Building an IP Strategy for High-Tech Startups
Startups developing advanced technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence continue to receive strong venture capital funding. Every year, some of these companies manage to edge out their competition and generate significant, sustainable revenue.
For these companies, IP strategy always plays a critical role in all three phases of success—raising capital, surviving competition, and sustaining profits.
*Data courtesy of Crunchbase and Embroker
An IP strategy is a company’s roadmap for protecting and managing its intellectual property and other intangible assets. You can think of IP strategy as serving two broad purposes:
- Defensive: Prevents competitors from stealing your work.
- Offensive: Leverages your intangible assets to generate revenue and prevent others from entering the market.
Smart tech companies will think of both perspectives. In our recent blog series (outlined below, with links), we provide detailed guidance on how high-tech startups can build an actionable, robust IP strategy to support long-term success.
IP Strategy Part 1: Existing IP
The most logical place to begin developing an IP strategy is to catalog your existing IP assets, risks and opportunities. Once you’ve created a database of patents, trade secrets, and other IP assets, you’ll need to consider potential interference from third parties. In Part 1 of the blog series, we dive into the key questions and steps that you can go through as you map out your startup’s existing IP.
IP Strategy Part 2: Future IP
In Part 2 of the blog series, we cover the same for future IP — that is, creating a strategy for protecting the IP that you’ll develop in the future, as you navigate your technology roadmap. Your technology roadmap lays out the high-level milestones toward the company’s long-term business goals. Many of those milestones are likely technical challenges that need to be solved, and the solutions to those technical challenges are the key developments that you’ll want to protect as part of your company’s IP strategy.
IP Strategy Part 3: IP Management
In Part 3 of the series, we look at how to develop a plan to manage your IP as part of your business operation. Who will be responsible for making key decisions? How much should you budget toward IP protection? Having a smart IP management plan ensures that your IP strategy turns into a functioning IP program that stays aligned with your business’s goals.
Michael K. Henry, Ph.D.
Michael K. Henry, Ph.D., is a principal and the firm’s founding member. He specializes in creating comprehensive, growth-oriented IP strategies for early-stage tech companies.