IP Strategist: What Can a Non-contentious IP Lawyer Do?
Developing a robust Intellectual Property (IP) strategy to drive business success is important. Intangible assets often comprise up to 90% of a company's value. Making a proactive and co-created IP plan is essential for reducing risks, maximizing growth opportunities, and ensuring cost efficiency. By offering tailored services that integrate design thinking, and strategic consulting, businesses can enhance IP management, protect market positions, and utilize intellectual property as a competitive advantage.
Our team's success story
Company A, a publicly listed New Zealand-based manufacturer of nutritional supplements, operates with its own fixed partner factories in New Zealand. Company B, a well-known domestic nutritional supplement company, has extensive experience in production, numerous proprietary formulas, and strong expertise in marketing both domestically and internationally. Company A sought Company B's assistance in expanding into the Chinese market, leveraging Company B's marketing expertise to establish a foothold. However, Company B was concerned that after helping Company A build its brand presence in China, Company A might terminate the partnership, leaving Company B without long-term benefits. Both parties expressed a desire for a mutually beneficial, long-term collaboration.
After understanding the concerns of both parties, legal advisors conducted a comprehensive review of Company A's trademark registrations and stability in both New Zealand and China. To address the concerns, the advisors restructured the equity framework, introducing a profit-sharing mechanism through equity ownership. This ensured that Company B, as the marketing partner, could continue to benefit from the success of its efforts through shareholder dividends. Additionally, the advisors planned for transparent financial reporting and profit-sharing mechanisms to avoid unnecessary tax burdens for both parties.
One year after the agreement, Company B successfully achieved the first-year milestone of the five-year profit-sharing plan, securing the corresponding equity. The partnership has been highly successful, with both companies working harmoniously and looking forward to a prosperous long-term collaboration.
Another Success Story: Strategic IP Guidance for a Manufacturing Company
A manufacturing and design company sought assistance in prioritizing its IP strategy for various R&D investments. The company needed guidance at the Board level to align its IP investments with its business goals. Legal advisors developed a detailed implementation blueprint, helping the company identify key areas for IP protection and ensuring that its R&D efforts were strategically aligned with market opportunities. This approach not only reduced risks but also maximized the company's growth potential by focusing on high-value IP projects.
Conclusion
Developing an IP strategy at the beginning of cross-border cooperation is important to protect both parties from later disturbance. It can ease concern of the brand owner that their brand reputation is diluted due to improper usage or management of their Chinese partner and uplift the burden of the Chinese partner that they will one day let go of the brand if they successfully develop the Chinese market. Also, negotiating through experts may help the parties to find what the other party really want at the outset of the cooperation. Any investment into an IP deserves some serious consideration and doing some research into the local market is strongly recommended, or get an expert to carry out the work for you.
