7 IP Portfolio Management Challenges In-House Legal Teams Face

Key IP Portfolio Management Challenges In-House Legal Teams Face Today

 

Corporate IP legal teams today face a number of challenges as they work to manage their IP portfolios. And they are looking for new ways to streamline their IP portfolio management, from patents and trademarks to domain names, designs, and more.

How can technology and the right tools help these teams improve collaboration, save time on tasks, and increase overall performance? In a recent webinar from Anaqua, Michael Frechtman, Anaqua’s Senior Director of Accounts and Sales, walks through 7 key challenges in-house legal teams face today and offers effective ways to help address them.

 

7 Key Challenges:

1. Increased workload >

2. Reduced headcount >

3. Enough time to manage IP portfolios >

4. Too many manual tasks >

5. Managing and reducing risk >

6. Global team collaboration >

7. Need for reliable technology >

 

1. Increased workload

According to a recent legal department survey by Thomson Reuters (Legal Department Operations Index 2022), 65% of respondents indicated the volume of legal work handled by their team increased in the last year. And nearly half (49%) of legal departments say they’re prioritizing bringing more work in-house. In addition, corporate growth and expanding IP portfolios signify increased workloads for their IP teams with no increase in budgets. As a result, they need to find alternative and efficient ways to accomplish more.

 

2. Reduced headcount

Deloitte's 2022 State of Legal Operations Survey reveals that only 15% of general counsel surveyed say they have appropriate attorney headcount and only 10% say they have appropriate support staff headcount. Because of this, in-house legal teams don’t necessarily have the staff or human resources to maintain their databases properly. As a result, they will need tools to help streamline their workflow and ease the burden.

 

3. Enough time to manage IP portfolios

According to EY's latest General Counsel Imperative Series (2021), 76% of legal departments need help keeping up with their intellectual property portfolios. From keeping track of dates and deadlines to gathering the necessary filing data, to managing communication with stakeholders and clients, they seek more time to manage and keep portfolios up to date.

 

"Corporations in particular – especially with smaller and medium portfolios – are faced with a breaking point, a time when they need to bring in a proper tool to help manage their IP portfolio.”

– Michael Frechtman, Anaqua

 

4. Too many manual tasks

75% of general counsel surveyed by Deloitte in the 2022 State of Legal Operations Survey, believe their attorneys have too much administrative work and believe team members spend too much time on manual tasks. And 76% of legal teams are burdened by manual work, including maintaining data about their portfolios and pulling reports out of their databases in a way that is efficient and not time-consuming. Even with the help of spreadsheets, teams might manually manage anywhere from a few to hundreds of patents and trademarks. What's more, only 18% say they now automate most of their routine tasks using current technologies.

 

5. Managing and reducing risk

Tight deadlines and overworked teams can unwittingly introduce errors – inaccurate data entry, spreadsheet formula errors, country law issues – any errors can lead to missed deadlines, fines, or loss of IP rights. As a result, corporations must find ways to manage risk and ensure that portfolios are managed correctly and on time.

 

6. Global team collaboration

Today, corporations with global teams are filing applications around the world. And they might hold different pieces of a corporate portfolio at various locations. So how do they ensure they have one central repository where the entire portfolio is tracked and updated?

 

7. Need for reliable technology

Today’s corporate IP teams need reliable, intuitive, easy access to the right tools, software and technology to support their workflow and address today’s challenges. How will next-generation technology help them prepare for the IP portfolio management desk of the future?

 

 

PATTSY WAVE® can help your teams run more efficiently

PATTSY WAVE helps intellectual property operations teams run more efficiently, reduce risk, and improve accuracy. We designed PATTSY WAVE for IP professionals looking for a tool to save time and money. It helps increase productivity by automating repetitive tasks and making information available at their fingertips. As a result, organizations can manage their portfolios with minimal effort while reducing the risks associated with erroneous or inaccurate data entry.

With PATTSY WAVE, you can streamline your IP operations with technology, use analytics to support your organization better, and gain visibility and control over your IP data. In addition, PATTSY WAVE will help your in-house legal team:

 

• Work more efficiently and accurately with powerful IP business logic

• Streamline docketing and mitigate risk

• Free your IP team to focus on strategic work by reducing the complexity of managing your IP portfolio

 

 

Key Takeaways

In-house legal teams today face many challenges in managing their IP portfolios. In addition, corporate teams are looking for new ways to streamline their IP portfolio management, from patents and trademarks to domain names, designs, and more. PATTSY WAVE offers one solution to set your team up quickly and easily for success while helping to meet those challenges.

 

Resources:

• Watch the webinar to see PATTSY WAVE in action >
• Learn more about PATTSY WAVE >
• Get in touch to request a demo customized for your firm >

 

 

Sources:

• Thomson Reuters Institute Legal Operations Survey
• Deloitte’s State of Legal Operations Survey in 2022
• EY General Counsel Imperative Series 2021