5 key steps for intellectual property management for SME

In times of economic crisis the things that can differentiate one company could be critical for its market success.

Some parts of this differentiation can be based on intellectual property rights such as trademarks, patents, industrial designs, copyrights, domain names etc.

One important moment in that regard is how these rights are managed in order to provide the company owner with the necessary economic benefits.

This is essential because in the case of poor management the consequences for the market position of the company could be quite negative.

All big companies have organisations and policies on how to deal with the management of their intellectual property portfolios.

In the case of small and mid-size companies this is not possible all the time because it requires human and financial resources.

Nevertheless there are some things that can be done which will help SME do preserve the value of their intellectual property:

1. Make an audit of everything that can represent the intellectual property in the company – the main goal is to discover what the company has. For example some products can be sold under a brand name which is not protected as a trademark. Another example is for key technology that is not protected by a patent or trade secret.
2. Evaluate the information from the audit and identify the key value of intellectual property within the company.
3. Proceed with receiving the necessary protection for those of the assets that can be registered with the Patent Office as trademarks, industrial designs, patents etc.
4. Create a database for your intellectual property portfolio in order to manage it properly and to keep yourself on date with its status.
5. Go over the portfolio and identify the possibilities for licensing your intellectual property to other companies. This can be an additional revenue stream for your company.

In case you are a small business and you want to build a database of intellectual property, you can learn how to do that almost for free through this Udemy course: A complete guide on how to build an IP database using Asana

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How to create a database using Asana?

Most people and companies that own intellectual property rights such as trademarks, patents, copyrights etc., come to a conclusion that after receiving the relevant protection the job is done and everything will be fine for those rights.

Not only this is not the case, it could be a huge mistake.

When you own or make business with intellectual property you need to be proactive and to maintain it constantly otherwise you can lose this protection.

For example, if you have a patent for invention in order to keep its protection active, you need to pay annual fees to the Patent Office.

In the case of trademarks, for every 10 years, in most of the cases, you need to renew the trademark otherwise you will lose its protection.

All of this requires a good knowledge and information for the status of every IP asset that you possess.

Big companies use professional software that keeps all of the intellectual property information at one place which allows companies to maintain the relevant protection and to keep up with all legal requirements.

For individual owner and small businesses, however, such a software could be way too expensive.

That’s way I decided to create a Udemy course that teaches you how to build your all database with intellectual property information for free, just using one very well-known application called Asana.

The database that I created in the course, although not so sophisticated as a professional software decision, it can do the job quite properly.

This can save you a lot of time, money and problems when it comes to maintaining the protection of your intellectual property right.

If you are interested you can check the “A complete guide on how to build an IP database using Asana“.

Brief IP news

1. Online content sharing – pay to play? For more information here.  

2. Thinking of moving your business online? Follow these tips. For more information here.  

3.  Looking for IP pro bono providers. For more information here. 

Source: Intellectual Property Center at the UNWE. More information can be found here.

How to prove a digital existence of a file or work?

WIPO announced its new service called WIPO PROOF. It  produces tamper-proof evidence regarding the existence of a digital file at a specific time.

The service doesn’t prove authorship or anything else then the fact that the relevant work or file exists at a particular moment.

This could be useful in different intellectual property disputes where a priority date has to be proved.

WIPO acts as a time-stamping authority by issuing a token (a unique digital fingerprint of a digital file in any format and size) which is generated and stored on WIPO servers in Switzerland. The service doesn’t use block-chain technology for the time being.

The following categories of intellectual property and other files and data can use WIPO PROOF: 

• Trade secrets
• Creative works
• Creative designs 
• Industrial designs
• Software code  
• Research
• Data
• Digitally signed document
• Other

WIPO PROOF tokens do not expire but they are kept on WIPO’s servers for 5 years. This period can be renewed for another 5 years by paying a fee. 

The initial cost of one token which is equal to one file is 20 Swiss francs. A bundle of 10 tokens will cost 190 Swiss francs, whereas 100 tokens will cost 1800 Swiss francs.

You can find more information here.

Source: WIPO and IPKat.

WIPO announced its new Director General

WIPO reports about the election of Mr. Daren Tang as the new Director General of the organisation. He will succeed Mr. Francis Gurry, who has served as WIPO’s Director General since October 1, 2008.

As it is well-known, there was a tension between the US and China about the candidates for this position. The US was completely against the China’s nomination including in the light of the trade conflict between both countries.

Mr. Daren Tang, as a former Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, was accepted as a good choice in that regard.

For more information here.

Happy World Intellectual Property Day 2020

On this day we celebrate the role of intellectual property protection for the development of the societies and economies around the world.

This year WIPO devotes this day to the innovations related to one more green future for all of us.

You can find more information here.

Can I build an IPRs database for free using Asana?

When you are an owner of intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks, domains, designs, copyrights etc., it’s not enough only to protect them.

In order to maintain their protection and to take advantage of it you need to know all the time what you have and whether there is something you need to do for its protection and use.

The way to achieve this is to build your own database where to store the whole information about your intellectual property assets.

A database for intellectual property represents an organised way of storing information for all IP assets that one company or individual owns.

The database can include different sections depending on the type of the intellectual property. What is typical for it to have, in general, is an easy access to the relevant information and the necessary flexibility for better efficiency.

So how you can build such a database?

The easiest way, although the most expensive, is to buy a specialized software in the form of an intellectual property database which will allow you to store your information. There are many products in that regard but most of them can break the bank.

If you are a startup company, entrepreneur or just a freelancer who owns some intellectual property, such an option could be impossible.

Is there another solution?

Yes there is. You can build your own database using free services such as Google sheets, for instance. However, you can adapt some of the many productivity and project management apps turning them into a database too.

One example in that regard is Asana which can be used as an intellectual property database completely for free. What’s more, because it is a cloud based solution you will have access to your information from everywhere. In addition you will be able to take advantage of some of its options such as collaborating with your team, IP attorney etc.

If you want to learn how to build such a database you can check this new upcoming course from here. There will be free coupons for early birds.