By Scott Smith
This article is an excerpt from a blog post originally published on biodesignalumni.com
Anyone who knows what “IP” stands for almost certainly also knows the three-letter acronym “AIA.” (America Invents Act, in case you’re not one of those people.) Many companies rushed to file big boluses of patent applications before March 16, 2013, when the final provisions of AIA went into effect and the United States converted to a first-inventor-to-file patent system.
But simply filing patent applications quickly is only a small part of building a strategic, valuable patent portfolio. In fact, just filing applications quickly but haphazardly when a company’s inventors toss invention disclosures over the wall is very unlikely to produce meaningful patents that yield significant return on investment.
Click here to read the top 5 reasons to audit your patent portfolio at Stanford Biodesign’s Alumni Blog
What many companies could use, is a thorough, in-depth review of their patent portfolios, prior art, competing products and competitor IP – sometimes referred to as an “IP audit” (or “patent audit”). Although April 15 is another date in the not-too-distant future, and the word “audit” evokes feelings similar to those evoked by the phrase “root canal,” an IP audit can actually reduce pain and increase opportunities for revenue. A thorough IP audit can and should jump-start a company’s patent program, provide the company with an IP strategy and plan, set the company on the right track toward creating truly valuable intellectual property, and potentially even save the company some money.
About the Author:Scott Smith, M.D., J.D., is a partner in Dorsey & Whitney’s Palo Alto, Calif., office. He is a registered patent attorney and focuses his practice in the field of medical devices.
