allow employees of acquired entity an ability to log into the new system to view their past invention disclosures and submit new ideas.
Prepare for Data Issues
It is not uncommon to find companies use a broad mix of hardware, operating systems and software with patchwork maintenance. Over time, a company's IP management systems for invention disclosures, patent and trademark docketing, licensing and other related systems undergo incremental changes. This patchwork approach introduces data migration issues. Many times, inventor names are not matched against HR data. The products, technology areas and client groups need to be revised for the imported data. This requires a better understanding of data schema and tools for bulk update. It is better to do these changes prior to migrating the data into the final system.
Ongoing Training
During transition, it is important to have training materials ready and upto date. Clear and constant communication of vision, goals, and objectives can keep inventors, paralegals, patent committee members, In-house counsels and outside law firms on the same page and and help everyone to stay focused. It is important that all stakeholders are fully engaged and that training programs developed during integration planning are institutionalized.
Lecorpio IP management services have helped several IP departments consolidate multiple IP management systems into one by defining a common architecture for deploying
and enhancing the existing data from both organizations. Lecorpio provides services to cleanse, consolidate and standardize the data against public data sources for error-free operation of IP management system and ensure continuity and data integrity.
Learn more about Lecorpio's IP Asset Management solution or IP Management Software-related products and more.
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Posted by Lecorpio Marketing on Mon, May 17, 2010
Globalization, mergers, consolidations, and other factors are changing the ways that companies do business - including how they hire and retain outside law firms. In-house patent counsels now expect a high level of expertise as well as greater responsiveness from outside counsels.
IP docketing software can help IP departments achieve higher efficiencies, but full success is dependent upon the acceptance by outside counsels. Here are five tips to get outside counsels' use your patent docketing software:
Engaging User Experience
The User Experience, or how your outside counsels experience their portal, is the key to acceptance. If outside counsels feel it is not easy to learn, not easy to use, or too cumbersome, an otherwise excellent patent docketing software could fail.
Operations should be achieved with a minimum of user activity. Too much "mousing around" means less time spent doing real work. For example, features that require a stream of menu options and parameter settings to perform a single operation are clumsy.
Avoid overloading the outside counsel with too much docketing data in a screen layout; you don't have to fill every pixel on the screen. If the pertinent docket action cannot fit comfortably in one screen panel then divide it logically and use as many screens as required.
In short, keep the user interface clear, consistent and simple.
Full Functional System
It is important that the patent management software provides robust functions and features for docketing. The outside counsels should be able to provide you all details on your matters via a single interface and should not have to use emails to support the data uploaded in the patent management database.
At the minimum, it should provide filing history to upload data and documents, patent and publication references, patent families and other types of correspondence.
Many Law firms are still using legacy docketing systems, which lack the ability to correlate data and documents. Such firms will find this feature useful and hence give more importance to your patent docketing system.
Integrated External and Internal Processes
Treat outside counsels as an extension to your internal team. The patent management system must allow seamless collaboration between different participants such as outside counsels, in-house counsels, paralegals, docketing clerks, inventor and other stakeholders.
A patent docketing system where outside counsels can collaborate with Inventors for tasks such as drafts review, formal document generation and in-house team for estimates and invoices review is likely to get more attention.
Integrated Decision Making
The patent docketing system must provide integrated decision making in the workflow processes. In the patent lifecycle, there are several situations where such decisions are required. Examples include international filings, divisional, continuation or CIP filings, annuity payments etc. The patent docketing system should enable you to enter decisions and instructions and communicate them to the outside counsels. This will help your outside counsels refer to your decisions easily and will reduce their dependence on emails.
Visibility
Most law firms have very limited visibility into corporate strategic initiatives for patent portfolio management. The matter centric approach is too limiting and does not allow them to view information that may be useful for patent filings or prosecution. The patent docketing software must provide them greater visibility into related technology matters, prior art and other documentation. The patent docketing system should also provide them tools to analyze the "portfolio" of matters they or their firm is responsible for. This will help them in better preparation of their matters and will enhance their satisfaction with your system.
Lecorpio IP management software applications are very intuitive and easy to understand. The "à la carte" model allows IP departments to implement a practical phased implementation of each application. Lecorpio IP management implementation methodology focuses on enabling the end user, this approach provides faster ROI.
Learn more about Lecorpio's IP Asset Management solution or IP Management Software-related products and more.
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Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Mon, Feb 22, 2010
The investment made in Intellectual Property (IP) management software can work wonders in helping IP departments gain visibility, lower administrative costs, improve accuracy, and increase productivity. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of Intellectual Property management systems purchased are never fully implemented or don't deliver the utility the customer hoped for.
Here are the five most common mistakes made when selecting Intellectual Property management software:
Mistake #5: Not Knowing What You Really Need in IP Management Software
Before diving right into choosing a solution, take the time to understand what you really need. For starters, determine whether you require a fully integrated Intellectual Property Asset Management software, Patent Docketing software, or IP Matter Management software.
Often, this depends on the issues you are trying to solve or the opportunities you are trying to capture, as well as the size and structure of your department. For example, if you don't file many patent applications or trademarks, you should first get that data organized in a centralized repository. Your core team should be able to access and generate reports from them.
If your IP portfolio is getting large enough for you to manage, and you think that providing access to inventor community and law firms can reduce administrative costs, you should look at a robust Intellectual Property management system. This type of system will allow you to streamline your processes and improve productivity at a lower cost and with fewer resources.
Prior to the selection process, ask "What are our top five needs?" If these key needs are not identified, it may be difficult to distinguish between vendors.
Many vendors claim to do many things. The vendor's strengths must match the company's key needs.
Mistake #4: Not Recognizing the Uniqueness of Your Business
Every IP department is unique. Without configuration capabilities within the software, you are more susceptible to failure during software implementation.
While initial license and maintenance fees can sometimes appear lower, these hard coded solutions will often result in increased costs due to extensive customization requirements, upgrades, ongoing maintenance, and longer system deployment timeframes. Essentially, you may end up reducing and delaying your overall return on investment.
Avoid choosing a software that limits your team's capabilities and your department's growth. Your software should enhance your business, not hinder it.
By choosing an Intellectual Property management software solution that can adapt to your business processes, you will get better user acceptance, improved efficiencies, reduced costs, and faster ROI.
Mistake #3: Not Including Key Users in the Selection Process
Surprisingly, many IP departments still select computer systems without soliciting meaningful input from key users. At the beginning of your selection project, form a selection team with representatives from all affected teams such as patents, trademarks, docketing, licensing, compliance, and billing. The active participation of key stakeholders will not only help ensure all bases are covered, it will also result in a better decision and fewer complaints after implementation.
If possible, you should also include a representative from your IT department. The IT Liaison can help you in identifying any issues related to deployment, data migration, integration, and security.
Mistake #2: Evaluating Too Many Vendors:
Avoid vendors that offer a deal that is "too good to be true". You may find yourself missing the essential tools you need to conduct your business after implementation. Many of these bargain systems also provide very rigid solutions, making it difficult for you to meet the unique needs of your inventors, patent committees, and law firms. Also, you may need to reinvest additional money toward upgrading, or in some cases replacing, your system later–thereby reducing or eliminating all together any savings that you might have originally experienced.
Choose no more than four vendors at the start of your search. If more than four are chosen, it often becomes difficult to remember who does what. If none of the first vendors will meet 80 percent of the key needs, dismiss these and begin investigating several more.
Mistake # 1: Not Investing in Intellectual Property Management Software for the Long-Term
When choosing Intellectual Property management software, be realistic about your expectations and perceptions of cost. You're making an investment to improve or enhance your processes. So, while hard dollars spent are important, the key is choosing the right Intellectual Property management software. Choose the right partner who will provide you with a fast and effective implementation, high ROI (Return On Investment), and low TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) after implementation.
Use your intuition and good business judgment when comparing provider costs. Look for applications that support your ability to achieve your department's long term primary strategic goals and work within your budget. Hasty decisions in favor of the lowest cost IP management software provider or solution now may leave you plagued later with hidden costs, and delay or eliminate any ROI for your business.
Several progressive legal departments have realized better and more predicable processes, improved productivity, and better control over law firms with Lecorpio's IP management software. Lecorpio IP Asset management solution includes invention disclosure management, patent management (including docketing), trademark management, domain management, open source management, licensing management, contract management, standards management, IP transactions management, and spend management.
Learn more about Lecorpio's IP Asset Management solution or IP Management Software-related products and more.
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Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Tue, Feb 16, 2010
Intellectual Property (IP) management software provides an integrated approach to streamline processes for all types of IP. An excellent IP management system should cover a wide range of functions and integrate them into one unified database. Functions such as
invention disclosure management,
patent management,
trademark management,
licensing management and
spend management can now all fit together in one database.
So why should you implement IP management software into your business? Here are five good reasons:
5) Bring Consistency and Repeatability to Processes
The traditional in-house legal department's typical answer to patent process related questions is - "it depends". For example, it is common for inventors and law firms to send their input via paper, email, phone, or on your desk. IP management software can bring structure, consistency, and repeatability to your processes.
By applying policies and business rules to workflows, it removes the guesswork from this complex discipline. This results in a more predictable, controlled process than the alternatives.
4) Greater Visibility Into Work in Process
Most IP departments use a myriad of systems to manage their data. They use spreadsheets to track their portfolio, a docketing system to manage calendering, emails to track correspondence, a file system to store documents, and an invoicing system to track billing to name a few.
The IP management system can bring together all such data and documents and provide you comprehensive visibility across all types of assets and processes. By using visualization tools, it is easier to spot firms with better turnaround time, or the one that is filing more extensions.
3) Lower Administrative Costs
Several progressive legal departments are using IP management software to automate their manual operations. Some examples include: electronic reviews for invention disclosures, patent award calculations, annuity payment reviews, building participation from law firms to enter data directly, automated approvals, etc. By automating manual operations, you can offload several redundant administrative tasks and lower your cost of operations.
2) Improve Accuracy with Fewer Errors
Most modern IP management software provide collaboration features. That allows the information owner to directly input the data the first and the only time. Inventors can submit their ideas via invention disclosure forms, patent committees can provide their ratings and recommendations electronically, and law firms can upload PTO correspondence directly into your system.
By removing duplicate data entry, you have more accurate and dependable data in your system.
1) Increased Productivity
Great IP management software provides different interfaces for different roles in your IP processes. All participants in the process including inventors, in-house counsel, law firm attorneys, administrators, docketing clerks, annuity payment service providers, and others are given selective access to information relevant to their role in the process. Access privileges are controlled so that each participant sees only what is necessary to carry out their responsibilities. Each party in the critical path is notified when they are needed to perform a task, and alarms are triggered if delays occur.
This means your team won't have to look for information, which makes them more productive in their tasks.
Today's successful IP departments need the right Intellectual Property (IP) management software to help them drive their key business processes, make smarter and faster decisions, and ensure they make the most of their IP assets and resources. Lecorpio IP management software provides these capabilities to small IP departments as well as enterprises with large IP Portfolios.
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.
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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 Tue, Jan 26, 2010
Intellectual Property management software is becoming more popular by the day. An increasing number of corporate legal departments are using IP management software solutions to manage their IP assets more effectively. Here are the top 5 features required for a robust IP management software:
1) Comprehensive Functionality
A superior IP management software must have comprehensive features and functionality out-of-the box including (but not limited to) invention disclosure management, patent management, trademark management, IP docketing, IP portfolio management, IP licensing, and spend management.
While IP docketing alone may work well for some law firms, corporate legal departments should look at IP management software to help them achieve long terms goals including servicing their clients better and managing their service providers more effectively.
2) Workflow and Collaboration
Progressive IP departments are leveraging the workflow and collaboration capabilities provided by IP management software to do more work with less resources. This is a dramatic shift from the old-fashioned approach which lacked the ability of sharing data beyond the IP department or allowing outside firms to manage your docket.
Great IP management software must provide robust workflow and collaboration capabilities to automate all manual operations, reduce the amount of duplicate data entry, and allow seamless collaboration between inventors, patent committee, IP departments and law firms.
3) Reporting and Analytics
The increasing volume of IP-related data and activities demand robust analytical and reporting capabilities. Nowadays, your IP management software must provide an integrated set of visualization tools to analyze important metrics to help you conduct historical and comparative trend analysis.
Beyond portfolio analysis, these tools must provide you the ability to visualize the overall process and reveal the hidden factors inhibiting planning and stifling performance.
4) Configuration (and not customization)
To avoid obsolescence, it is critical that the IP management software is configurable. Many vendors try to hide their hard coded applications by talking around this important "C" word.
Here is the main difference:
If something is configurable, the existing software functionality can be set up to optimize a certain workflow or preference. When configuration is the case, clients can expect results within 24 to 48 hours depending on the stage of implementation or complexity of the case.
If something is to be customized, it requires greater investments (human, financial, and technological) for changes to be included in the software code. With customization, be prepared to wait 2-6 months before your request is fulfilled.
As you select the best IP management software for your needs, be sure you understand the differences between the two and can clearly differentiate where certain functionality falls.
5) Integration
Corporate IP departments should be able to leverage the investments made by their organizations in HR and financial systems. A good IP management software should be able to easily integrate with these systems. For example, your IP management system should be able to pull inventor information from HR systems as well as send approved invoices to financial systems.
The breadth of functionality provided by Lecorpio IP Management Software combined with personal attention to clients enables Lecorpio to offer tailored solutions to organizations of different sizes and industries. Please don't hesitate to contact us for a free consulting session to help you better plan for a successful IP management software project.
Sign up for a Free Trial of Lecorpio IP Management Software, or call (408) 850-7260.
