Intellectual Property is Your Largest Asset.
Are You Giving it the Attention it Deserves?
Today, the majority of business value exists in the form of intangible assets, which most people understand to exist in the form of intellectual property (”IP”). In fact, for some businesses, especially those focused on branded products or information technology, 70 % or more of their assets are intangible.
While the recognized basis of corporate value has changed dramatically in recent years, even the most sophisticated business professionals still consider IP as something best managed by their lawyers or that does not need to be managed at all. This makes little sense: these same managers would not put their lawyers in charge of their other valuable business assets, so why do they typically trust their lawyers to take the lead on their largest business asset?
A clear need exists for business counseling that recognizes that, for most of today’s businesses, IP comprises the most significant asset. Few business models can achieve long term success unless leaders strategically manage their organization’s IP just as they would any other valuable business asset.
When faced with the reality that IP forms their greatest asset, forward-thinking business people–be they corporate managers, entrepreneurs or investors–realize that the traditional model of IP counseling and advice falls short today. These leaders understand that they must develop and deploy business-focused strategies directed toward identifying, capturing and protecting their company’s IP in order to create and realize the full value of their intangible assets.
IP Business Strategy: A New Way to Provide IP Counseling
Directed Toward Maximizing Business Value
Many established companies have robust intangible asset management programs by utilizing internal staffing to direct their IP strategy efforts. Unfortunately, however, only the deepest pocket companies can afford to hire IP professionals on a full-time basis. Entrepreneurs, small or mid-sized companies and investors who only need IP counseling on a part-time basis must then rely on law firms to provide them with IP counseling, often at considerable expense. Moreover, since their law firm lawyers typically are not present with the business teams when decisions are being made, those who rely on outside counsel for IP guidance may not obtain the same caliber of strategic IP advice as that of larger organizations.
Any organization that competes with or seeks to sell its products or technology to a company that maintains full-time in-house IP counsel must be able to develop and manage its intangible assets to the same degree as larger companies. Thus, there is a distinct need for a new model where small to mid-sized companies, entrepreneurs and investment professionals can obtain strategic IP counseling on an as-needed basis, where such advice is not provided under the conventional outside lawyer model.
IP Counseling Focused on Maximizing Business Value
The Hutter Group provides clients with type of highly experienced and strategic IP counseling previously only available to organizations that were willing and able to spend large sums on hiring counsel to work for them on a full-time basis. In short, The Hutter Group operates as strategic in-house IP counsel on an as-needed basis.
The Hutter Group’s innovative IP counseling model provides forward-thinking business leaders with expertise and tools that enable them to identify, capture, and appropriately protect their company’s intangible assets and upon which to improve their business decisions. Corporations and entrepreneurs can then execute on the IP strategies that best maximizes the value of their intangible assets and they can communicate this value to their shareholders or potential acquirers. For investment professionals, The Hutter Group can provide executable insights that augment the traditional business valuation processes and improve the probability that a business investment opportunity will provide the desired long-term returns.
Moreover, when you engage The Hutter Group, you can be assured that our advice absolutely aligns with your business goals and objectives. Although founded by an IP lawyer with over 15 years of law firm and corporate IP counseling experience, we have rejected the conventional outside counsel billable hour model. To ensure that our incentives are in complete alignment with our clients’ business goals, The Hutter Group operates under a consultancy model where clients pay either for a set amount of counseling or engage us on a retainer basis. Further alignment of incentives is assured because The Hutter Group does not prepare and file for our clients’ IP rights; rather, all such work is referred out to our trusted network of high quality and cost-appropriate network of IP lawyers.
If you think that you are ready to try a new model of IP counseling focused on growing your total business value, contact Jackie Hutter at 404-797-8124.