Most successful IP Law Firms and companies know that they need to manage their IP portfolio in the best possible way, using an IP system. But how to conduct a sound procurement process? Here are a few indispensable tips.

“Strong business aligned intellectual property that protects a company’s brands and innovation is critical. As markets become increasingly global, the support of strong, predictable and reliable IPRs in emerging markets remains a significant area of focus for companies,” says Ralph Schroeder, Managing Director at Hyperion Global Partners and leader of the Hyperion Research business.

Hyperion Research is a market research and advisory firm specialising in legal technology and operational best practices. They provide corporate law departments and law firms the deep insights they need to improve their performance through better strategy, process and technology. A part of this is to help their clients in the process of selecting an IP-system, often a crucial process with a lot of contributory factors.

Your IP relies on technology

“The availability of intellectual property is a direct factor in a company’s decision to invest in innovation because it allows them to protect and recoup that investment without the threat of competition misappropriation,” Ralph Schroeder says. But managing intellectual property and the myriad of issues has become very complex. “The overall regulatory and legal scheme for intellectual property continues to be an actively discussed and evolving aspect of the industry. And then there are the day-to-day but equally critical challenges of managing large, global portfolios and intellectual property teams in a high quality, cost effective and business valuable way.”

There is no doubt that the technical requirements that are being demanded – and that will be demanded – of IP systems will become tougher, from both IP law firms and corporate in-house counsels. Ralph Schroeder argues that it is impossible to meet productivity goals and expectations without using technology. “Likewise, technology has become a critical tool in the proper management of IP assets. Today’s advanced systems improve process efficiency and provide much better data and analysis capabilities. This allows IP professionals and business management to better understand their markets and competitive opportunities, and to assess potential risk. And increasingly, government and regulatory bodies require the use of electronic business data. These are all highly relevant to intellectual property.”

Tomorrow´s success factor

Future leading IP systems offer solutions that provide “best practice” features and can also be easily tailored to the customer’s unique requirements. These systems also help automate and manage the flow of work across the IP lifecycle.

“We see automated workflow as a very important capability for advanced systems. These systems allow coordination between the many stakeholders and allow work management to meet required standards. Electronic document management is also very important to enable work collaboration, to meet regulatory requirements, and to reduce costs. Finally, we see enterprise legal management (ELM) as the future systems approach, which will mean more sophisticated matter management, docketing and financial management capabilities.”

by Susanna Johansson Photo Hyperion research, Nordicphotos / Hiroshi Higuchi