Should You Conduct a Patent Portfolio Review?
By Heather Slotnick, Firm Managing Partner
August 19, 2025
Transforming Your IP Strategy into a Competitive Advantage
A strategic patent portfolio can create a strong competitive moat, attract investors, and open new opportunities for monetization. Yet many companies neglect regular portfolio reviews—missing critical chances to realign with their business strategy. A patent portfolio review isn't just a legal housekeeping task. It's a smart, high-impact move that can strengthen your IP position and maximize return on investment.
Align Patents with Your Market
Your strongest inventions—the ones that drive growth, define your product roadmap, and support your core market—should be fully protected. A portfolio review ensures those key technologies are supported by patents with clear, enforceable, and commercially relevant claims.
Optimize Patenting Processes
A review can reveal gaps or inefficiencies in how your organization captures and protects innovation. Are engineers trained to flag innovative ideas? Are filings aligned with business priorities? By improving internal workflows with a structured patent process, your patenting efforts can become more strategic and cost-effective.
Identify Cost-Saving Opportunities
Patent maintenance costs can quietly consume your budget—especially when legacy patents no longer support current objectives. A review helps identify which assets to maintain, abandon, or license, freeing up resources for new innovations and high-priority filings.
Ensure International Coverage Reflects Business Reality
Patent protection is jurisdictional, and international filings are costly. A portfolio review helps you verify that your filings map to your commercial footprint, your future growth targets, your key competitors’ operations, and regions active with major competitors. Strategic global coverage is a vital part of IP defense.
Prepare for Fundraising or Acquisition
Investors and acquirers scrutinize IP portfolios. A review helps highlight your strongest claims, show linkage between patents and product revenue, and document a clear strategy. Having a clean, strategic portfolio can significantly enhance valuation and trust.
Resolve Legal Gaps Before Due Diligence
Are all assignments in place? Are rights clearly recorded? Are IP risks being promptly addressed? Record-keeping procedures along with processes for risk reduction can save time and avoid issues during IP due diligence. A portfolio review ensures that you are due-diligence ready, with no surprises that could delay or derail important business transactions.
Spot Enforcement or Licensing Opportunities
If there’s interest in monetizing your patent portfolio, this topic may be included as well. Are competitors infringing your patents? Are there patents that could generate revenue through licensing? A review can surface opportunities to enforce your rights, negotiate licensing deals, or block unwanted competition.
Verify Patent Notice Practices
Proper patent marking—on products and websites—can impact your ability to recover damages in infringement cases. A review ensures that you're complying with notice requirements to preserve enforcement opportunities.
Conclusion: A Strategic Investment in Your IP Health
A regular patent portfolio review keeps your IP aligned with business goals, reduces costs, and surfaces revenue opportunities. If it’s been 12–18 months since your last review, it’s a good time to take a fresh look.
Schedule a complimentary 30-minute consult with MLO to scope a right-sized review for your objectives.