IP Portfolio Management
Who’s keeping track of your IP?
Managing intellectual property (IP) is more than a discretionary function. It is, instead, a core component of business strategy.
For this reason, continuous and active IP portfolio management, as opposed to a once-off intervention, is crucial to the best-practice management of IP.
We take a holistic approach to IP portfolio management, rooted in a century’s experience in IP protection, management and enforcement. This extends from handling day-to-day matters to managing large projects that include searching, due diligence, IP audits, renewals, and recordal of changes such as assignments and licences.
In addition to conducting IP audits and reviews to identify and protect IP, we also draft and roll out IP policies and IP management processes for global brand owners, universities, state-owned companies, and in-house legal teams seeking to keep better track of their IP portfolios.
Our IT infrastructure, document management systems and resources are specifically geared to assist entities of any size with the management of their IP portfolios, and to help them to track their IP portfolio on an ongoing basis.
FAQ's
What is an IP portfolio?
What are the advantages of a comprehensive IP portfolio?
First and foremost, IP rights serve to ring-fence an entity’s unique competing space, in order to create a barrier to entry for competitors.
IP rights are not only used defensively to keep competitors at bay, but they can also be used aggressively to expand the entity’s commercial activities through licensing opportunities, for example.
A comprehensive IP portfolio increases the value of an entity by raising the value of its balance sheet. In some industries, like technology, a company’s value is derived almost exclusively from its IP portfolio, which can therefore be leveraged to attract investors and potential partners.
What is the aim of IP portfolio management?
IP portfolio management aims to ensure that the IP owner derives maximum value from the IP portfolio. Aligning an IP portfolio with the strategic objectives of the owner is a continuous task, requiring active management in much the same way that a company is managed.
What does IP portfolio management involve?
Ideally IP portfolio management extends from idea creation to the maintenance and enforcement of eventual IP rights.
This includes identifying potential IP from as early as the R&D phase, analysing IP protection strategies, securing IP protection in markets that have commercial importance, analysing the IP landscape to identify opportunities and prevent infringement of third party rights, maintaining IP registrations, and enforcing IP rights against infringers.
What are the advantages of IP portfolio management?
IP portfolio management ensures that IP is identified and protected in line with the strategic objectives of the owner and that an active register is maintained to keep track of the IP portfolio. In this way, costs are managed to avoid expenditure falling outside of the owner’s commercial interests.
Meet the team
Herman Blignaut
Partner
John Foster
Partner
Dirk Hanekom
Partner
Reinard Krüger
Partner
Duncan Maguire
Director
Wayne Meiring
Director
Megan Reimers
Partner
Jeremy Speres
Partner
Eben van Wyk
Partner
Chris Walters
Director
Chantal Haydon
Senior Paralegal
Vanessa van Coppenhagen
Consultant