The First 90 Days as Head of Patents: Building a Foundation for Success

Stepping into the role of Head of Patents is a significant milestone, filled with both excitement and challenges. The first 90 days are a critical time but also an opportunity to establish relationships, grasp the organisation’s culture, and understand and align with its strategic goals. This article outlines essential steps to maximise your impact in this initial period, drawing on insights from leading patent experts.

Chitra Iyer , Director, Licensing Program Leader at Philips emphasises that “The first 30 days should be about absorbing the company culture, understanding its businesses, financials, and identifying key growth drivers.”? Iyer splits the first 90 days into 30-day periods:

●?????? “the first 30 days would just be about absorbing the company culture, business, financials, key growth drivers, long and short term strategies.

●?????? the next 30 days would include meeting key stakeholders, getting a better feel for the company culture, people, teams etc.

●??????? the next 30 days would be to get into the skin of the role and see how you can add value.”

Understanding the Role of Head of Patents

As Head of Patents, you will lead a team tasked with identifying inventions, developing protection strategies, and navigating the patent landscape. Calum Smyth , who held senior IP positions at Kraft Foods and Barclays, explains that IP lawyers have a unique position within an organisation as being “the only lawyers in the organisation that manage both risk and enterprise assets of the company it is quite a unique position and you spend a lot of time feeling like a square peg in a round hole.”

The role of Head of Patents demands both operational excellence—ensuring effective team management—and strategic insight—aligning patent investments with the company’s business goals. Andy Spurr , Head Patent Counsel at Ceres Power outlined that “the difference between Head of Patents and other in-house roles (and certainly private practice) is that you directly drive the IP strategy in support of the business.”

The positioning of IP within the business is important. Daphne Huberts , ex-Bejo explained that “IP should sit at the intersection between research, sales, and management.” However, “these departments are not always aligned, but for an optimal IP strategy collaboration with these departments is key as they each bring an important piece to the table.”. Navigating the objectives of the different stakeholders and aligning IP strategy to fit with those objectives is a core part of your role as Head of Patents.

Setting the Scene – Before Joining

Preparation for success can start even before your first 90 days. Here are some strategies to consider:

1. Clarify Expectations

Review the job description and any pre-joining materials carefully. This reflection will help you align your personal goals with the role’s requirements. Taking time to clarify your expectations sets a solid foundation for your journey.

2. Adopt a Growth Mindset

Being open to learning and adapting is crucial. Spurr highlights the importance of a growth mindset: “Be receptive to feedback and new challenges. This approach allows you to navigate your new environment without being constrained by preconceived notions.” A willingness to learn will help you respond effectively to unexpected situations.

3. Acknowledge Your Emotions

Feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness is normal. Embrace the mix of emotions while recognising that the company has identified potential and a good fit in you as well as investing in the role. Spurr explains:

“Any organisation willing to hire a ‘Head of Patents’ knows that proper management of IP will have a large impact on the success of the company. This is likely one of the reasons you accepted the role, but it also can increase the stress of the first 90 days.”

Key Focus Areas in Your First 90 Days

The first 90 days in a job are critical because they set the tone for your entire tenure within the organisation. This period serves as a unique opportunity to establish relationships, understand the company culture, and align your goals with those of the team and the organisation at large. During these initial months, you can make a strong first impression, demonstrate your value, and gain crucial insights into internal processes and dynamics. By actively engaging with colleagues, learning about key stakeholders, and immersing yourself in the company’s strategic objectives, you can build a solid foundation that fosters collaboration and paves the way for long-term success. Ultimately, how you navigate these first few months can significantly influence your integration and impact within the organisation.

Spurr explained that “information gathering” and “networking” should be a theme of your first 90 days. He broke this down into four areas to focus to maximise your impact in these crucial early days, commercial, technology, people and budget. These are considered in more detail below together with networking and understanding the current status of the patent department.

1. Commercial Insights

A deep understanding of the commercial landscape is vital. Spurr advises, “Engage with stakeholders across the organisation to discover where IP fits into their value streams. It’s essential to learn about market demands and growth opportunities.” This includes interactions with sales, research, and management to grasp what drives value in your organisation. Understanding these aspects will inform your IP strategy significantly. Iyer points out, “The next 30 days should involve meeting key stakeholders and getting a better feel for the company culture and the various teams.” Greg Benoit , President of Cedar Lane Technologies which specialises in patent monetisation, advises that you should find out “Which products are the most important to the company and what are their product differentiating features? Finally, which patents cover those features?”

2. Technology Familiarity

To effectively protect innovations, you must understand the technology underpinning the products your company develops. Spurr suggests, “Seek out inventors for tutorials on the technology. Ask as many questions as you can; fundamental inquiries can lead to valuable insights.” Engaging directly with inventors not only boosts your knowledge but also fosters relationships that can be beneficial down the line. Benoit suggests that you identify who the prolific inventors are: “have a chat with the prolific inventors to get their perspectives on the market for the company's products and where they see those products in the market landscape.” Huberts agrees with this suggesting that you should “Spend a day with a researcher in the lab or join a sales person in the field. Immersing yourself in their work is a great way of showing your genuine interest and can be helpful to get a better understanding of their work. Btw, this will pay itself back. If you have a good rapport, you’re more likely to receive timely updates about changes or get feedback or suggestions about current practices.”

3. Team Dynamics

In any management role, understanding the skills and motivations of your team members is crucial. In Spurr’s experience “Understanding the skills, motivations and personalities of your team is an important aspect of any ‘Head of’ role. In the patent space, it may be that people’s technical backgrounds have ‘pigeon holed’ them into working only on certain aspects of the technology. Depending on their motivations and personalities, this may be positive or negative. It is important to understand this, and to plan for any pinch-points that may arise due to over-specialisation.”

This understanding will help you identify strengths within your team and address any potential gaps which may need to be filled by external resource. Kristine Capase Jastrzembska, CLPA , a leading expert in technology and innovation transfer at the University of Latvia shared by way of example, “at the university, we usually have one in-house patent counsel, but when we need to cover a specific technical field, we use the services of an outside provider. Additionally, it is valuable to have an extra person who can handle FTO [Freedom to Operate] searches.”

4. Budget Management

A clear grasp of the patent budget is essential for guiding your activities. Smyth emphasizes, “Following the money is the way to get things done. Understanding the budget's structure allows you to navigate key stakeholders and their concerns effectively.” Knowing how budgets are allocated can inform your decisions about resource allocation and project prioritisation.

Spurr explained “The patent budget is often the limiting factor in the breadth and depth of activities you can undertake. Take time to understand the process for controlling costs; for example, what is the process for determining whether or not to pay a renewal fee, or deciding in which countries to seek patent protection? Are you appropriately leveraging volume in foreign patent prosecution? There will almost certainly be some scope for improvement in these areas. Bought-in services (outsourcing) will likely be the biggest spend, so understanding this is important. You may find that your team has the skill set and desire to do many of the previously outsourced activities, and this can be used to determine where your team can drive most value. However, it is important to understand that many tasks cannot (or at least should not) be outsourced, so care must be taken to ensure any in-sourcing allows time for these ‘core’ tasks. Plotting all the tasks your team is responsible for on post-it notes on a scale of ‘must do in-house’ to ‘must outsource’ helps this process.”

William Chelton , ex-CLO at NChain and VP IP at Tribosonics shared “If you’re the first in-house IP person at a company, it may be the case that IP related costs are not well understood or controlled. Working closely with your finance team to help with cost forecasts and cash planning is a great way to earn credibility and build trust. Similarly, establishing cost control processes and a framework for IP related investment decisions (such as whether to file a patent application) can connect the IP team to other parts of the business.”

5. Networking and Information Gathering

In any in-house role but particularly as Head of Patents, it’s important to build a network within the organisation. Miguel Florit encourages you to “be nosey—always ask questions. Never assume anything; open-ended inquiries will help you gain insights into the company and its stakeholders.” Engaging with colleagues across departments can provide a wealth of information and foster collaboration.

It can also help to provide you with a view as to the maturity of the organisation as a whole in its understanding of patents. In her university role Jastrzembska considers that another important aspect to understand is whether the relevant stakeholders have the requisite training “it is also important to train administrative staff, researchers, and students regarding the importance of IP, and basic protection principles, and to repeat it regularly. The institution's employees must clearly understand how to act within each procedure.”

Chelton encourages proactive action “You may find that there are key stakeholders with in-flight projects where the IP team can offer a helping hand straight away. Demonstrating that the IP team shows up and delivers builds strong connections and the right kind of reputation.”

6. Current State of Play

Jastrzembska considered that “First, attention should be given to Intellectual Property (IP) management, including internal normative documents such as the IP policy, IP disclosure forms and related processes. Is there a current IP policy in place, and has it been regularly updated?”. Conducting a mini audit of the state of play can help you to understand policies, processes and templates in place, where are documents stored and who has access to them. This can help in assessing whether team members are working in a consistent way.

The next area to focus on in understanding the current state of play is to evaluate the company’s patent portfolio. Huberts explained “With an IP strategy in place and a good understanding of your company, ensure the portfolio aligns with business objectives, both short-term and long-term. Remove non-essential patents and applications that no longer serve the company's goals. Prioritise on filing new patent applications and documenting trade secrets that strengthen your business’ competitive edge.” She adds a tip that “Before abandoning patent rights, consider if another business might benefit from acquiring them.” There are a number of patent brokers in the market who can help you to structure a portfolio for sale and support you through the transaction. This could be a great way of obtaining value from rights which may no longer be core to your company’s strategy but still retain commercial value for others.

Your review should include not just the internal state of play but also gaining an understanding of the patent landscape. Huberts suggests “Once you understand what the company is about and it's direction, evaluate the patent side of the business. Assess the patent landscape to identify gaps as these are great opportunities to obtain a competitive advantage or further strengthen your position. This analysis will reveal areas of strength, but also where the company may expect competition. Discuss these findings with the… [stakeholder] departments to align IP strategy, business goals, research activities and sales.”

Chelton adds “A useful perspective is protection of past vs future value creation. That is, are all the IP rights in your portfolio connected to work that has been done (e.g., products that have been developed, or research that has been carried out), or are some of them future-looking, aiming at securing areas of the IP landscape that are expected to be of strategic importance in the future. The appropriate balance between the two will be specific to your business, and it is a useful perspective that is easy to communicate, from budget setting, through investment decisions, right up to decisions to abandon certain IP rights.”

A Roadmap for Your First 90 Days

To summarise, here’s a detailed action plan to maximise your impact:

1. Absorb Company Culture: Spend your first 30 days immersing yourself in the organisation’s values, financials, and growth strategies. Understanding the broader context of your role is essential.
2. Engage with Stakeholders: In the next 30 days, prioritize meeting key stakeholders across various departments and understanding their objectives. Collaborating with these teams brings vital pieces to the IP strategy.
3. Analyse the Patent Landscape: Conduct a thorough evaluation of the existing patent portfolio to identify strengths and gaps. Huberts notes, “Assessing the patent landscape helps pinpoint opportunities for competitive advantage and aligns your IP strategy with business goals.”
4. Align IP with Business Objectives: Ensure that your IP strategy supports both short-term and long-term business goals. “Remove non-essential patents and prioritise new applications that enhance your company’s competitive edge,” advises Huberts. Regularly evaluate your portfolio to ensure alignment with strategic objectives.
5. Implement Ongoing Training: Develop training programs for your team and other departments to improve awareness and understanding of IP management.

Conclusion

The first 90 days as Head of Patents are crucial for establishing a strong foundation for future success. By clarifying expectations, adopting a growth mindset, and focusing on commercial insights, technology familiarity, team dynamics, budget management, and networking, you can position yourself as an invaluable asset to your organisation. Building relationships and understanding the nuances of your new environment will pay dividends in the long run. Embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and embark on this exciting journey with confidence!

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