Intellectual Property Portfolio Management

A strategic partner in assessing IP assets, evaluating portfolio options and effectively deploying the plan.

If you are in a technology-based business, you know the value of a comprehensive IP portfolio to protect your R&D, to help you secure a stronger market position and to potentially generate income. But even if your business is not technology-based, integration and use of new and efficient technologies is a key to success of most businesses today.

Developing a strategic patent portfolio requires more than just a clear understanding of your business objectives. It requires an innate understanding of the various options available to protect IP rights, the business and budgetary implications of each of those alternatives, and the legal ingenuity to deploy those strategies appropriately to fit the individual situation of each business, all while obtaining high-quality patents, or, in appropriate cases, foregoing patents in favor of trade secret protection. When you engage with the IP attorneys at DRM, that’s what you’ll get – a strategic partner with the legal talent and business acumen to help you accurately assess your intellectual property assets, evaluate your portfolio options and deploy the resulting plan effectively.

Clients tell us that what they like best about DRM’s patent services is how we deliver.

Our clients tell us it’s not just our high-quality legal services that add value to their business; it’s how we do what we do that really makes the difference. With a dedicated team of attorneys and specialized paralegals, we’re able to assemble high-functioning teams that focus on each client’s individual needs. Through effective legal project management and a collaborative communication style, we help protect not only our clients’ intellectual property, but also their budgets while we honor their timelines.

DRM’s clients benefit from our strategic approach to portfolio development.

It’s smart to engage patent counsel as early as possible during R&D and new product development and commit to getting patent work done early so you can avoid more costly catch-up later or, worse, loss of rights. Regardless of where your business is on the IP continuum, DRM attorneys’ approach to patent portfolio development can enhance the value of your IP. Our attorneys serve small, early-stage and start-up clients as well as Fortune 1000 clients who spend significant amounts on R&D and new product development. While we are well-versed in most key industries of today’s economy, we’re especially valuable to clients developing new technology.

Patent Portfolio Development: We work with clients to assess their intellectual property, markets, competitors, products, business plans, budgets, prior art, and other matters to develop overall strategies for protecting their IP and developing patent portfolios to give them competitive advantages and increased valuations.

Strategic Patenting: DRM assists clients in monitoring market trends and/or developments by key competitors, and in devising patent/inventing strategies and plans to stay ahead of competitors by focusing R&D and patenting efforts in new directions and through strategic use of blocking patents.

If you’d like more information, please contact Peter Kunin, Cathleen Stadecker, Morgan Heller, or Tom Kohler.

Recent Accomplishments

While credentials are important, we believe the work we have done demonstrates how our legal ingenuity and business sense add value to our clients’ businesses. Here are just a few recent examples:

• The management team of a small medical company, who wanted a patent portfolio that would command a high buy-out price, engaged DRM. With the client’s goal of a lucrative exit in mind, DRM developed a strong patent portfolio that resulted in the client’s company being purchased by one of the largest medical device companies in the U.S., at a more than satisfactory price.
• A market-segment leader in the photography industry that was looking to enter the global market hired DRM to develop and execute its international patent portfolio around several key technologies. Among other things, the valuable patents in the portfolio that DRM was able to help secure allowed the company to increase market share and revenue, and block competitors from entering the product space, for example, through strategic licensing and litigation in the U.S. and China.
• A startup (already attuned to the need for strong IP protection) with advanced technology in the water-quality-monitoring field, hired DRM’s attorneys to develop and execute a strategy for building a strong international patent portfolio. By collaborating with the client, and by applying legal project management best practices, DRM was able to prepare and file 14 U.S. and international applications within a few short months, all while staying on budget. Later, several investors commented that a significant consideration in their decisions to invest was the scope and quality of the patent portfolio.
• A company with multinational corporations as clients engaged DRM to prepare its patent applications. By effectively managing resources and workflow, DRM’s team of attorneys and paralegals were able to prepare more than 70 quality patent applications in just under six months.
• To help a regional company in the renewable energy field increase their market share, DRM developed and executed a strategy for building a strong international patent portfolio, which included preparation, filing and maintaining a portfolio of over 140 patents and patent applications.