Innovation is the lifeblood of consumer products companies, as they strive to stay ahead of competitors, respond to evolving customer needs, and manage other market pressures. Products typically have short timelines for development, design, and marketing and high corporate expectations for sales. Getting products to the market is just the first step in a long process. Other challenges include how to protect the products from imitation, how to keep the product fresh in the eyes of the consumer, developing strategies for brand management, etc. Strategic IP protection ensures that innovations will provide maximum value to the company in terms of longevity in the marketplace, advantages over competitors, control over the value chain, and avoidance of potential legal issues. ipCG has worked with CPG companies to help them in the following areas.

Innovation
• Be visionaries by inventing next generation products (5-10 years out) and securing broad protection for those inventions
• Find new avenues and new ideas for innovation, including disruptive inventions and leveraging existing products and technologies
• Leverage consumer insights and marketing information to invent better products

IAM Support
• Map the business space to identify client and competitor strengths and weaknesses
• Analyze the IP positions of top competitors
• Identify and evaluate licensing targets from external sources or for internal portfolio management
• Assess the impact of acquisitions, spinoffs, and partnerships in relevant categories

IP Strategy
• Develop an execute IP strategies to protect against product imitation and copying
• Craft specific IP tactics to use in short-cycle product development to achieve protection prior to public release for consumer testing or product launch

Your company needs to stay ahead on the product development curve, but still remain protected via IP. We offer ways to help achieve that goal. To obtain more information or discuss your unique challenges, please contact us.