ABSTRACT
The management of a patent portfolio is often perceived to be unrelated to knowledge, or even intellectual asset, management. However, the experience of an increasing number of organizations shows that the tools and processes needed to manage a patent portfolio can in fact be readily extended to the management of knowledge assets and even all intellectual assets. The effective management of a patent portfolio can therefore be thought of as the first step towards intellectual asset management. This assertion can be explored by examining the tools and processes needed to manage a patent portfolio, thus performing the following tasks:
spotting inventions and assessing whether, when, and in what territories patents should be filed; identifying restrictive third party patents and ensuring they are challenged or circumvented; establishing the portfolio’s strengths and weaknesses so that opportunities and threats can be addressed within business strategy.
