Portfolio management can start with simple document management

Too often, organizations do not “manage” the patent portfolio they accumulate. People often don’t know where to start, and mistakenly assume that “portfolio management” requires new fancy software or other tools. For organizations that have no systems in place, a simple document management system can be the easiest and quickest way to get started. This post provides some very simple document management tips that can be used to start a portfolio management system.

1. Paper copies of patents. Most companies get paper copies of their patents, although some cannot even produce these when asked. Paper copies should be freely available to everyone in the organization, and the patent/legal group should keep master binders that include all patents in the portfolio. Keep one set that is organized chronologically, keep another organized by first-named inventor or any other organization system that makes sense. The binders should be prominently displayed, and access should be freely granted (making sure people respect your “master copies”). These are public documents, and should be treated as such within the organization.

2. Electronic copies of patents. Very few companies can produce electronic copies of their own patents when asked. If they do have them, they are typically not organized, and are usually not centrally available. Every time a patent issues, an electronic copy should be obtained and stored in a central location. The file should be readily accessible by all interested corporate personnel (remember, these are public documents, treat them as such). Ideally, the electronic copy should be in a standard format (I personally use .pdf for everything).

3. Keywords, keywords, keywords. Each patent document should have information associated with it to make the growing portfolio “manageable”. You should develop a master list of keywords. The keywords used will depend on the organization. For example, it might make sense to create a keyword for all major R&D projects, for particular technical groups, or for types of products. Once the list is created, use it religously. Don’t carve it in stone, but make sure it is modified only when necessary (it might make sense to incorporate the keyword list into a controlled document system, if the organization has one). Later, you can search the central store of patents by keyword (Think — running into a team meeting at the last minute, and having the relevant sub-portfolio in hand, and up to date!).

4. Systematically process each and every patent. Once the keyword list is established, you should systematically process the existing portfolio and each and every new patent as it is issued. Assign keywords as appropriate, and store the electronic file in a central location. This processing could be set up as a task that must be completed by office personnel upon issuance of the patent. Better yet, your patent attorney can help you with this…share your list of keywords with him or her, and ask that they obtain an electronic copy and assign keywords when they send a letter announcing the issuance of the patent…it only takes a few minutes to do both of these tasks.

Soon I’ll create a post that summarizes some software tools that can be used to begin implementing these simple document management tips.