IP Advisory Services

Appraisal Economics offers consulting services to clients interested in mapping their IP strategy.  Most companies seek to pursue an IP strategy specifically tailored to their industry and consistent with their growth plans.  The first task in mapping your company’s IP strategy is to examine what your competitors are doing:

• Do your direct competitors own patents?  Have they filed patent applications?  How extensive are they?  Are these patents or patent applications substantive filings related to your competitors’ core technology?  What kind of IP strategy is being pursued by your direct competitors?

• When large and acquisition-minded companies in your industry are looking to purchase targets, what are they looking for in candidates?  Often the intangible assets identified and booked by buyers tell the story about what is driving strategic transactions in your industry.  What is the typical pattern?  Tangible assets vs. IP assets; patented vs. unpatented technology; technology vs. brand-related or customer-related assets.

• Licensing transactions often represent the most liquid form of technology transfer in an industry.  What kind of licensing transactions are being entered into in your industry?  What kind of royalty rates are being commanded by such transactions?  What do these royalty rates reveal about the technology transfer, industry trends, and profit margins in your industry?  Subject to availability of data.

• Is brand recognition important in your industry?  Have your competitors trademarked their product lines?  What are the licensing or registration patterns of trade names in your industry?  What do they reveal about the importance of recognition and reputation vis-à-vis technology-related attributes such as performance and functional?  Is trademark-licensing an important component of technology transfer in your industry?

• Having examined your competitors and the industry at large, how do they compare with your company’s current asset mix?  Do you currently have an unpatented form of technology that could be made proprietary?  Should you transfer some of the value residing in your workforce (covered by non-compete or non-disclosure agreements) to IP assets?  Can you benefit from filing patent applications and increasing your patent portfolio?   Does beefing up your IP profile increase your visibility and liquidity prospects in your industry?  Do potential buyers regard such companies more favorably?