IP Protection: Helping Clients Manage and Keep Their IP Safe
IP Services
July 22, 2022
Missing an annuity payment or renewal can have devastating consequences from the loss of IP protection to financial impact to disruption of product sales. This is precisely why IP professionals need to place the responsibility of keeping their IP assets current, in good standing, and in a safe pair of hands.
Christine Jennings, President of Anaqua Services, and her team cover the end-to-end process of patent annuity management and processing trademark renewals. We sat down with Christine to find out about Anaqua Services, the nuances of managing IP payments, and what makes Anaqua's payment services offering stand out.
How have Anaqua Services evolved in the last 2 years?
I’ve talked previously about the innovation involved in our payment services portal, which is predominantly used by our services-only clients. We wanted to give our clients the ability to manage their portfolio online so now, clients can look at their portfolio information and they can make annuity decisions, in an intuitive and easy-to-use manner.
The built-in patent analytics are what makes this portal truly stand out. Being able to access analytics at your fingertips is more important than ever for clients who are pruning their patent portfolios.
We’re constantly looking to innovate and automate, continuing to deliver the most efficient Payment Services for our clients. Our innovation is client-led to ensure our improvements are relevant to their needs. As an example, due to our investment in data verification, we can now verify up to 90% of an average portfolio, both at the time of onboarding and on an ongoing basis. We’ve also developed enhanced data verification of Patent Extensions.
We are continually collaborating with clients as well as internally because collaboration is core to our DNA. Setting our product roadmap objectives for the year and identifying where we will innovate is done hand in hand with clients. Each year clients and internal teams submit requirements for future projects. We prioritize these throughout the year and deliver on those projects. This helps us stay focused on where we are innovating and ensuring we align with our client’s needs.
How are Anaqua’s Payment Services different from other companies in the market?
Over the years, clients have told us several factors make our Payment Services stand out: customer service, service strategy, competitiveness, and the flexibility of our service. We are completely transparent with clients from the outset—we share our methodology; we share our pricing, and we share what they can expect from us.
Ensuring transparency is extremely important to us. Clients can see the breakdown of the fees, whereas with some competitors, only one fee amount is provided, and you don't see how the payment service fees are broken down. The language we use is very clear as well and it's this simplicity that provides clients with comfort.
Clients come to us for both our standalone Payment Services and integrated into AQX. Our clients that manage their payments in AQX have access to the entire AQX IP platform including AcclaimIP Analytics, Foreign Filing Services, IP Cost Forecasting, and much more.
Why do organizations choose us? How competitive is Anaqua in terms of pricing and getting up and running?
Clients tell us they choose us to manage their payments because they like our price transparency, the quality of Anaqua Services, our Payment Services Portal, integration, and automation. We’re always investing in our people and our IT.
We offer flexibility but it’s more about the care we take to ensure cases are properly maintained, the security processes we have in place, and our data verification capability. On average, we’re between 20% and 30% more competitive, meaning we can save clients up to 30% of the total costs per year. With a dedicated team for onboarding, the structured process takes three months, with little effort required by clients.
How does your team help clients manage risk and protect their valuable IP assets?
There are so many nuances in patent annuity management and trademark renewals, and this can all increase the risk. For my team, managing risk is critical—it’s all about the attention to the customer service that we deliver, the controls that we have in place, and the automation we use to avoid manual checking.
We are ISO 9001 certified, which gives our clients additional assurance in the measures and processes we take to mitigate risk. We’ve had amazing feedback from our auditors, and they’ve been impressed with the protocols we have in place. Clients appreciate these aspects—after all, everybody wants peace of mind that risks are being mitigated as much as possible.
What does success look like to you as President of Anaqua Services?
For me, success is maintaining the momentum we have in retaining and growing our client base. If our clients are happy with the quality of Anaqua Services, that is a success. Clients know that we care, we listen, and we will work with them to implement their enhancement requests.
I’m also so proud of our team—everyone does such an excellent job. On average, our team has six years of IP experience and they’re all client focused. If a client experiences an issue, our team members listen, and identify a solution.
We work together to continually deliver a better service that meets our clients' needs. Right now, we are implementing new functionality to accommodate a client’s request. It’s those client-driven activities and our ability to respond to ever-changing global conditions to meet our clients' expectations, that sets Anaqua apart.
