Simon Webster is CEO of CPA Global, having worked at the company for more than 15 years in a number of business development and operational roles. CPA Global is the world’s leading IP management and technology company, trusted by many of the world’s respected corporations and law firms. In November, the company launched The IP Platform™, a new integrated destination to digitise and automate all IP activities across the entire idea lifecycle. Here Simon speaks about their aim as a company and what they offer to the IP sector.
Can you briefly describe the USP and original ideas behind The IP Platform™?
Prior to joining CPA Global, I played my part in the UK Financial Services’ rapid technology-led revolution. Throughout my time at CPA Global, I felt that the IP industry had been starved of the transformational effects of modern technology.
Ironically, IP has played a central role in the innovation industry for centuries, yet it is one of the last major industries to fully benefit from the disruptive effects of technology. A recent CPA Global survey of our customers and key industry professionals demonstrated the importance of technology to the industry, with more than two thirds of respondents believing that technology will play a more prominent role in the future.
When I took on the role of CEO last year, I set CPA Global on a course to develop technology and capabilities that could bring significant benefits to the industry, something we are now calling the Future of IP. The IP Platform™ is CPA Global’s response to this challenge. Its aim is to use technology to achieve two things: firstly, to vastly improve efficiencies in terms of day-to-day IP activities and collaborations. The second is to enable IP professionals – whether in law firms or corporates – to easily access context-sensitive, insightful information about the subject matter they are working on, as they work on it.
What does The IP Platform™ offer to its users that other online platforms do not already offer?
The IP process is globally complex and has a high cost of failure. Every individual IP transaction comes with its own specific workflow, its own rules and, of course, its own invoice, significantly increasing the amount of administration associated with the process. It relies on reams of paper work being completed, and processes can take months, if not years, to be concluded. Those claiming to automate IP processes across the world still demand a lot of customer intervention, essentially offering little more than an outsourcing service with the accompanying risks.
The situation can be even more complex for law firms who are dealing with multiple clients with different working practices. This might even necessitate numerous teams in the same firm working in different ways to support clients. In these circumstances the chances of delivering a professional looking service are severely hampered by the scale, complexity and personalisation required just to get things done.
The IP Platform™ is an integrated platform of data, software and services that connects disparate workflows together and brings relevant data right into the workflow itself. This approach allows IP professionals to be more efficient, accurate and effective by empowering them through technology rather than replacing through outsourcing.
The IP Platform™ aims to offer the industry:
- Powered by the most comprehensive IP data set available, including Innography’s patent database which updates more than four million records per week and leverages more than 10 million data correction rules, the IP Platform™ aims to eliminate duplicate manual data updates.
- An integrated platform where disparate processes are connected through workflow technology, shortening timescales and reducing effort.
- One platform that empowers professionals along the entire ideas lifecycle covering all key tasks, including filing, renewal, forecasting, recordals and ideas management.
What is the intended purpose and scope of the product, and how will it contribute towards the IP segment?
IP professionals are working in a rapidly changing global environment. Think about how the internet has impacted on brands alone. There are more than 1,000 top level domains (TLD) for internet addresses (not only the likes of .com and .biz but also country-specific domains). Almost 700 of these have been created since 2014. Brands now need to ensure they register all domains relevant to them and monitor for competitors or members of the public using the trademark on non-affiliated websites. This was simply not necessary 20 years ago. Modern IP management needs to be driven by technology if IP lawyers are to have any chance of delivering effective counsel.
The IP Platform™ aims to ensure that, in one simple and accessible destination, all IP information is recorded, referenced, connected to other relevant information and analysed for insight.
How does the software analyse data and create unique business insight?
This is one of the most exciting aspects of the technology, helping IP Professionals to create true business insights from IP and propel the work they do into the boardroom. Big data covering vastly more than just the IP itself, combined with predictive analytics, enables companies to delve deeper into information that powers business decision making, using insight from data and trends from the past to forecast the future more accurately.
In the past, this has been limited by the processing power of computers to analyse data, but developments in machine learning mean that data analysis that previously would have taken months to complete is now available in seconds. This technology is being applied across many industries to solve the most complex problems, and the IP industry is finally at the forefront of a transformational change.
Many leading IP organisations and law firms now routinely measure revenues that patents generate against the cost of protection to make more informed decisions about filings and renewals. A further step, however, would be to identify both internal and external data sets (such as market share and market growth potential) that are relevant to a particular patent, and use predictive analytics to evaluate its strength and relevance. This delivers a far richer and more granular overview of the patent’s potential across different markets and territories. Combine this insight with greater workflow automation of the decision-making process and the potential power of The IP Platform™ becomes clear.
At a more strategic level, understanding global patent asset landscapes and filing activity provides indications into future direction of not only products, but entire industries. Identifying which companies or individuals are most active enables companies to plan future product direction, identify risk and possible collaborators and make R&D investment more effective. For example, should future strategy be driven by internal growth or by acquisition? In the case of acquisition, which companies are targets and what strengths do they bring? Understanding the patent portfolio of a potential acquisition or merger target enables businesses to strategically focus on relevant areas.
How important is innovation in the IP landscape, for creators, and in the profession, for the lawyers of today?
Innovation is central not only to the IP landscape but to business growth. So much business value is now tied up in IP portfolios. Understanding and exploiting that value relies on accurate data that can deliver business insight.
For IP lawyers, as the importance of IP value grows in a globalised economy, its role will move up the corporate chain. We are already seeing a small number of Chief IP Officers, and the number of experts in the boardroom is bound to grow as the value of IP increases.
What is next on the horizon for CPA Global?
Rolling out The IP Platform™ to our customer base will be a significant focus in the next few months. We are also planning to integrate new software services and apps that transform the amount of time and effort IP professionals will need to put into routine tasks. IP lawyers in the future will be spending less time on day-to-day tasks and more on shaping business strategy. CPA Global wants to be with them all the way.
