Managing human capital is fundamental for a company's success. Merged with IP capital, a new realm of Intellectual Capital needs to be carefully considered. Alone, patents and inventors are important. But together, their synergies may be invaluable to a firm. Know which patents matter, which inventors matter, and which inventors play nice together. Whether you are searching to hire a new inventor, wanting to monitor inventor productivity, or want to analyze your inventor networks (relationships among inventors), IP Street simplifies the complex to provide meaningful insights.
The idea for IP Street originated with Lee, a co-founder of the US's top ranked firm for patent quality, Lee & Hayes (Spokane, Seattle, Austin, Portland, Taipei, and Beijing). Lee became engrossed in the notion of mining IP data to plot business strategy when he was hired by an investment bank to predict the likely outcomes of the landmark NTP v. Research In Motion case. In the time since, he and his firm have come to represent six of the 10 largest patent filers in the United States, and Lee has become a recognized evangelist on the rise of intellectual assets in the U.S., China, and beyond. Lee gathered his colleagues at Lee & Hayes, some IP experts and others business strategists, raised funds, and went to work assembling the technologies and talent behind IP Street today.
"Reputation management is an important factor in attracting partners and external funding. From interviews with CEOs and CTOs of nine large industrial and publicly funded firms, we have a clear indication that a corporate R&D lab's well-managed reputation has a direct impact on the firm's brand value. In other words, corporate research labs should not be measured only by their technological outcome, but also by the impact they have on a firm's brand value," according to Gassman et al., 2009, Research Technology Management, "R&D Reputation and Corporate Brand Value." The tools IP Street offers will help you identify (1) patents that significantly influence your brand (2) why the patents are significant (3) Internally communicate what, why, and how a patent influences brand to get executive-level buy-in and (4) Communicate to your customers what, why, and how to further develop the brand's impact.
Our partners included enterprise partners, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small companies. Among our enterprise partners are US and international businesses. We've also received input from research organizations and tech transfer operations. We've sought and received feedback from inventors, a group we believe are the heroes of the knowledge economy. Friends in the IP profession were given opportunities to use and provide feedback. We also engaged investors, venture capitalists, private equity, analysts and others in the financial world to hear what types of tools would make a difference to them when analyzing companies or IP assets. This robust representation has led to better designs. Our development team built tools with these varied personas in mind, so that the suite would assist not only the largest of IP holders, but would be relevant and immediately useable by SMEs, individual inventors, and business professionals. We are confident that you will find these tools valuable for your endeavors.
In order to be SOX compliant, it is imperative that you keep track of your patent portfolio. A thorough IP audit requires organization. Ironically, companies will pay more for the procurement of patents than they will for organizing and managing IP portfolios. With IP Street, we can help you navigate your own IP landscape and quickly organize your portfolios. With our promise of ongoing innovation, we can further develop tools you need to make this organization possible.
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