Part 2: Building an Intellectual Property Portfolio

Building a diverse intellectual property (IP) portfolio is an excellent way to maximize protection for your business’s IP while also potentially generating additional revenue. In this post, you will learn some of the ways you can begin to build an IP portfolio for your business and why it’s a good idea to do so. If you’d like to learn more about the different types of IP rights and what an IP portfolio is before reading on, you can read our earlier post, “What are Copyrights, Trademarks, Patents, and Intellectual Property Portfolios.”

How to Build an IP Portfolio and Why it Matters

There are many types of IP rights, and several reasonable ways to build an IP portfolio that works for your business, so we’ll use a fictional business to demonstrate some of the basics of portfolio building.

Let’s say you are the inventor of a new type of compact electric car with a lightning rod affixed to the roof of the vehicle, allowing the car to be powered by lightning; and you’ve just started a business to commercialize this idea. The first question to ask yourself as you begin to build an IP portfolio around your idea is this: “What is my most valuable IP?” In this case, the most valuable type of IP right may be a patent, because that will allow you to stop others from copying your invention and taking profits that might otherwise be yours.

Accordingly, filing at least one patent application to protect your invention will kickstart your IP portfolio and help your business’s growth in the long term. At this point, you might also consider filing patents to cover the manufacturing process and design of your product.

Once your patent applications are filed, you have started building your IP portfolio, but you probably should not stop with a single type of IP right (in this case, a patent or patents). In this example, you should select a trademark for your business to add protection for your brand and your IP portfolio.

So you brainstorm a few names, conduct a trademark search to see which of your ideas aren’t already taken, and decide to call your business “Electra City.” Once you register your trademark, your company gains nationwide protection. This can be very valuable for your business because while patents eventually expire, trademarks can last as long as they are continuously used (possibly forever). Hence, after your patent expires and competitors begin to make their own lightning powered automobiles, consumers may still favor your business over the competition because they know your brand’s name and the quality of your products.

You can continue to expand your IP portfolio by patenting new inventions you develop and sell through the business you’ve built, trademarking the names of product lines, and copyrighting your website, advertising materials, publications, and trademarked logos, too. The more diverse IP rights your business pursues will create broader legal protections and more opportunities for generating income through licensing deals and taking action against infringers.

Conclusion

IP portfolios can be built in myriad ways and include other IP rights not included in our example. Each business is unique, has different legal needs, and should create its own customized IP portfolio development strategy to maximize protection and profit. For more on how to build an IP portfolio based on your business’s individual needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the firm using the contact form below.

Written by Benjamin Rothermel and Connor Jaccard.