The Intellectual Property Business Congress 2013 is kicking off tonight in Boston. I’m excited to have it in my home town. I’m also excited and honored to be on a panel on Tuesday discussing how to use intangible capital to enhance the value of IC.
In preparation for that discussion, I thought I would share the tool that I co-developed awhile back with the IPR Plaza folks in Europe to help IP professionals create a quick scan of IC for IP, that is, the supporting infrastructure their companies have in place to commercialize specific pieces of IP.
The tool fills in a gap in the field of IP management, which in my experience carries four connotations and fields of study:
- Managing IP : managing the legal aspects of IP
- Transfer Pricing: financial management of IP sharing
- Commercializing IP: external transactions such as licensing, sale
- IP Business Model: creation and management of a business based on IP
A lot of attention in the IP world is given to licensing and sales. This is because it’s sexy and it can be an immediate source of cash. But the truth is that whether you are a buyer or a seller, the highest value for IP comes when it is put to work inside a viable business model with all the necessary supporting IC.
The work we do with consultants, CEO’s and business leaders helps them think about how to exploit their IC. The 20 questions below are the basis of the IPR Plaza tool and are the themes we will be discussing on Tuesday. They are designed as a checklist for IP professionals when they are focused on maximizing the value of a specific piece of IP:
Human Capital
- How would you rate the management team’s understanding of what it will take to commercialize this technology?
- How would you rate the management team’s knowledge of the industry related to this technology?
- How would you rate the employees’ competencies related to production/delivery of this technology?
- How would you rate the employees’ competencies necessary to renew and continue to build this technology?
- How would you rate the employees’ competencies necessary to support customers of this technology?
Structural Capital
- How would you rate the company’s ability to create an effective process for producing the technology?
- How would you rate the company’s ability to create marketing processes appropriate for creating demand for this technology?
- How would you rate the company’s ability to create sales processes appropriate for selling this technology?
- How would you rate the company’s knowledge base related to this technology?
- How would you rate the company’s access to related technologies that it will need to commercialize this technology?
Relationship Capital
- How would you rate the company’s understanding of the target market for the technology?
- How would you rate the fit between this technology and the company’s existing customers?
- How would you rate the company’s access to the right prospect group for this technology?
- How would you rate the company’s access to the right partners to produce and deliver this technology?
- How would you rate the company’s brand as consistent with this technology?
Strategic Capital
- How would you rate the fit between this technology and the company’s existing business model?
- How would you rate the company’s ability to create an appropriate business model for this technology?
- How would you rate the opportunity in the marketplace (strong opportunity usually means fewer incumbent competitors)?
- How would you rate the outlook for the market need that this technology is addressing?
- How would you rate the level of freedom from regulation in the market for this technology?
We suggest rating each question on a 5-point scale. At IPR Plaza, you'll get suggestions based on your score. (Please note, IPR Plaza is in the process of updating their website and to keep access to the tool up in the meantime, you have to click through several screens but the scoring info is still there).
If you’re at IPCB this week, stop by to join the conversation. If not, join the conversation on line or take the quick scan at IPR Plaza. Either way, I look forward to hearing from you!
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