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Strategists of the world unite

By Joff Wild, IAM Magazine

 

Although there are many groups and organisations that represent a
variety of IP professionals and interests, there is currently nothing out there that focuses specifically on IP strategy and strategists. However,
that could be about to change

 

It all began in a Chinese restaurant in London just before Christmas. Seated around the table were some of the UK-based individuals who had been listed in the first edition of IAM Strategists 250 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists. This was published for the first time in 2009 and revealed the results of indepth research undertaken by the IAM team to find people who offer world-class services related to the development and implementation of strategies that enable IP owners to maximise the value of their rights portfolios. Fewer than 20 individuals made the list from the UK, so to have been named was something well worth celebrating.

As the evening progressed, talk turned from congratulation to the sharing of
experiences. As that happened, says Jackie Maguire, CEO of Coller IP Management, it became apparent that despite having different professional backgrounds, everyone had something in common. “We all seemed to share a vision that IP needed to be integrated into mainline business strategy and become part of the board agenda,” she explains. As the diners compared experiences, they saw the similarities in the challenges they faced in persuading
companies to take IP seriously. “There is a significant problem in many businesses because the board finds it difficult to communicate with the IP specialists,” Maguire says. Before you can do anything else as an IP strategist, you have to begin by bridging that gap and talking to the board in a language that it understands.

Jon Calvert, managing director of ClearView IP, was also there and he sensed a
growing buzz as everyone explored the implications of this. “In our day-to-day work
we saw that IP strategy was being presented to companies in different ways by different people, which makes it difficult for executives to know what it is they are actually being offered and how to assess its value,” he says. “But as we spoke, it became clear that we seemed to have broadly the same view of what strategy is all about and that we wanted to get industry much better informed about it.” Put simply, the consensus was that an IP strategist’s job is first to put the business case for IP to the board and then to help it implement policies that will allow for IP value to be maximised. “In many industries, such as high-tech, IP and intellectual asset management should be at the heart of what you are doing as a company,” says Calvert. “It needs to be thought about upfront when a company is being formed and all the way through the lifecycle; and different aspects need to be considered as time goes by. more >