IP Strategy and Process Development

Intellectual property decisions are often made reactively: a new invention is disclosed, a trade mark is needed, a contract is reviewed, or a competitor risk appears.

While each decision may be sensible in isolation, the result can be an IP position that is inconsistent, expensive, under-protected or poorly aligned with the business.

Our IP strategy and process development service helps businesses create a clear, practical framework for managing IP in a way that supports commercial objectives, protects value and improves decision-making across the organisation.

Meet our team

This service is particularly useful for:

legal teams needing specialist IP operating support.
scaling businesses moving beyond founder-led IP decisions;
companies preparing for investment;
businesses launching new products or entering new markets;
organisations with growing but unmanaged IP portfolios;
companies considering their first internal IP hire;

Turning IP into a managed business function

An effective IP strategy is not just a filing plan. It should connect IP activity to the company’s products, markets, technology roadmap, funding plans, competitive position and risk appetite.

We help clients define what IP should achieve for the business, where protection matters most, how decisions should be made, and what processes are needed to manage IP consistently.

This creates a more disciplined approach to IP, reducing ad hoc decisions and ensuring that legal, technical and commercial teams are working towards the same objectives.

What we support

Our fractional IP advisor service can support:

IP strategy development

Defining the role of IP in the business, including how it supports revenue, market position, investment, partnerships, employee innovation, licensing, exit value and risk management.

Patent strategy

Developing filing, prosecution, territorial and portfolio management strategies aligned with product roadmap, competitor activity, budget and commercial priorities.

Trade mark and brand strategy

Creating a structured approach to brand clearance, trade mark filing, international protection, enforcement, portfolio management and brand governance.

Trade secret and know-how strategy

Identifying valuable confidential information and creating practical controls to protect technical know-how, processes, data, algorithms, methods and commercial information.

Software, data and digital IP strategy

Addressing software ownership, open source use, data rights, AI-generated materials, source code control, platform assets and digital asset governance.

IP contract and ownership strategy

Ensuring that contracts with employees, contractors, consultants, universities, suppliers, customers and collaborators properly capture and protect IP.

Competitor and freedom-to-operate strategy

Developing processes for monitoring competitor IP, assessing third-party risks and supporting product launch decisions.

IP governance and decision-making

Creating clear responsibilities, approval processes, review points and reporting structures for IP decisions.

Developing an IP operating model

For growing businesses, one of the most important questions is how IP should be managed day to day.

We can help design an IP operating model that defines:

who is responsible for IP decisions;
when inventions and brands should be reviewed;
how technical teams should disclose new ideas;
how legal and commercial teams should be involved;
when external patent or trade mark attorneys should be instructed;
what approvals are needed for filings and renewals;
how IP spend should be monitored;
how portfolio decisions should be documented;
how IP risks should be escalated;
what information should be reported to the board or investors.

This is particularly useful for companies that are scaling, preparing for investment, moving from founder-led decision-making, or considering their first internal IP hire.