Advisory Services
Few European or US companies have appointed a Chief IP Officer or Head of IP. But the best IP companies have. Ruud Peters at Philips, Marshall Phelps at Microsoft, Joe Beyers at HP all carry the title or responsibilities of this role. And each are evolving the role in their own way given that no established model yet exists for the CIPO role and how it fits into a traditional organisational structure.
Whether or not it is relevant to your company is a good question. We would suggest that it can be answered by asking some simple questions. What proportion of my business value is represented by intangibles and IP? Has my business got an IP strategy? How many patents do we file by comparison to our major competitors?
These are not questions relative to business size or scale: They are questions to be answered by reference to the influence that IP and intangibles have on your business and its value.
ipVA can provide the role of Virtual CIPO to clients on a project or ad hoc basis. Often our aim in these roles is to train and educate a business manager to perform the CIPO role and function for the long term. We can also help you locate or vet suitable candidates for the CIPO role.