Before developing a strategy for the protection of intellectual property that is tailored to a specific company, it is useful to establish an intellectual property audit. Such an audit may be required by an external investor, such as a Venture Capitalist, or within the frame of the CTI Startup process.
The purpose of this operation is:
- to identify the relevant elements, for example trademarks, know-how, developments etc., which give the company a competitive edge over its competitors;
- to verify if these elements have been properly protected by intellectual property titles that might possibly already be owned;
- to verify the risks run by the company as regards patents held by competitors in the specific field of activity.
Once this inventory has been completed, the principal aim of an intellectual property strategy should be to try to protect and develop the identified intellectual capital and to limit the risks as regards patents and other intellectual property titles owned by competitors.
For example, if a company or product enjoys a good reputation, it may be appropriate to protect the name by means of a trademark and simultaneously to increase the notoriety of this name by targeted marketing operations. If a product can be made more attractive by its technical characteristics, or if it can be manufactured at a lower cost thanks to a new process, the possibility of a patent should be considered.