Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Mon, Apr 12, 2010
Because most progressive IP departments have unique ways of organizing and executing IP Strategy-an IP management software that works for one company isn't necessarily going to work for the company down the block.
In order to deliver full value to the business, intellectual property management software must be adaptable to the needs of each department. When considering adaptability in IP management software, it is important to understand the difference between configuration and customization.The crux of the difference is complexity.
Configuration uses the inherent flexibility of the IP management software to add fields, change field names, modify drop-down lists, or change workflows. On the other hand, customization involves code changes in the base application to create functionality that is not currently available. In other words, If something is configurable, it means the existing software can be worked (via the standard user interface) to reflect the change. If it requires customization it means software code has to be changed (added or moved around) so the software can do what you want it to. Guess which one costs more?
Customization can be very costly and complicate future upgrades to the IP management software because the code changes may not easily migrate to the new version. Wherever possible, IP departments should avoid customization by using configuration to meet their goals.
During a typical demo, the vendor is going to focus your attention on the cool, "shiny" aspects of their system. It is important that you bring up this topic during the demo, because this issue alone can determine the possible outcome of your project.
Here is a list of top 3 questions to help you understand how should the IP management software be implemented to meet your requirements.
1. Is there coding involved for any changes to the application?
If the answer is yes, get yourself ready for heavy implementation costs (despite whatever the vendor initially quotes).
Coding means that some engineers will need to write or modify the code that is often unique to you. This means 2 things. First, it means money. Engineers make a lot of it. So more costs upfront. Second, customization add delays to the implementation, for code to be written and thoroughly tested. Even with careful project management, there is the possibility of the project's slipping due to scope creep and other factors, and ultimately missing its deadline. If quality assurance is undercut in order for the project to come in on time, the result can be buggy software.
2. Who can perform the configuration/customization?
The best systems in the market are the ones that allow you, the customer, to perform configuration changes on your own. The skill level required to make these changes should be basic and the IP team including docketing clerks, administrators, patent counsels should be able to make most of the basic changes.
3. How will these changes affect future vendor upgrades?
That means if the customers add customized fields, reports and workflows, etc., can they still receive software updates every 4-6 months? That is, will the software updates overwrite their customizations?
Configuration do not affect future upgrades, Customization does. Customization prevent you from applying future upgrades without shelling out even more money to the vendor to reapply your customizations.
In short, customization adds cost, for the initial development, implementation as well as for long-term support. Configuration is economical in terms of both time and money and help you in future growth and better handling of change in future business requirements.
Make sure you get straight information from the vendor regarding configuration vs. customization. Your initial cost of purchase may seem very attractive, but the long-term total cost of ownership may end up being extremely high.
Lecorpio uniquely provides the most configurable Intellectual Property Management Software that adapts to the needs of each IP department. Because there is no coding required to make any change, Lecorpio customers are able to configure the logic of their applications with basic skills. This means the configuration happens more quickly and without the need to involve programmers or third-party consultants. The changes made by customers are carried over seamlessly in each release.
Learn about Lecorpio's IP Management Software related products and more.
Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Mon, Mar 29, 2010
For many IP departments, business justification for an intellectual property management software remains a challenge. A convincing business case driven by strong ROI (Return On Investment) metrics can serve as a tool to overcome internal resistance to change. It can also give senior management a positive vision for organizational transformation.
It is important to understand that ROI comes from the process improvements supported by IP management software-not from IP management software alone.
The good news is that a return on investment on intellectual property docketing software is not dependent on a broad, enterprise-wide implementation. Many IP management projects begin with a single application and the benefits can be substantial. If you take a phased approach to intellectual asset management, calculating ROI on this initial deployment is even more important as it will help validate the technology and its benefits. It can provide you with evidence to scale more broadly.
Here are the five ROI metrics that can help you in preparing your business case for intellectual property management software implementation:
1) Efficiency
Time is money in today's competitive climate. It is well known that intellectual property management software will make your processes more efficient. It eliminates data re-entry for invention disclosures, committee reviews, patent bibliographic, docketing, and invoicing. It reduces the time for your team to prepare and conduct patent committee meetings or portfolio reviews.
When calculating metrics for efficiency, look at the average time that your team is spending on current paper based processes. Include the valuable time that your staff is spending on preparing agenda print-outs, packages for the team. What cost your IP department incur when there is a delay in the process? If your goal is to improve efficiency and productivity consider including the following estimates in your ROI analysis:
- The administration staff to be redeployed to revenue generating work through the elimination of manual data entry, document production, and processing.
- The percentage of productivity improvement to be realized through shorter transaction processing times, faster approval cycles, more reliable routing, reduction in manual intervention, and reduced data entry volume and time.
- The ability to support business growth without increasing headcount due to additional staff workload capacity.
2) Service
One of the most important goals of an IP department is to service their inventors. It is important for any IP department to ensure that the inventor community is satisfied with their services and wait times. Could efficiencies in this area allow you to improve inventor satisfaction? If you are seeking to leverage intellectual property management software to improve inventor service and satisfaction, add the following estimates to your ROI model:
- The reduction in inventor wait times in actual terms and as a percentage improvement.
- The percentage improvement in inventor satisfaction levels through simpler, faster, and better methods for invention disclosure review and approvals.
3) Compliance
The infrastructure shortcomings exist in both corporate legal departments as well as in law firms. The existing "point" based, incompatible and non-integrated IP docketing systems produce their own docketing data, deadline reminders, and keep their own duplicate set of records. For an IP department using several law firms, keeping these systems synchronized and files up-to-date can become a significant challenge and can contribute to the inherent compliance risks of manual processes.
Intellectual property management software reduces of manual data entry. Missing, misfiled and incomplete documentation results in non-compliance fines, penalties or unfavorable settlements. For ROI related to compliance, consider the following:
- The auditing costs, time saved, and fines avoided through the availability of comprehensive audit trails and transaction evidence.
- The legal cost savings and avoided settlement costs to be realized through the presentation of irrefutable transaction evidence in court or to avoid going to court in the first place.
4) Communication
According to a survey of US law departments conducted by PWC, most corporate IP departments spend more than half of their budgets on outside counsel. Some spend as much as 90% or more. However, very few departments have systems and processes in place to monitor the activities of external legal service providers.
A particular firm may have especially slow turnaround, a pattern of seeking extensions of time, or unusually high charges, which may escape notice of the in-house counsel. Without means of identifying process bottlenecks, performance issues and cost concerns, managing the process becomes unwieldy and ineffective.
A framework that allows for seamless collaboration between different participants in the IP creation, protection, maintenance, and exploitation processes can help significantly into your organization's IP competitiveness. Not only does it provide visibility across all intellectual assets, it allows for better selection of firms and better management of internal resources. To measure ROI associated with communication, consider:
- Eliminating duplicate invoices and duplicate charges across different invoices, and ensuring compliance with billing guidelines.
- The savings you can achieve by keeping tabs on their performance and seamless transfer of matters to another firm with better turnaround time.
5) Cost Savings
Increasing accountability, workloads, pressure to manage budgets, and "doing more with less" is a common mandate for IP departments. However, a single patent family may have associated fees that can be upwards of US$400,000 over the effective lifetime of a patent, not to mention the mandatory up-front overhead for patent application preparation work by expert legal counsel. The IP management software provides you visibility into your budget allocation and usage. This can be used to stop bleeding at any point in the IP management lifecyle when it stops making sense.
The ROI metrics associated with cost savings include
- Using online collaboration tools with the right team to implement new and better patent filing strategies.
- Getting the best resources wherever available for controlling patent preparation and prosecution costs.
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.
Posted by Jerry Lamigo on Mon, Mar 01, 2010
Intellectual Asset Management is not only a technical project but more importantly a business project. In fact, Intellectual Asset Management is a mindset on managing your IP and the real work starts once the technology is deployed.
New technology brings change and change in any organization inevitably attracts resistance. This is especially true when the change has to do with the implementation of a new intellectual property (IP) management software solution.
The challenge is getting inventors to accept new applications and processes, in spite of feeling uncomfortable with the prospect of having to change their habits and conform to an unfamiliar system.
Here are five proven tips to overcome the user adoption conundrum:
Demonstrate Value:
You should be able to demonstrate clearly the value proposition of your new IP management system. Inventors get direct benefits from IP management software such as: effortless submission of new ideas, visibility into their past submissions, real-time status of their awards, access to corporate knowledgebase and much more. By communicating direct benefits, it is easier to get them onboard.
Keep it Simple:
With exception to prolific inventors, most inventors are most likely to visit your IP management portal a few times a month. Create an interface that is simple and easy to use.
Avoid multiple clicks. If it's practical, get them the necessary information and actions within 2 clicks. The most common actions include the ability to submit a new invention disclosure or check on the status of previously submitted ideas or patent applications.
Start Off Small:
Rollout the IP management software in bite-sized chunks. Start with invention disclosure submission and review process. Once they are familiar with this process, introduce them to patent management. Keep adding more features such as open source, NDA, licensing, and other features until they have gradually begin using all major functions of the software in their normal routine.
Work the Way They Work:
Most inventors and patent committee members are used to a certain system. This may not be a technology based system, but it is still a functional system. While deploying, you should look at improving existing processes, but equally balance it by adapting the new IP management system to their own working style.
Use Incentives:
Incentives are a tool for proactively shaping growth. Your incentive program should tie their benefits to a well-considered strategic development plan.
For example, if your award program pays some amount for each disclosure approval, make a clear declaration that the amount will be paid only for electronically submitted disclosures.
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.
Image courtesy of 3.bp.blogspot.com
