Most engagements start small — a fixed-fee IP Audit — and grow with the relationship. No subscription required.
A repeatable, manufacturing-tested process for finding what you own and protecting it.
Walk the operation with fresh eyes. List the processes, methods, and improvements you've developed in-house — what you do differently than the textbooks.
For each item: what is it, who knows about it, and how is it protected today — if at all.
The key question: could a competitor figure this out by buying and examining your product? If yes, it's a patent candidate. If no, it's a trade-secret candidate — and still must be documented.
Trade secrets get NDAs, access controls, and restricted documentation. Patent candidates get a freedom-to-operate check and applications filed.
Not one-and-done. An annual audit keeps it current — new processes get evaluated, and employee changes trigger a review.
Four ways to work together, from a one-time diagnostic to IP handled as a standing function.
A fixed-fee diagnostic and the on-ramp to everything else — creditable toward the work it recommends.
Discrete, scoped work: a cease-and-desist (sending or responding), a trade-secret documentation program, an FTO opinion, an offensive patent filing, or an OEM contract IP review.
A structured program to make a business sellable — documenting trade secrets and filing the patents that move the multiple. Best started 5-10 years before exit.
IP handled as a standing function — portfolio decisions, new-process reviews, and an annual audit — on a predictable retainer.
Intellectual property runs on a slow clock. Patents take 2-3 years to issue, and a real portfolio — enough to form a defensible moat — takes 5-10 years to build. That math has a blunt consequence: the time to start is not when the letter of intent lands on your desk.
By then the runway is gone. If you're 5-10 years from an exit, the patents and trade-secret documentation that move your multiple have to be started now. Start early and the protection matures into real value by the time a buyer asks what you actually own.
One focused, fixed-fee engagement to find out what you actually own — and a roadmap you can act on this quarter.