If you are like many attorneys working as part of an in-house patent team, including our own founder and CEO, you might be using a spreadsheet to manage your patent portfolio.
That’s what Jeff used to do back when he served as in-house counsel or was working as counsel to several smaller startups. These spreadsheets have their place; after all, it’s an easy way to keep track of all your patents, along with important information like patent numbers, dates, titles, inventor details, upcoming deadlines, and more. A spreadsheet can even be customized with information that is unique to you. Jeff, for example, used to keep a column of notes about the importance of a particular invention for the overall portfolio. But while the spreadsheet provides flexibility, it’s also a tedious way to work. Updating the details manually any time something changes, copying and pasting information from the USPTO when a new patent is added, the list goes on.
It’s from this tedium that the idea for PatentLink was born. PatentLink lets you create interactive patent lists. The tool sits in the sweet spot between the flexible, but highly manual, spreadsheet management approach and an IP Management System, which can be costly and often not customizable. With PatentLink, you get the syncing and updated information you’d get from IPMS, but you have the utility, convenience and flexibility of spreadsheets.
Let’s dive into an example of a PatentLink list, in this case a quality list, which is particularly useful for in-house patent teams. This type of list was designed to give you all of the information you need to track your portfolio and to make sure that you’re getting the quality patents that you need to support your company’s growth.
The first columns are the basic information you’d want and expect - patent numbers, dates, inventors, and so on. All of this can be updated with the click of a button; simply click ‘sync’ and the latest information will be pulled over from the USPTO. Plus, the list is connected to other Patent Bots tools. For example, you can click on the patent examiner’s name and get access to their history and stats so that you’ll know how best to engage with them. Or you can access the patent family details via PatentPlex.
Where it gets even more interesting is the quality metrics. Patent Bots is unique in providing a snapshot of this information, so you can not only understand the overall quality of your portfolio, but also use the data to address potential issues early, know how to focus your time, and work with your outside counsel more effectively.
Prosecution Duration
As in-house counsel, you want to make sure things are progressing with your applications. Duration presents the number of RCEs, the number of OAs, and the number of appeals. This field also shows the total pendency, which is the length of time since the patent was filed. The colors give visual cues so you’ll know if something needs attention. If it’s in green, nothing is too concerning with the duration. As the time increases, you may see more yellow or even red. That way, you know to take a closer look, and if something is moving too slowly, you can address it and get the issue resolved.
Claims Count
This column shows you the number of filed claims, the number of claims after each office action response, and the number of issued claims. This allows you to easily track how things are changing, and you can even be alerted if the number of claims increases or decreases significantly. Typically, 3 independent and 20 total claims are preferred. If your patent starts deviating from that, it would display in yellow, and as it deviates even further, in red.
Claim Length
This quality metric looks at the length of the first independent claim. While it’s based on a word count, it’s not the number of words that matters but rather how this changes. For example, if the claim increased in length by 50%, this could be an indicator that you are giving up a lot of scope and would be something you’d want to look at more closely.
Claim Errors
The claim errors column shows the number of proofreading errors within your patents. This includes the number of claim numbering, antecedent basis, and word support errors. With each type of error, you can click directly into the proofreading results to review the issues in more detail. With this information, if you are seeing a lot of proofreading errors and have concerns, you then have what you need to address it with your outside counsel.
If you are ready to move away from manual spreadsheets and have the latest information and quality metrics at your fingertips for more effective portfolio management, then give Patent Bots a try. Start your free,
two-week trial today or contact us at sales@patentbots.com to learn more about PatentLink and our other tools for in-house patent teams.
