Why IP maintenance matters for start-ups and scale-ups

When it comes to IP, there are 5 important angles:

• Your early IP portfolio

Keep in mind that with applying for intellectual property rights, you need to continue the process through to final grant.  For patents, this means responding to search reports, legal actions,..  You must rely on your patent attorney to keep you informed.  The IP language will constantly be a challenge and therefore, especially for tech scale ups, you’ll need an IP strategist.  An expert that operates as a translator-interpreter and is focused on your business so that all actions taken support your business growth.

• Your crew or team members:

As your speedboat business grows, the people on board become increasingly important.  At this stage, you must integrate the focus on securing all necessary measures regarding your crew and assistance.  Before hiring your crew, ensure you have implemented suggested measures such as contracts, know-how, trade secrets  and prepared template contracts for external assistance.  

• Your own innovation endeavors

Do not lose sight of your own IP strategy.  Have regular check-ups of your innovation plans, new developments, potential rebranding or new designs, and check whether you need to apply for new intellectual property rights. Ensure your ongoing IP registrations still align with your direction.
Maintaining the security of your speedboat requires close follow-up: once you go public with new products,.., you are sailing in sight of everyone.  But then, it’s too late to secure IP rights.

• Your ecosystem

In the effort to set sail and to start the journey, companies often focus solely on the customer and selling products and services, while other players continue to progress as well.
This means your ecosystem remains important, both from an innovation perspective, as new technologies appear on the horizon, and for identifying potential opportunities to make your speedboat sail faster or to detect new type of boats at sea.
But your ecosystem is even more important when it comes to your market and your competitors.  Set alerts to monitor competition, regularly review new IP registrations and keep a close eye on how others are navigating your market. Early detection is key to avoid setbacks caused by actions in your ecosystem.

• Prepare for due diligence:

Eventually, you will need to set up your data room and keep it up to date.  Gather all relevant documents related to IP and know-how in a structured database from the outset.  At the beginning, it is your responsibility as the captain to keep track of everything involved and structure all required documents.  This will save you time and money further down the line.
 

In fact, the easiest way to maintain your IP management, is to schedule regular IP-focused meetings, integrate IP aspects in your development meetings.

At Scalendi, we offer maintenance contracts.  At least every quarter we plan an IP follow-up meeting, and in between, we support you with IP-related questions by translating required actions into the business language of your speedboat business and by monitoring ecosystem alerts.