Building IP Strategy: Audits, Portfolios, and Coordinated Protection

Building practical IP strategy involves conducting honest audits, building portfolios that align with priorities, and coordinating protection across patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. The companies that build effective IP strategies share habits of patient analysis and willingness to make difficult prioritization decisions. This course walks through that practical work. You will work through written exercises that mirror how a thoughtful company would build IP strategy. The emphasis is on practical work that supports business value. What you'll learn: - Conduct IP audits including identifying what the company owns and uses - Build portfolios including new filings, acquisitions, and licensing - Coordinate across IP types including how patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets work together - Apply freedom-to-operate analysis to product development decisions - Plan competitive intelligence including monitoring competitor activity - Manage common challenges including limited budget, conflicting priorities, and ambiguous ownership The course progresses from IP audits through portfolio building, IP coordination, freedom to operate, competitive intelligence, and common challenges. A capstone written exercise asks you to plan an IP strategy approach for a real or hypothetical business. This course is designed for founders, executives, and IP professionals building strategy. It is approachable for committed beginners. The course is informational and complements, but does not replace, advice from qualified IP attorneys and business strategists. Effective IP strategy requires both legal and business expertise.