50 intellectual property mistakes and how to avoid them

The team at Think IP Strategy created their list of top IP mistakes.   We’ve listed them here for you and we’ll give you a more detailed post on each and everyone.

What would you add?  We’ll happily do an extra post on any new ones you suggest.

(They are in no particular order, because as you know, that depends on context.)

1.      Fail to Protect IP

2.      Fail to Exploit IP

3.      Fail to Maintain IP

4.      Fail to Recognize IP

5.      Fail to Protect Associated IC

6.      Infringe IP

7.      Lose Freedom of Operation

8.     Have No Publication Strategy

9.     File Too Early

10.  File Too Late

11.  Treat IP as purely a Legal Issue

12.  Fail to Think Globally

13.  Fail to Think Locally

14.  Spend Too Much to Protect Too Little

15.  Spend Too Little to Protect Too Much

16.  Misunderstand the Strength of IP

17.  Build Static Instead of Dynamic Defenses

18.  Underestimate Competitors

19.  Overestimate Competitors

20.  Fail to Leverage Outside Innovation

21.  Become Mired in the Day-to-Day

22.  Fail to Optimize the Portfolio

23.  Fail to align IP strategy with Business Strategy

24.  Treat IP as a Cost Center

25.  Accept the Tyranny of the Toos: Too hard, expensive, difficult, confusing, etc.

26.  Take the Advice of Counsel on Faith

27.  Mismanage Outsourcing

28.  Be Satisfied with the Status Quo

29.  Create Your Competition

30.  Fight in the Wrong Places

31.  Fight in the Wrong Way

32.  Choose the Wrong Fights

33. Develop IP that no one wants

34. Fail to Monitor IP (suggested by ‘mc’ – see below and thanks again)

35. Fail to Abandon IP (suggested by ‘Chuit’ – see below and thanks again)

36. Fail to Value IP Literacy in Staff at all levels (suggested by ‘Ruth Soetendorp’ – see below and thanks again)

37. Fail to include IP Awareness on staff training agenda (suggested by ‘Ruth Soetendorp’ – see below and thanks again)

38. Fail to communicate IP Strategy as part of your marketing plan (suggested by ‘Dids MacDonald’ – see below and thanks again)

39. Claim too much (in patent claims) [And I would add, ‘or too little’, and broaden this to Trade Marks and Designs as well.] (suggested by ‘Naim Kuhn’ – see below and thanks again)

40. Fail to clearly assign IP responsibility within the organisation (suggested by AJ with slight modification – see below and thanks again)

41. Seeing things as we wish them to be

42. Planning without the ideal strategy in mind

43. Do it yourself IP Strategy

44. Withholding important information from legal advisers

45. Miss the point on benchmarking

46. Think that there are only 50 IP mistakes that you can make (suggested by Philip Argy – see below and thanks again)

47. Make dangerous interpretations

48. Focus on the lesser value in licensing

49. Use questionable ethics

50. Fail to lead