Intellectual Property News and Activities

Intellectual Property Benchmark Reports

2022

IP Law Department Operations

New findings for IP and Business Leaders in the 2022 Intellectual Property Law Department Best Practices Report.

ipPerformance Group’s IP Law Department’s comprehensive report covers intellectual property (IP) department practices and performance measures. The results may identify practices that your company’s outperforming or underperforming your peer companies, as well as critical areas of improvement.

2021

Inventor Rewards & Recognition Program Report
It’s not that it’s complicated; do you know which awards can make your inventor rewards and recognition program more effective? Are there financial or non-financial awards used by your peer companies to drive valuable inventions, improve the innovative culture, and attract inventor interest? This report will help you answer these questions and many others.

This Inventor Rewards and Recognition Program (IRRP) Best Practices Report taught us that most companies use multiple methods to motivate inventors, and award structures change frequently. These facts and many others are reported in this report.

2019

Intellectual Property Legal Process Outsourcing Practices and Management

IP leaders reported that they are outsourcing a mix of patent operations. This new ipPerformance Intellectual Property Legal Process Outsourcing Best Practices Study investigated intellectual property services outsourced, and the management practices used to achieve company objectives. A growing number of companies are having success, for the most part, with outsourcing, although some activities have proven unsatisfactory.

2018

IP Law Department Budgeting Practices

Intellectual Property Law Department Budgeting Practices Report benchmarks IP law department budgeting methods, tools, processes, and deliverable roles varied among our participants. The median company reported that it engages two ways to determine its annual IP budget. Budget development participation included as many as nineteen internal department functions. Budget adherence is complicated by several changes that can occur both internally and via third parties; the median company reported five events. The most frequently reported circumstance is unexpected disputes.

International Inventor Remuneration Management and Practices

ipPerformance Group’s International Inventor Remuneration Management and Practices Report is a comprehensive benchmark analysis of 32 MNCs who shared their practices and policies, providing unparalleled insights into global reward frameworks, remuneration amounts and restrictions, program management responsibilities, inventor disputes, and program performance.

Trade Secret Management

Elite companies are enhancing their trade secret management and protection practices. Our new Trade Secret Management and Protection Practices Report indicated more than 15 significant changes since our last benchmarked study. It is apparent by the changes in practices and attitudes that trade secret protection has been elevated in importance to corporate leadership.

2017

Corporate Intellectual Property Legal Department Practices
ipPerformance Conducts the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Intellectual Property Practices Benchmark Study.

Inventor Rewards and Recognition Program
Corporate Inventor Rewards Increase, Companies incentivize inventors with many financial and non-financial rewards.

Invention Harvesting, Selection and IP Decisions

Effective invention harvesting methods shouldn’t be a guessing game.
 Increasing the number of high-value inventions, better quality invention disclosures, and improving or maintaining inventor interest and support of the patent process are critical challenges in today’s intellectual property-driven companies.

The Invention Harvesting Best Practices report identifies effective methods for improving your IP program’s review and protection decision practices.

Corporate Intellectual Property Programs Use Multiple Invention-Harvesting Methods to Capture Valuable Inventions.

Patent Application Preparation Quality

Patent quality is one of the most debated concerns among patent attorneys and leadership. How do you judge the quality of your patent applications and issued patents? Can you be better informed about peer companies?

ipPerformance’s Patent Preparation and Prosecution Quality Practices Report will enable you to evaluate peer companies to identify more effective ways to prepare, prosecute, and maintain quality patents.

Companies report how they prepare their patent applications to ensure validity and enforcement.

Activities

2017 Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Annual Meeting
Robert Williamson moderated a panel discussion at Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Annual Meeting on Intellectual Property Practices Benchmark Study.

Trends in Corporate Intellectual Property Management
Key findings of IPO’s 2017 Corporate IP Management Benchmarking Survey and noteworthy comparisons to previous surveys (2013, 2011, 2009, and 2006) will be presented during this session. Chief IP
counsel representing diverse industries will comment on the analysis of the survey results and offer their insights on its implications for future changes in corporate IP management.
Panelist included:
Colm Dobbyn, General Counsel, Intellectual Property, Mastercard
Dan Enebo, Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Cargill
Tom Beall, Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Corning

Robert Williamson moderated a panel discussion at Corporate Intellectual Property Institute Annual Conference
Trends in Corporate Intellectual Property Management – Where have we been and where should we be heading?
This presentation and panel of senior IP law leaders will address key trends in IP management over the past decade as identified in IPO’s 2017 Corporate IP Survey Report and prior IPO surveys conducted in 2013 and 2011. This rich source of corporate IP data provides a baseline for panelists to consider the implications these developing trends may have for corporate IP organizations in the future.
Moderator: Robert Williamson, President, ipPerformance Group
Panelist: Gene Potkay, SVP Intellectual Property, Nielsen
Panelist: Al Riddle, VP IP, Baker Hughes General Electric
Panelist: Hanns Hallesius, Head of Group Patents, AB Electrolux

Robert Williamson presents at Licensing Executive Society Annual Meeting
Competitive Intelligence and IP Research Strategies: Getting a Grip on the Competitive Landscapes and Identifying the Best Targets