by: Tom Hochstatter, President

How Many Patents

I saw several requests in recent weeks from an IP media outlet partnered with (I believe) a patent analytics tech firm polling folks like us in the IP space to vote on “How many patents is enough for your company”. I saw the request a few times and I wanted to respond, but every time I read it I got angst about what’s the right way to assess this uniquely important question. And, are companies actually doing the deep patent “self-analysis” on a regular basis to adequately answer this question.

I fear not and here’s why.

Right is Relative

Before I could ever begin to answer the question professionally, I would first have to answer, among others, these 8-10 salient questions:

1) What patents tie directly to my company’s strategy. A two-fold question: a) those patents that tie directly to revenue generating products, b) those patents that tie to products and revenue I anticipate creating within the next couple of years to drive future growth, and

1a) Do these patents (accounted for above) fully protect all that I am doing today and desire to do within said strategy window? How do I know with a reasonably amount of certainty?

1b) If I’m not sure about those quantities in 1a how am I addressing the situation?

2) What patents have I had issued/prosecuted that no longer meet number 1 above?

2a) Do they have value beyond my company? If so, what am I doing about that - active commercialization or something else or nothing?

2b) They don’t have value beyond my company - are they going to be abandoned at their next maintenance fee window, or how am I budgeting for them or communicating with the P&L owners that are responsible for said decisions?

3) Do I have an open innovation culture whereby I incentivize and reward my people ( a la IBM) to come up with all kinds of cool, new ideas - regardless of their direct connection to strategy/products/revenues? How do I account for these patents - both from a commercialization perspective and also an ongoing maintenance/expense perspective?

4) I don’t live in a vacuum so how do these numbers, these protected areas stack up to my closest competitors/industry standards/etc.?

4a) Am I watching my competitors on their portfolio activities?

4b) Am I watching emerging competitors, or start-ups that may not have patent protection yet (or ever)?

5) So I’ve done all of the above and I have discovered gaps or risks in my business - how I am planning to fill those gaps or manage those excesses?

5a) Do I have enough and the right resources to allow me to do it?

5b) Are there patents on the market that I could acquire to fill those gaps or do I accelerate my prosecution?

5c) Am I willing to approach the owners of patents (competitors or otherwise) that fill my gaps and seek a proactive license or acquisition?

6) If not one of these in 5 - what is my plan - plan a defensive strategy, accelerate my prosecution, acquire non-core portfolios that read on my likeliest competitors?

How I answer all of the above individually add/subtract to my total of “right number of patents”.

Right Answer

Ok, now I’m done. I have the “right” number so to speak. Right?

Of course it’s never that easy. The number therefore “depends” on a great many factors. Thankfully, most are objective and measurable - and exactly what my C-Suite executives demand and that I can respond to with precision and confidence.

With proper analysis this important review can be broken down into regular, measurable/actionable outcomes and allow my entire company to answer these questions at a moments notice.

Don’t Know Where to Start?

We’d be thrilled to help you answer any one or all of these questions. It is exactly why we created our IP Advisory practice. Message us info@techsonip.com to get connected and get your number!

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