by: Tom Hochstatter, President

Here at Techson we’re not big on “selling fear” to get clients and prospects to use our valuable, elite services. Our model, overall, is quite simple: solving our customers’ imminent patent research and IP advisory needs uniquely, effectively and for a great value. (Oh, and we only us US-based experts.)

So, I’m not here today to ring the fire bell over this recent article/research effort from a couple of esteemed Harvard academics, entitled: “Innovation Should Be a Top Priority for Boards. So Why Isn’t It?” – full article here.

They polled more than 5,000 Board members on what they saw as priorities for the companies they represent at the Board level. Read the article it is insightful; I will just draw your attention to how low Innovation and Technology trends ranked on the list.

A Little Nudge You To Move Innovation Up Your Board Priority List

I’ve outlined a few reasons we’ve heard over the years as to why patenting, IP, innovation has become this meandering, self-sustaining beast among start-ups, the F500 and Global2000 alike with no clear direction, and worst of all not considered a corporate priority - at any level.

Why companies don’t more highly prize Innovation and Technology:

·      Not a priority – simply don’t think it is important; more pressing issues to attend to

·      Too complicated – innovation, patents, and decision-making around IP is spread to the four corners of the organization

·      Not enough IP - don’t think they have “enough” IP to bother with any sort of rigorous innovation review or prioritization

·      Not in an “Innovation Industry” – it’s just not important to their growth, competitiveness, investment or acquisition prospects

·      Too expensive – will take too much time and money to do a good job

·      Competition isn’t innovative – we are on par with our market, or competitive landscape

All of these reasons are wrong, dead wrong. Moving on.

Reason why companies should prioritize Innovation and Technology at the Board Level

Yes, there is just one:

·      It’s impossible to compete in ANY industry in this day and age without a serious eye, or priority on innovation and technology trends

One example: look at an industry as mature (and distasteful, IMO) as the tobacco industry. I’ll just proffer this December 2018 headline and move on…38 Billion reasons to make Innovation and Technology Trends your top 2 BOD priorities.

Tobacco giant Altria takes 35% stake in Juul, valuing e-cigarette company at $38 billion.

IP Advisory – your regular Innovation health check

The reality is doing regular IP and innovation health checks just aren’t that difficult – even if it is the very first one and you are a very large company.  Remember, how do you eat the elephant… Big IP consulting shops will attempt to convince you to invest huge amounts of money, human resources and time to complete a full, end-to-end review to ascertain just the right issues, opportunities (e.g. priorities). It’s not necessary. You can start small, make meaningful impact along the way and tie it all together when and if you get to the “end”.

Techson can quickly assess a consumable portion of your Innovation Supply Chain that can be discreetly focused on and functional, actionable priorities can be determined. We’ll even create a tidy report you can submit to the BOD.

How Techson conducts IP Advisory Reviews

Techson has assembled three world class innovation components that are modular, independent (can be interdependent), in concert and over time (accretive) - to help you assess your innovation and IP footprint, assess your marketplace(s), and make clear, actionable recommendations

·      Experienced IP Professionals – in legal, research, inventor-ship, monetization, IP tools/tech - each with decades of experience

·      Proven Assessment Workflow – we’ve lived with our processes for decades and they’re now proven

·      Limestone – our latest solution, a patent research platform unlike anything you’ve experienced before

It is our desire (our ability) to align our activities, outputs, and expectations specifically with those of your team – to maximize economic and competitive outcomes in the most efficient and timely manner. We’ll give you (or your BOD) just the right priorities to focus upon.

techson Sample Areas of IP Research and Analysis

- Portfolio review, digestion, and stratification - fast and with reports that are immediately actionable

- Data research and modeling – PTO trends, Litigation, Case Law, Commercialization Activity

- IP tools and solutions review – is what you are using today adding value, connected to the overall IP workflow

- IP workflow – from original ideation to final disposition of your IP

- Market transactional data research and modeling – where can you make money or save unnecessary expenses

- Economics research and modeling – industry analytics, macro-economic affects, et al

Give us a try, even if just for a trial. Our number one Board priority is to satisfy clients beyond expectation (then innovation, then technology trends, then Tom’s [long overdue] raise).

#relentlessresearch

#intelligentproperty