IP Strategy – The Supreme Discipline

To implement a targeted and comprehensive filing strategy and to build and maintain a sustainable and successful IP portfolio, it is essential to align the interaction of the various filing systems (national, regional under the EPC, international under the PCT, etc.), the right mix of intellectual property rights (patents, utility models, trade marks, and designs), and the associated budgeting.

In this context, DTS supports its clients from the very beginning – or joins them at any later stage – with practical and strategic advice, following three key steps:

First, an individual and constructive strategy is used to define the client’s own objectives, in particular technical and product-specific goals.

Second, existing third-party IP rights are identified.

Third, by comparing these two situations, a patent strategy is derived that defines the client’s own filing behavior. This approach makes it possible to identify and exploit patent-free spaces.

These steps are reviewed cyclically to reassess the underlying assumptions and, if necessary, to derive a modified filing strategy.

If it becomes apparent that competitors have already established a strong patent position, an appropriate destructive strategy may be employed to challenge and reduce such opposing portfolios – whether through the (partial) invalidation of IP rights, through (non-exclusive or exclusive) licensing, or through the acquisition of patents.

DTS accompanies its clients through all stages of client-specific IP projects to identify, pursue, and continuously evaluate the optimal strategy.