Spotlight: Most companies protect ideas the way they invented them: haphazardly. But when innovation is treated like a product line — measured, structured, and refined — patent chaos becomes a competitive advantage.
In the innovation economy, intellectual property is one of your most valuable assets — yet for many organizations, the patenting process remains reactive, fragmented, and painfully slow.
One global industrial manufacturer faced such a problem. With R&D teams spread across five countries, they were losing 1 in 5 invention disclosures, filing redundant patents, and averaging over 200 days just to go from idea to application.
But they didn’t solve it with flashy tech. Instead, they applied the same operational rigor they used on the factory floor.
Here’s what they changed:
The result? Filing time dropped by 58%. Disclosure retention jumped to 95%. Legal waste — including duplicates — was virtually eliminated.
Treating IP like a process, is what moved the needle — and it’s a model any forward-thinking legal, R&D, or innovation team can replicate.
Patents don’t have to be the bottleneck. With the right structure, they can become a strategic engine.
Read full post below…
In the innovation economy, intellectual property is one of your most valuable assets — yet for many organizations, the patenting process remains reactive, fragmented, and painfully slow.
One global industrial manufacturer faced such a problem. With R&D teams spread across five countries, they were losing 1 in 5 invention disclosures, filing redundant patents, and averaging over 200 days just to go from idea to application.
But they didn’t solve it with flashy tech. Instead, they applied the same operational rigor they used on the factory floor.
Here’s what they changed:
- Initiated a Kaizen campaign to map out patenting operations.
- Based on Kaizen findings, centralized the intake process, so every invention flowed through a single, accountable point.
- Standardized disclosure templates and scoring, giving inventors clarity and the legal team consistency.
- Created quarterly ‘invention harvesting’ workshops, ensuring no valuable idea fell through the cracks.
The result? Filing time dropped by 58%. Disclosure retention jumped to 95%. Legal waste — including duplicates — was virtually eliminated.
Treating IP like a process, is what moved the needle — and it’s a model any forward-thinking legal, R&D, or innovation team can replicate.
Patents don’t have to be the bottleneck. With the right structure, they can become a strategic engine.
Read full post below…
In many organizations, the patent process is treated as a necessary evil — slow, reactive, and cloaked in legal complexity. But in today’s innovation economy, companies can no longer afford to let intellectual property (IP) operate in silos.
This is the story of how one global industrial manufacturer turned their scattered, inefficient patenting process into a high-performing strategic asset — and did it without buying new software or hiring new recruits.
Operational excellence in the patent process doesn’t require expensive tools — just clarity, discipline, and measurement. Whether you’re a legal team, a R&D department, or a prosecution firm, improvements in intake, workflow, and analytics can lead to dramatic efficiency gains and create lasting impact on both cost and quality.
Here’s a success story of a large multinational industrial manufacturer. The company’s R&D teams spanned five business units across three continents. Each operated with relative autonomy — and each had its own way of capturing and filing inventions leading to:
Ironically, while the company had Six Sigma certifications and world-class supply chains, its IP pipeline was unmanaged. So, the company launched an operations excellence initiative to optimize their patent process. They decided to implement Kaizen to identify solutions to their problems. Based on Kaizen findings, the company took three major steps:
1. Centralized Disclosure Intake
Instead of allowing each R&D team to submit filings independently, a cross-functional IP committee was formed. Every invention now flowed through a single intake point.
2. Standardized Forms and Scoring
A universal invention disclosure template was adopted across all business units. Submissions were scored using objective criteria (novelty, alignment to roadmap, revenue potential).
3. Invention Harvesting Workshops
Once per quarter, product leads met with the legal team to “harvest” potential disclosures — aligned with product development timelines.
Results (After 12 Months):
Through just one year of Kaizen implementation, the company started to treat patents like products. Every submission was managed like a strategic asset, not just paperwork. The impact was measurable and transformative:
This is the story of how one global industrial manufacturer turned their scattered, inefficient patenting process into a high-performing strategic asset — and did it without buying new software or hiring new recruits.
Operational excellence in the patent process doesn’t require expensive tools — just clarity, discipline, and measurement. Whether you’re a legal team, a R&D department, or a prosecution firm, improvements in intake, workflow, and analytics can lead to dramatic efficiency gains and create lasting impact on both cost and quality.
Here’s a success story of a large multinational industrial manufacturer. The company’s R&D teams spanned five business units across three continents. Each operated with relative autonomy — and each had its own way of capturing and filing inventions leading to:
- Long cycle times (over 210 days from disclosure to filing).
- Lost invention reports — estimated at 1 in 5 never followed up.
- Duplicate patents filed across different product groups.
- Frustrated inventors unsure how or when their ideas would move forward.
Ironically, while the company had Six Sigma certifications and world-class supply chains, its IP pipeline was unmanaged. So, the company launched an operations excellence initiative to optimize their patent process. They decided to implement Kaizen to identify solutions to their problems. Based on Kaizen findings, the company took three major steps:
1. Centralized Disclosure Intake
Instead of allowing each R&D team to submit filings independently, a cross-functional IP committee was formed. Every invention now flowed through a single intake point.
2. Standardized Forms and Scoring
A universal invention disclosure template was adopted across all business units. Submissions were scored using objective criteria (novelty, alignment to roadmap, revenue potential).
3. Invention Harvesting Workshops
Once per quarter, product leads met with the legal team to “harvest” potential disclosures — aligned with product development timelines.
Results (After 12 Months):
Through just one year of Kaizen implementation, the company started to treat patents like products. Every submission was managed like a strategic asset, not just paperwork. The impact was measurable and transformative:
As one of the IP counsels remarked: “Before, our patenting process was like a junk drawer. Now it’s a production line — but one built for ideas, not widgets.”
This case study proves that operational excellence in patenting isn’t about cutting corners — it’s about building the right structure. You don’t need flashy tech. You need clear lanes, trusted checklists, and the will to manage innovation like it matters.
Patents don’t have to be the bottleneck. With the right structure, they can become a strategic engine. Want to benchmark your current patent operations?
This case study proves that operational excellence in patenting isn’t about cutting corners — it’s about building the right structure. You don’t need flashy tech. You need clear lanes, trusted checklists, and the will to manage innovation like it matters.
Patents don’t have to be the bottleneck. With the right structure, they can become a strategic engine. Want to benchmark your current patent operations?
More Operational Excellence Case Studies at: https://www.drshrutibhat.com/blog/category/case-studies
Keywords and Tags:
#IPStrategy #PatentProcess #LegalOps #InnovationPipeline #OperationalExcellence #LeanIP #R&DManagement #InnovationLeadership
Categories: Operational Excellence | Patents | Kaizen
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Keywords and Tags:
#IPStrategy #PatentProcess #LegalOps #InnovationPipeline #OperationalExcellence #LeanIP #R&DManagement #InnovationLeadership
Categories: Operational Excellence | Patents | Kaizen
Follow Shruti on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
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