Case Study 6: IP Portfolio Management

Creating a Competitive Stance
The customer’s R&D division was understaffed and required cutting-edge solutions to maintain industry dominance. Their day-to-day issues were consuming internal personnel, leaving them fewer resources for technical development activities. The original plan for outsourcing R&D to our team was expanded to include more than 15 ongoing projects across their company. The programs ranged from manufacturing process and material development to IP portfolio management with both near-term and long-term payoffs.

Real Results
Our team strives to maintain a balance of “high payoff/high risk” development with technical approaches that include risk mitigation pathways to ensure success. Our developments were so viable to the customer that they are currently implementing the results into their direct production line.

IP Protection
We assist with this customer’s IP, creating a strategy to protect their rights in a manner they describe as “exceptional.” We continually feed this customer technical reports and identify patentable inventions as they are discovered and developed. Our legal and technical teams work in conjunction with this customer’s legal department to determine trade secrets, publishable material, and possible patent opportunities. The result has been a multi-year strategic alliance that will reach over the next decade.

The Benefits
When this customer teamed with us, they appreciated our culture and approach, infusing that same energy into their own R&D division, which is part of the overall goal of this strategic alliance.