The term CIPO (Chief Intellectual Property Officer) is gaining traction. Who is this person, what is their role and what difference could they make to innovation in Australia? The role has evolved because of the increasing attention to IP in the business of commercialisation. It takes IP Management away from risk management (mainly driven by legal processes) and interfaces it to all facets of a commercialisation business, including opportunity management. As the role of IP is becoming better understood in the context of Intellectual Capital (IC), so the role of the CIPO in an IP-wealthy organisation is being defined in boardrooms around the world.

But more chiefs, checks and balances does not stifle commercialisation. The CIPO role provides balance to the key arms of the commercialisation business – not a bottleneck. It aims to integrate IP into the business. CIPOs do not merely manage patent deadlines but determine strategies to extract value from the IP. Th ey make the IP fi t the business or vice versa, depending on the case. They manage interfaces and relationships looking at every angle, implementing strategies with a practical and commercial emphasis on the IP.

You don’t have to be a large organisation to benefit from a CIPO. In fact, Australia has a long history of commercialising homegrown IP using small organisations.

Often, businesses do not have the critical mass of IP necessary to justify maintaining in-house teams of top-level commercialisation-skilled people, let alone an in-house full-time CIPO specialist.

Many of Australia’s successful start-up ventures have benefited from the essence of the CIPO role. CIPOs have been CTOs, product managers and even CEOs that work strategic management of IP into the business rather than leaving IP management on the outer. They have taken IP-related information and turned it into business intelligence, and converted outcomes of an IP audit process into patent applications that went further than ever, protecting not just the technology but also the market opportunity. They augmented information from the technical and market aspects of the business with the IP, turning it into a new form of IP intelligence that bolstered the IP asset register and impacted company valuation. They made traditional IP a tangible part of IC. So whether they are feeding information and strategies into the various business arms or from these arms into the IP, they are sitting at that hub of commercialisation (see Figure). And they did all of that without even knowing it and certainly without the title of CIPO.

Start-up companies

Start-up companies are dynamic, responsive and focused on opportunities. The CIPO role is paramount in particular parts of their growth cycles. For example, by working with product developers (IP Generators) to document the areas of technical differentiation and timescales for prototypes, the CIPO can determine the best IP strategy for the business, which is then implemented so that IP-based KPIs are met with perfect timing.

By taking a business-integrated approach to IP management, the day-to-day administration of IP is able to flick the switch to intensive CIPO mode when required. This eliminates having to backfill systems and processes before an IP-based strategic project can commence.

But how do you know what IP administration will provide such effective support unless you have been through it before? Wouldn’t it be great if you could map core patents to the IP landscape, perhaps even before they are filed! Or even go so far as to pre-prosecute the patent to understand the opportunities and risks created by the IP in your business? The CIPO can do all these things under a strategic framework sourcing legal and patent services where required.

The CIPO’s key talent revolves around strategic integration of skills for the commercialisation of IP with a focus on IP.

Finding a CIPO

There is no single graduate course or vocational path that leads to the CIPO role. If you find one, the usual issues of cost and time must first be considered. Further, he or she may not deliver, and their interests may not be aligned with yours.

Formally ‘divvying’ up CIPO responsibilities to various people in-house would also be problematic.

A better option would be to bring in a person or a small team that performs the CIPO role on contract in a project management delivery mode. They would set the objectives with you and help your board choose the deliverables. They may provide services that help your alreadyestablished plan, while understanding what long-term benefits strategic IP management may bring to your business. Th ey may even assist your existing part-time CIPO with the IP administration or strategic management stream or both.

There are a number of benefits for project-based, business-integrated IP management; mainly, you are able to access the services of someone with an established record who shares your commercialisation vision, is cost effective and has proven strategic outcomes from its IP Management projects.

Dean Alle is the CEO of BwiseIP Pty Ltd based in Sydney since 2001
website: www.bwiseip.com

republished from Australian Innovation 2009 – the print publication