Businesses and inventors—especially those in growth phases—face the balancing act of protecting innovation while controlling costs. At McCoy Russell, we believe a strong IP strategy should go beyond cutting expenses; it should add long-term value. Here are 7 strategies to help optimize your patent and trademark prosecution efforts:
- Prioritize Strategic Portfolio Planning
Collaborate closely with your intellectual property attorney to identify key inventions or trademarks that align with your business objectives. By prioritizing protection for the most commercially viable assets, you can avoid unnecessary expenses and focus your resources where they matter most.
- Conduct Prior Art Searches Selectively
Depending on your IP strategy and how an innovation fits into your portfolio, searching may or may not make sense. When searching is utilized, it should be conducted in a cost effective way. Search can aid in assessing patentability and reducing unnecessary prosecution expenses and negative outcomes.
- Use Provisional Patent Applications Wisely
Provisional patent applications that fully describe an invention can be strategically utilized to secure an early filing date and delay expenses to enable marketing, business development, etc. This approach offers a 12-month grace period to explore market potential, develop improvements, and seek potential licensees or investors.
- Explore International Filings
Expanding your intellectual property protection beyond national borders can be a substantial expense. McCoy Russell is experienced in international filings and navigating cost-effective routes, including leveraging the PCT or Madrid Protocol.
- Consider Collaborative IP Management
Consider sharing costs through cooperative agreements, joint ventures, or patent pools with other inventors or businesses in your industry to help lower the financial burden. McCoy Russell helps its clients navigate these collaborative arrangements and negotiate favorable terms.
- Monitor and Evaluate Your IP Portfolio
Regularly review your IP portfolio, eliminating or transferring assets that no longer align with your business strategy to save on maintenance fees.
- Leverage Technology and Automation
Leverage technology tools and software to automate tasks and streamline patent and trademark prosecution processes. McCoy Russell has propriety software developed in-house, licensing available through IronCrow AI, made for patent professionals by patent professionals to automate tedious tasks and free up time to work on harder aspects of prosecution.
Protecting your IP doesn’t have to come at the expense of innovation. With the right approach, you can safeguard your assets and stay on budget. McCoy Russell has the technical expertise and experience to help clients achieve long-term success in developing their intellectual property portfolios. To learn more, contact McCoy Russell at info@mccrus.com.
