About us

Pi (π) is part of our self-conception. Being the circle number, π represents the nucleus of a company. It is crucial to maintain and to expand this nucleus. For this task there is neither a natural starting point nor a definite end. It is a challenge that both beginners and experts are constantly confronted with. No matter where you are currently standing, you can count on us.

For beginners: You are dealing with IP for the first time? No problem. We assist you with your first steps to become an IP-driven company.

For experts: You already work for a functioning IP organization? Amazing. We assist you with your inventory and provide advice for specific questions.

Is that true? Yes, definitely. You can tell from the increasing number of patents. In fact, since the latest financial crisis, Europe experienced a 5% increase in patents registered – annually. During the same period, applications for Chinese patents quadrupled.

Conflicts over IP rights between the internet giants in Silicon Valley now cause a loud echo in the media. Over the past three decades, intangible assets continually increased their share in company value. They take the lion’s share today. Studies estimate that around 80% of firm value consists of intangible assets. All this points out the urge to dedicate more attention to this share.

Business works globally today. Therefore, industrial property rights also must be thought internationally. Being intangible, they overcome boundaries even faster than tangible products. The playground, on which rights are debated, shifted and chased, turned into an international one a long time ago.

In addition, digitization allows everyone to access IP information. A few years ago, this was not possible. To consult a patent, you had to drag yourself to the nearest patent office. And the infringement of a trademark was not noticed in the neighboring village. Nowadays, all this is a lot easier. A patent registration is submitted with one click. With yet another click a Korean utility patent is translated into English. Current debates about the patentability of software and business models reveal that digital innovations may even become a target of patenting activity themselves.

Thanks to globalization and digitization, the entire potential (and the risks) of IP become visible. No company should try to fight these megatrends. Better to learn how to deal with them.

In many companies, the IP strategy still focuses exclusively on the protection of R&D results through industrial property rights. Engineers declare what is patentable. But patentable is all too often mixed up with patent-worthy. Experts estimate that around 85-95% of the resulting portfolios are worthless or ineffective.

The IP department often floats like an operative island in the corporate organization. Detached from the rest of the company, R&D and IP department engage in a never-ending dialog. IP never makes it onto the executives’ agenda unless a costly lawsuit threatens. Or if executives want to use the number of patents as proof of successful research. In other companies, the IP department is not even an island. Responsibilities float across the whole organization like ice floes. Consequently, IP-related work is often viewed as an additional burden. It is merely – but wrongly – perceived as an internal service function with no measurable economic benefit.

We are convinced that an effective IP strategy is based on three different perspectives: The technological perspective, the perspective of the customer and the perspective of the competitor. We support you in creating and communicating an effective IP strategy. For a new strategy to become reality, it must be reflected in the organization. But companies are living organisms and restructuring a company is like an open-heart surgery. With caution, we define appropriate measures to anchor the IP island to the company mainland. And to place the IP topic where it belongs: on the agenda of the top executives. That is how your company turns into an IP-driven company.