Experts Say Companies with Strong Intellectual Property Strategies Raise More Capital
With the economy on the rebound, experts are beginning to find a clear correlation between firms that have invested in intellectual property and capital market success. On the other hand, they also find that companies that cut their investments in intellectual property, lagged behind.
According to a Business Wire report, MIT Sloan Senior Lecturer Joseph Hadzima Jr. believes that the companies that win big in the future will be those that used these tough economic times to “put together intellectual property strategies that support their broader business strategies.”
A Government Accounting Office (GAO) study showed that for a small company, the cost to maintain a patent in the top 10 industrial countries was from $350,000 to $500,000. In addition to being cost-prohibitive, the process also takes a minimum of two years in the United States. That is probably one reason why patent applications have declined in the last two years, with businesses facing increasingly stringent economic decisions to make.
One way some companies have dealt with this matter is to outsource the application process to countries such as India. But the solution here may be to connect the patent process to an intellectual property plan that is given much thought and organization for a strategy. As Hadzima advises, it is important not to just file patent applications. Instead, he advises, that it is beneficial to check that they adhere to your present and future tactical strategies.
Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm founded by... Michael Monheit→
