IP Evaluation
The first consideration in any innovation is should you protect your valuable IP for the future. The most common route is to file a patent or design registration; however, this may not always be the most effective or cost-efficient method and managed trade secrets can work well.
The IC group of companies includes Patent Attorneys and technical teams who can help guide you through this important IP protection process.
With any innovation it is important that you do not allow knowledge of this to enter the public domain before it has been protected or under an NDA, our team can advise and recommend the best protection route to maximise the value of your IP for the future.
Road-Mapping
Road Mapping is a significant start to any successful innovation project and the IC team has helped a number of groups develop and present roadmaps on new products. Road Mapping should be initiated at the fledgling stage of development clearly defining market trends, client base, inhouse and external resources and particularly looking to towards technology you will need to acquire, licence or develop.
With its database of patents, IC has frequently been able companies to broker such technologies, often with associated IP protection and often for lower cost.
IC recognises that money, time and expertise is never limitless with new technology. Funding and resource are key early stage factors that will drive the most lucrative ROI route to market.
Patentibility
It is one of IC’s differentiators that we match our associated patent attorneys with technology specialists. These specialists have always been able to identify extensions to the product in the planned market as well as identify different markets for the same innovation.
These opportunities and the knowledge we provide has been well received. One recent inventor calculated that the value of his idea was doubled by our involvement.
Intelligent searching is also part of our service. Pan-market innovations or poorly categorised innovation means that opportunities for improved or adjusted claims are missed, meaning that the value of the patent application is at greater risk of failure or infringing another company’s IP.
In any case our tactical search methodology is one that we recommend as a first step on your road map prior to making technical investment in the product.
