INTELLECTUAL POWER — IPX Patent Partners

TOP/SERVICES/FOR STARTUPS

For Startups

IP worked backward from funding and growth.

Time and money are limited, so we narrow down what you do. We judge the risks and spend a small budget where it has the most effect.

AWARD

The 1st IP BASE AWARD, hosted by the Japan Patent Office
IP Professionals Category Encouragement Award Winner

IP for IT services and startups is one of our strengths.

Start Where You Are

It begins with starting IP activity.

Most enquiries that begin with “we want to think about IP strategy” are really at the stage of “we want to start IP activity.” That is the starting point.

ENTERPRISE IP

IP strategy at large companies

  • Dynamic activity backed by large resources
  • Maximizing the value of the whole portfolio, cross-licensing
  • Comprehensive clearance, managing rights across group companies
  • Assumes a dedicated department and an ample budget

STARTUP IP

IP activity at startups

  • Minimal activity that accepts risk and concentrates scarce resources
  • Narrow it to three things: prosecution, responding to others, communication
  • Have the courage to drop the rest (select and concentrate)
  • Start from a structure and a routine that works with no dedicated staff

Install the IP-OS

What you set up first is structure and routine.

What you set up first is the mechanism that keeps IP moving: the structure and the routine. We call this installing the IP-OS.

OS 01

Decide who is responsible

Designing dedicated, part-time or external roles. At seed and early stage, the understanding of the CEO and CTO is the lifeline of IP activity.

OS 02

Decide where it sits

Where to attach the IP function: development, legal, or directly under management. Each has its advantages and its pitfalls. We design it to fit the organization.

OS 03

Start with trademarks

Filing and prior checks for company and product names. Ideally at the same time as you take the domain. This is where a first IP investment pays back the most.

OS 04

Set the rules

Employee invention rules are always reviewed in an IPO examination. A check flow before technical blog posts and talks is also essential equipment for not losing novelty.

OS 05

Set the budget and approvals

How much to spend on IP per year, and who can approve what. Once the way of deciding is decided, you can still make a filing just before an announcement.

Activate the Team

A system alone does not produce inventions.

After the structure and the routine are set, this is the part that takes longest. We work alongside your team until IP talk flows inside the company.

01

Lower the mental barrier

Many engineers believe that only advanced technology can be patented. Showing real examples from peer companies changes how they see it.

02

Find the key person

Not many people keep digging on their own after a study session. But once that one person appears, the activity keeps going.

03

Keep communicating

Share a news item with a line of comment. Hand out a one-page summary of a patent you obtained. Small and continuous works better.

Phase by Phase

By phase: what to do, what to drop

These are general guidelines. The real answer is designed case by case, looking at the business and the capital plan.

1

PHASE 1

Seed to product development

  • Trademarks first. Filing and clearance for company and product names start at this stage.
  • Decide what to file on your core technology. File it, or keep it as a trade secret — that split comes first.
  • Before joint development or a PoC, design the scope of disclosure and the ownership of deliverables. Many companies sign unfavorable contracts here.
2

PHASE 2

Around Series A

  • Narrow to priority areas and build a minimum patent portfolio. We do not cover every direction.
  • Patents on business models and UI also work as material for explaining the company to investors.
  • Benchmark the filing counts of peer companies to get a sense of the budget.
  • Put employee invention rules in place. Due diligence always checks this.
3

PHASE 3

Growth to IPO preparation

  • Start patent clearance. A rough guide is about two years before the IPO, kept to the minimum needed.
  • Prepare for IP due diligence. Getting it in order first costs less than fixing it after it is raised.
  • Be selective about foreign filings. We do not file in every country.

Using Your IP

IP has value in the filing process too.

For a startup, IP is an asset you can use for a long time after you obtain it. The filing process itself also has value. Putting inventions and brands into words with a patent attorney helps put the business in order.

01

Appeal to investors

A press release about a granted patent proves the technology and reassures shareholders and investors.

02

Effect on hiring and the team

The realization that “this can be patented too” raises inventors’ motivation and draws out the next invention.

03

Rethinking the business

Putting an invention into a form you can explain is also the work of sorting out the strengths of the business. Ideas become concrete in the exchanges with a patent attorney, and uses no one had expected sometimes appear. It becomes material for reviewing the business or considering a pivot. If those uses are covered by the rights, they remain as protection after a change of direction.

04

Bridging knowledge across departments

A patent attorney sees inventions from several departments: development, manufacturing, sales. Connecting efforts that were running separately prevents the same development being done twice. The language of patents also becomes a shared vocabulary across departments.

Speed Matters

Ready in time for your announcement

Before an exhibition, before a release, before a negotiation. For the moments when announcing first is too late, we have urgent response and Same-Day Filing. Please talk to us as soon as the schedule comes into view.

Urgent response and Same-Day Filing (IP Rights: Acquisition & Enforcement)

How We Work with Startups

Four principles for working with startups

The speed expected and the way things are explained differ from large companies. From the 15 principles for working with startups that every member shares, here are four that show how we face clients.

RESPONSE

Respond fast

  • We do not miss what you send us. No reminders needed
  • We reply the same day. When the answer takes longer, we first tell you we have received it
  • When email is slow, we switch straight to phone, chat or whatever gets through

CLARITY

Speak in plain words

  • We explain in words that make sense without IP knowledge. We do not lean on jargon
  • We start from the overall picture of the system. Fine exceptions come when they matter
  • Every time we explain something, we say what to do next
  • We replace hard-to-follow mechanisms with familiar analogies

BUSINESS SENSE

Start from the business

  • The first thing we ask about is not patents but the business. We start from the business model and the flow of trade
  • We show how IP can be used with concrete examples. We do not leave it abstract
  • When to request examination, where to spend the money. Timing and amounts are part of what you can consult us on

CREATION

From the idea stage

  • No invention disclosure form or advance materials needed. We shape the invention on the spot as we listen
  • Even when it is unclear whether something can be patented, we look for promising angles together
  • We do not miss areas such as software that have become easier to file in recently