Revenue oriented patent portfolio management

Abstract

This disclosure comprises a method and system to automatically provide important business information to a user of the system at key decision making times during the lifetime of a patent with the goal of aligning business and strategies. The system will include an interface for the client to input information regarding business strategy on a continual basis and another interface to present the compiled information to the client at a later time, or to the working attorney. That information will be automatically sent to key decisions makers throughout the lifetime of a patent. Specifically, the business strategy information will consist of a revenue contribution ranking for client products as well as the competitors' products for each geographic region for which the invention is to be made, sold or transported.

1 . A computer implemented method implemented by one or more processors, the method comprising:
 receiving business strategy information including a comparative revenue ranking indicating a revenue contribution of a patent portfolio to an overall revenue of an owner of the patent portfolio;   detecting, using the one or more processors, a key event in the lifetime of a particular patent portfolio matter necessitating action by a decision maker; and   in response to the detecting of the key event, automatically providing the business strategy information for the particular patent portfolio matter to the decision maker.   
     
     
         2 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 providing an actionable link to the decision maker, the actionable link being a means to complete the action for the particular patent portfolio matter based on the business strategy information.   
     
     
         3 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 receiving updated business strategy information, based on a change in business strategy by a client.   
     
     
         4 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the business strategy information further includes
 at least one technology category for the patent portfolio,   at least one geographic region associated with the patent portfolio,   at least one competitor to an owner of the patent portfolio, and wherein the comparative revenue ranking indicates a revenue contribution of the patent portfolio to the at least one technology category, the at least one geographic region, and the at least one competitor of the patent portfolio.   
     
     
         5 . The computer implemented method of  claim 4 , wherein the competitor to the owner of the patent portfolio is designated by the user and is selected from a list of direct, indirect or benchmark competitors to the owner. 
     
     
         6 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the business strategy information is associated with every matter in the patent portfolio. 
     
     
         7 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the business strategy information is associated with only a certain family of patent matters in the patent portfolio. 
     
     
         8 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the key event is a decision to pay a patent maintenance fee. 
     
     
         9 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the key event is a decision to file a continuation application for a patent. 
     
     
         10 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the key event is a decision to file an appeal of a final office action. 
     
     
         11 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the key event is a decision to abandon a patent application. 
     
     
         12 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein automatically providing business strategy information is accomplished via email. 
     
     
         13 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein automatically providing business strategy information is accomplished via a user interface of a patent management system. 
     
     
         14 . The computer implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the actionable link comprises a selectable indicator to indicate a desired action made by the decision maker. 
     
     
         15 . The computer implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the actionable link comprises a link to redirect the decision maker to another site where the action may be taken, based on the business strategy information provided to the user. 
     
     
         16 . A system comprising
 a processor of a machine;   a hardware-implemented input module configured to receive business strategy information including a comparative revenue ranking indicating a revenue contribution of a patent portfolio to an overall revenue of an owner of the patent portfolio;   a hardware-implemented business strategy database including a multidimensional array to store business strategy information received by the input module; and   a hardware-implemented display module configured to transmit business strategy information stored on the business strategy database to the user in response to detecting, using the processor of the machine, a key event in the lifetime of a particular patent portfolio matter necessitating action by a decision maker.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the hardware-implemented display module is further configured to provide a user with an actionable link to complete the key decision based on the business strategy information transmitted to the decision maker. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the business strategy information further includes at least one technology category, at least one competitor, at least one geographic region and wherein the comparative revenue ranking indicates a revenue contribution of the patent portfolio to the at least one technology category, at least one competitor, at least one geographic region. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory machine readable medium having instructions embodied thereon, the instructions that, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
 receiving business strategy information including a comparative revenue ranking indicating a revenue contribution of a patent portfolio to an overall revenue of an owner of the patent portfolio;   detecting a key event in the lifetime of a particular patent portfolio matter; and   automatically providing, in response to the detecting of the key event, business strategy information for the particular patent portfolio matter to a user.