Top 10 Points to Boost Productivity through the Collaboration of R&D and IP

When it comes to building a robust business strategy, one of the vital elements for a company is to examine how to commercialise its Intellectual Property (IP). Whether the company’s goal is selling or licensing ideas, the strategy shouldn’t only be closely considered at every phase; it should lead the way, from research & ideation all the way to realising a profit. This is the best way to ensure collaboration of R&D and IP, allowing them to shape the vision of the business successfully. R&D (Research and Development) is not just part of innovation but the practical and sustained growth for Intellectual Property-centric industries. That is why the collaboration of R&D and IP is important for any company or business for better results in terms of profits and growth. Scroll down to check the top 10 points to boost productivity through the collaboration of R&D and IP.

What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

Intellectual Property (IP) mentions to creations of the mind like invention; artistic & literary works; designs and symbols, names & images used in commerce or market. Intellectual Property is safeguarded in law by Copyright, Trademarks, and Patents which enable people to get recognition or financial advantage from what they create or invest. By striking the correct balance between the extensive public interest and the innovators’ interests, the Intellectual Property system intends to provide an environment in which creativity & innovation can grow.

Why is it necessary to Collaborate R&D and IP?

In a company, the team of Research and Development (R&D) connects with the IP team right from the initial stages of innovation or the development of the product. It aids inventors to predict & exploit rising technologies by offering meticulous Patent landscape studies. On the other side, IP teams quickly recognised and safeguard distinctive aspects of the assets & creative work, estimate them and file for Trademarks, Patents, and Copyrights.

Hence, effective collaboration between both leads to innovation growth and a significant reduction in the statutory risks of working & owing with Intellectual Property (IP). Executives who manage Intellectual Property for a company need to collaborate with Research & Development teams to provide easy execution of tasks, such as IP monitoring and Patent landscaping. The synergy between the teams aids the organisation to alleviate hidden risks & recognise innovative opportunities via innovative research.

10 Vital Points to Promote the Productivity via Collaboration of R&D and IP

Since the units of Research and Development of big organisations or companies need to sustain continuous communication with Intellectual Property management teams, there are some valuable tips for IP leaders to improve the work of R&D team members so that they can accomplish the company’s goals. Following are the top 10 points to boost the productivity of any company or organisation through the collaboration of R&D and IP:

• Allocation of IP Rights: It is often observed that employees in the department of R&D work on personal projects that can be further patented or safeguarded under various Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), such as Copyright, Trademarks, etc. This eventually serves the end purpose of furthering the business objectives of the company. Since these are individuals’ projects of Research & Development team members that use organisational resources, clashes may arise when the organisation seeks to sell such individual projects. IP teams can lead R&D team members to safeguard such personal projects under joint Intellectual Property Right ownership to assure economic feasibility for the company. Hence, IP Rights for such inventions must be assigned properly to avoid future arguments or clashes.
• Promote Innovation: Another beneficial Intellectual Property tip for the leaders in the industry to encourage the functioning of Research and Development teams is to promote innovations within the department. The companies can incentivise their innovators to innovators to promote high levels of innovation within the Research and Development department.
• Understand the IP Role: IP plays an essential role in companies that depend on innovative Patents created by Research and Development teams. Hence, the company’s business development must be focused on this synergetic connection between R&D and IP. IP is an element that is worked upon after a process/an invention is created via R&D.
• Encourage Collaboration: Efficient collaboration of R&D and IP is vital and a helpful tip to encourage such collaboration is to have unobstructed & continuous communication between R&D and IP. Inadequate collaboration between these two can lead to blockages in innovations as well as the process of asset management of the organisation or company.
• Know the Interests: Companies or organisations must conduct innovation workshops to know the interest of Research & Development team members. They can be promoted to pursue them, following which the Intellectual Property teams can aid them to safeguard those interests. This will boost the organisation’s growth by increasing the IP portfolio of the company.
• Give Prolonged IP Access: To work with higher efficiency for the R&D team, it must have access to Patent landscape reports offered by IP teams. With the support of such reports, R&D teams can better understand the present Patents & trends for a given geographic region.
• Get Help for IP Search: R&D team should be aware of modern technologies for fast searching & understanding the existing Intellectual Property. It is an essential step before starting R&D for innovation. Tools for IP search will lead the work of R&D teams towards developing distinctive and new creations. This will prevent the company or organisation from pursuing futile inventions for Patent protection.
• Help from External IP Consultants: In big companies or organisations with a varied Patent portfolio, R&D teams may often require support from IP consultants. The expertise level provided by them is invaluable for R&D teams. The IP consultants specialise in different areas of Intellectual Property services and provide high-quality outcomes & cost-effective solutions such as providing support in recognising publications in a technical domain and resolving any instant problems.
• Discover Endlessly: A team of R&D can function capably only when its creativity & imagination are not limited by guidelines to innovate around the current product portfolio only. Although companies boost their R&D teams to improve new innovations around the background of their present Intellectual Property^[1], it is vital that R&D teams have absolute freedom to discover.
• Give Access to IP Guidance: The team of Research & Development have access to valid IP counsel in terms of IP protection, IP litigation, and IP prosecution. It’s an essential step in optimising the department work. It is demoralising for the investor to see their innovation being discarded because of examination and uniqueness problems. Hence, indulging in IP counsel right from the starting saves a lot of problems.

Conclusion

After discussing the top 10 points to boost the productivity via the collaboration of R&D and IP, it is concluded that an effective collaboration of R&D and IP departments is achieved via better development & training; these groups cannot work closely if they don’t communicate with each other’s language or share common tools. Suppose a good strategy is one that is already in effect at the thinking phase. In that case, it is vital that Research & Development groups can get IP knowledge into their work because this will reduce the risk of wasting time on the wrong projects & allow for collaboration with the IP practice in other phases of innovation. As an outcome, businesses can move towards strategic Patent filing, making commercialisation more productive.

Read our article:Copyright Laws and IPR Laws – Know the Differences