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Aleck Ncube
What can a business plan do for you?

A BUSINESS plan is a mechanism to ensure that the resources or assets of a business are applied profitably across all its activities for developing and retaining a competitive edge in the market place.

For a new business it provides a blueprint for success, while for an ongoing business it provides an overview of where a business is at present, how the business is positioning itself, and how it seeks to achieve its objectives to become and/or remain successful.

Putting together a good business plan takes a lot of work. Then what justifies the time and energy you’ll spend creating a plan? A business plan can be used for a variety of purposes:

How can IP be integrated into the business planning process?

Writing a plan requires good preparation. Before drafting your business plan, you need to think over a number of issues. You should understand what is the nature of your business; what resources would be required to meet your business’ objectives; what are your target markets; what is the viability and growth potential of the business, etc.

Also, you should identify the commercial relevance of IP assets, whether owned by you or to which you have authorised access, and the resources needed for obtaining and maintaining these assets. The outline presented below lists some key points relating to IP that you need to consider while preparing your business plan.

The importance of different points will depend on your particular situation and business. The answers to these questions may help you to integrate IP assets into your business planning process.

What IP assets do you own?

Identify and classify your IP portfolio. This invariably includes confidential information/trade secrets, trade name(s), and trademark(s), often also domain names, industrial designs and copyright and related rights, and sometimes utility models and patents for inventions. What other intangible assets do you have? In this context, also consider franchise, license and distribution agreements, publishing rights, covenants not to compete, information databases, computer systems software, marketing profile, management expertise, distribution network, technical skills, etc.

What is the status of your IP portfolio?

Do you have a system for identification of your IP assets? Do you have an IP portfolio? When was it created? Who created it? Which of your IP assets are registrable? If so, are they or should they be registered? Are they also registered in foreign countries/ export markets? Is the registration to be renewed? If yes, when? Do you conduct or plan to conduct IP audits? If so, at what periodic intervals?

How do you plan to protect your IP assets?

If you commercialise your IP assets (regardless whether in-house or with a partner), do you have arrangements securing the ownership or co-ownership of your IP assets? If you outsource a part of your business activities, do you have contracts in place that ensure your IP rights over the outsourced work and prohibit others from taking advantage or commercialising your product without your prior agreement?

How easy or difficult is it for others to properly acquire or duplicate your secret business information? What measures are taken to guard the secrecy of your confidential business information?

Do you have an integrated security policy and plan for your physical and electronic assets? If you commercialise your IP assets (regardless whether in-house or with a partner), do you have arrangements maintaining the confidentiality of your secret business information? Have you included confidentiality or non-disclosure clauses and non-compete clauses in the employment agreements with your key employees and business partners? Have you ensured that confidential business information/trade secrets are not available or lost by display on or through your web site? Are all your URL headers free of confidential information? Do your web pages provide links to pages that have confidential information?

How important are IP assets to the success of your business?

To what extent are your IP assets currently being used, potentially useful, or no longer of use to your business? Does your enterprise depend for its commercial success on IP assets, whether owned or licensed? On what types of IP assets does it depend? Do you have new products or processes, which will provide a unique competitive advantage? If so, will they revolutionise an industry? Can the associated IP rights be secured, providing additional differentiation and bar competitors from entering the market? What competitive advantage do your IP assets (whether owned or licensed) provide to your enterprise? Assess and explain how IP provides or adds value to your customers and contributes to developing a sustainable competitive edge. Do your trade secrets, patents, trademarks, copyrighted works and industrial designs go far enough to protect those aspects of your business that determine your business’ success?

Do you know enough about your competitor’s IP strategies and IP portfolios?

Do you have a plan for gathering competitive intelligence? Do you gather or plan to use IP information/databases for obtaining competitive intelligence on your competitors? By searching patent, trademark and industrial design registers, you can gain detailed legal, technical and business information about a competitor’s operations and products. You can use this information to assess whether there is likely to be a market for your products. In addition, an IP search allows you to verify whether you can protect your IP, whether you are infringing another party’s IP and whether others are already infringing or likely to infringe your IP rights.

Are there any IP related barriers to enter your competitor’s market, e.g., patents, trademarks or industrial designs which underscore customer loyalty to competitor’s corporate image, brands, etc.

Do you have an IP policy and IP strategy for your enterprise?

How do you currently identify, protect, leverage and manage your IP assets?

What plans do you have in place to derive the maximum value from commercialising your IP assets? Do you have a special marketing strategy? Do you plan to export? If so, have you used or plan to use a regional or international filing or registration system (such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Madrid system or the Hague Agreement) for patent applications and trademark or design registrations? Have you assessed the potential to commercialise some or all of your IP assets partly or wholly through licensing, franchising and/or selling them?

Have you conducted an independent IP audit periodically? And has valuation been done of your IP assets? Was this done independently? Do you plan to use your IP assets as security or collateral for a loan, or to create a tradable security in the securities market? What is the possibility of securitisation of future revenue streams linked to a bundle/portfolio of your IP assets?

Business plans are a crucial tool for approaching start-up service providers and investors and considering the market opportunities for your business.

Because IP provides your enterprise competitive advantages and increases its value, it is necessary to let start-up service providers and investors know about your IP assets by adequately integrating them into your business plan.

 Aleck Ncube is an Intellectual Property scholar based in Bulawayo. He can be contacted on Mobile: +263712374408 Skype: Matintas1 Twitter: @aleckncube Alternative E-mail: [email protected]