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In review: streamlined IP management at IPforward 2017

Laura Guenther | April 17, 2017 | Articles

Last week, more than one hundred intellectual property (IP) professionals gathered in Silicon Valley for the 3rd annual IPforward conference. Put on by IPfolio, the one-day conference provides a unique forum to network with and learn from IP leaders about how they build and manage high value IP portfolios and execute advanced IP strategy. Attendees walked away with actionable information and best practices they could implement when they got back to the office, from top brands such as Facebook, Expedia, Uber, Google and more.

IPfolio User Group Meeting

This year the event kicked off with a user group for IPfolio customers on April 12th, which was new compared to previous years. More focused on the IPfolio product and platform, the half day event came about based on requests from past attendees. The IPfolio team went through tips and tricks when working within the IPfolio and Salesforce platform – running reports, updating multiple records, leveraging global tags and improved search were just a few of the best practices discussed.

Strategic Partnerships & Integrations

SimpleLegal and ipan were sponsors for both events and showcased how their respective products integrated with IPfolio to streamline processes for IP and legal teams.

Nathan Wenzel, CEO of SimpleLegal, and Rupert Mayer, CEO of IPfolio, demonstrated how the two softwares connect IP rights to eBilling matters for better financial control throughout the IP lifecycle. Not only does the integration eliminate duplicate data entry, it automates key aspects of IP prosecution, such as managing law firm budgets, tracking spend, and approving invoices.

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Video not loading? Catch the recording of SimpleLegal at the IPfolio User Group meeting here.

IP Strategy

The IPforward conference on April 13th consisted of several panels of IP leaders, following an inspirational keynote by inventor and engineer, Lonnie Johnson. A common theme across all panel discussions was how to develop a winning IP strategy. Two main approaches emerged: forward looking (with the goal of growing the portfolio and working to align with larger business objectives) or maintaining (with the goal of protecting the brand, mitigating risk and blocking competition).

Regardless of the approach, a few underlying themes were present:

  • Important to understanding overall business strategy first
  • Keeping communication between legal and engineering frequent
  • Having a solid understanding of where your competition is
  • Leveraging your network and share ideas with other IP professionals

How do you determine your IP value? Well, it depends on much of the factors outlined above. Awards and other forms of 3rd party recognition also help to measure value.

Overall, the user group and conference were a resounding success. There was a collaborative feel, with many questions from the audience. SimpleLegal was proud to sponsor the event and is excited for continued success with IPfolio.

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