Intellectual Property Work in Key Figures

Andreas Bong, Managing Partner, Otto Henning, Germany

Intellectual property (IP) has always been, and will increasingly be, a critical success factor for a wide range of industries. Considerable efforts go into creating and safeguarding IP and this is particularly true when managing portfolios of so-called IP rights. The aim of this essay is to examine the question: How can IP-related work, its effectiveness and its efficiency be measured? In addition to appraising performance and productive efficiency, new key figures and ratios could also enable comparisons of various companies with respect to their ability to innovate and their understanding of the role of IP work. The term 'IP work' is used here in a deliberately broad context and covers all aspects of the management and administration of IP. The essay will also treat all IP-related activities alike, whether performed by a patent law firm or the IP department of a company, for example.

Andreas Bong is Managing Partner at OTTO • HENNING, an international strategy consultancy based in Frankfurt, Germany. He is majorly responsible for strategic and organizational projects in legal departments and for the conception of benchmarks. Prior to

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