WHO

• Company personnel
  • In-house counsel
  • Management
• Outside counsel

NOTES

1. Should have experience in technology involved
2. Should have experience in procuring and managing IP rights
3. Should have experience in obtaining remedies for legal defects found in audit
   

WHEN

Event Driven

• Upon formation of a company
  • Be sure all IP is "in the box
• Before acquisition of a company, product, or technology
• Development of a new product, especially if it may infringe upon third party rights
• New legal decision about the scope of protection for intellectual property
• Capital Infusion
• Impending lawsuit concerning IP
• Significant license
• New policy or philosophy of the client

"Annually

• For ensuring compliance

HOW

Identification

• identify the readily identifiable IP which may be termed external or internal asset
  • may cover any registered trademark, copyrights, and patents owned by the company, any licenses to third parties and from third parties, including cross-licensing and IP pools. The in-house project manuals, databases, publications, stationery, agreements, and know-how.

Scrutinizing

• scrutinized to know whether they are not lapsed and enforceable and whether they are being effectively used.

Ranking

• they are ranked on the scale of 1-5 based on the factors such as the importance of the technologies, life of the underlying IP in the said technology and the commercial potential of the technology.

Categorizing

• to categorize the IP based on the factors of influence of the product embodying those IP. The influencing factors may include the company brand, product brand, goodwill of the company, certifications, regulatory approvals, and several business networks, client lists and various marketing and advertising programs.

Finally the value of the IP is estimated by considering, "how much will it cost to duplicate the same if it were lost", "what is the expected income say in the next 5 years" etc.