Brookman Provides Advice for Managing IP in a Recession

The current economic climate has companies and their attorneys working harder than ever to protect intellectual property without breaking the bank.

Indeed, companies must work more closely than ever with their IP counsel to manage their IP during these trying times. Adam L. Brookman recently joined Briggs & Stratton counsel Ken Lemke in a May presentation to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel to address these issues.

“This has been the most challenging economic time during my working career,” says Brookman. “Companies are looking for any way possible to reduce costs. But when it comes to intellectual property matters, it’s best to use a scalpel, not a hatchet.”

Brookman and Lemke provided a range of advice to many of Wisconsin’s leading corporate attorneys. Among their tips:

• Consider alternate filing strategies. This may include more targeted foreign filings or approaching them differently. It may also mean using different strategies, such as seeking a design patent instead of a utility patent, or relying on trade secrets instead of pursuing patent protection.
• Focus on the quality of protection, not the quantity. If you must reduce your IP portfolio, ensure that your most important innovations, brand names or creations are protected. Lesser innovations and secondary trademarks may have to go unprotected or become the subject of less secure protection schemes.
• Don’t be short-sighted. It’s easy to think short term when the pressure mounts to cut costs. But it is important to remember that intellectual property rights are long term assets whose true worth is often not realized until years later. As such, care must be taken to analyze not only the current value of the products or services which are the subject of the protection, but also their long term potential before a decision is made to curtail the associat

Brookman encourages companies to continue to focus on innovation. Some of the most successful companies, including Apple, IBM and Southwest Airlines, launched or created new products or programs during previous recessions that gave them extraordinary momentum when the recession ended. To discuss other ways to manage IP in a down economy or to see the full presentation, contact Brookman or any other Boyle Fredrickson attorney.