10 Game-Changing Examples of Intrapreneurship Programs Driving Innovation in Leading Organizations

Intrapreneurship Programs

Gmail, Google News, and Google Adsense exist thanks to Google’s 20% intrapreneurship program. Employees got the time and resources to make these apps a reality. Without this freedom, these innovations wouldn’t be in our lives today.

Like Google, other top companies get it. They’re boosting innovation by nurturing intrapreneurs. These trailblazers get dedicated programs to flex their entrepreneurial muscles.

Why should you care? Research shows intrapreneurship ramps up innovation, agility, and profits. This article dives into 10 programs changing the game for employees and companies alike.

UQBATE by Deutsche Telekom

UQBATE is a 3-month intrapreneurship accelerator program by Deutsche Telekom, focusing on transforming employee ideas into viable projects.

Intrapreneurship Programs #1 - UQBATE by Deutsche Telekom

Source – Telekom

The journey kicks off with the Initial Design Phase. Here, participants think freely about their ideas, join meetups to get feedback and learn the art of pitching their innovations. Once they have a solid idea, they can apply for the next big step: the Acceleration Scholarship.

If their idea is chosen, they move to the Scholarship stage. This phase includes rigorous lean startup training, bootcamps, and regular coaching sessions. Additionally, participants engage in weekly team reviews and attend insightful lectures on various aspects of business growth. 

At the end of the journey, teams showcase their work at UQBATE DEMODAY, held at Telekom’s headquarters. 

The program is structured but flexible. Each year sees two batches, with 6-9 teams each, all equipped with a suite of tools like business model canvases, idea development guides, and market research tools. 

Importantly, Telekom champions entrepreneurial freedom; any startup born from UQBATE allows the entrepreneur to hold 100% of the shares initially. Telekom may choose to invest later if there’s mutual synergy.

With 400 ideas tested and standout projects like the Zuqi platform and MyComoda virtual wardrobe, UQBATE has not only generated revenue but has also spotlighted the deep well of entrepreneurial talent within Telekom.

Also read – How Can You Increase Engagement with Innovators in the Enterprise?

Bizlab by Airbus

Airbus BizLab stands as a beacon for both budding entrepreneurs and intrapreneurial projects within Airbus. 

Intrapreneurship Programs #1 - Bizlab by Airbus

Source – Airbus

Under this program, startups are ushered into a rigorous six-month acceleration journey. Within this phase, they are mentored by a diverse team of international experts, given enriching networking opportunities and provided with vivid co-working spaces. 

The criteria for the selection of startups in the Bizlab program depends on Airbus goals. They pick ones that align with the Airbus mission—be it emission reduction, robotics, artificial intelligence, or any of their other specified sectors.

Since 2015, Airbus BizLab’s illustrious track record boasts the acceleration of 72 startups and 54 internal projects, bringing in a total of €23.5 million. With four global campuses stationed in Toulouse, Hamburg, Bangalore, and Madrid, it truly offers a global network to its employees. 

And the best part? Airbus doesn’t take a share in these startups or put its money into them. This means the startups can grow freely. In short, Airbus BizLab is like a school for new ideas, helping them grow and succeed.

Also read – How can you Shortlist and Select Promising Ideas for Patent?

EDF Luminus Internal Innovation Incubator #NEXT

EDF Luminus has taken a bold step forward in promoting internal innovation. Through their ‘# NEXT’ incubator program, they’ve established a unique collaboration with ‘Start it @KBC’, Belgium’s largest startup hub. For an intensive three months, selected EDF Luminus teams step away from their usual roles and dive into a realm of innovation and exploration.

Intrapreneurship Programs #2 - EDF Luminus Internal Innovation Incubator #NEXT

Source – Start It X

What makes this program stand out is the immersive experience it offers. Participants are integrated into the vibrant ecosystem of ‘Start it @KBC’, where they have access to a diverse network of industry experts and get a personal mentor who’s already a successful entrepreneur.

In addition to this, the teams from EDF Luminus have the privilege of using co-working spaces spread across six distinct locations that give them an opportunity to meet professionals from diverse fields like law, tech, and marketing.

Additionally, the program is enriched with an array of workshops. These sessions are designed to help participants refine their ideas, master the nuances of pitching, and ensure that their innovative concepts are positioned for success.

With the #NEXT incubator, EDF Luminus is making innovation a big part of their company, building a place where great ideas grow and shine.

Also check out – Invention Disclosure Form Word/Excel Template [Downloadable].

Kickbox at Swisscom

Swisscom’s Kickbox isn’t just another innovation program—it’s an innovative space where employees’ dreams meet reality. Open 365 days a year, Kickbox is dedicated to nurturing Swisscom talents, providing them with the tools, time, and resources to translate their brilliant ideas into actionable business models.

Intrapreneurship Programs #3 - Kickbox at Swisscom

Source – Swisscom

There are three stages involved throughout this program:

RedBox – The Idea Genesis: Over two months, participants dedicate 20% of their working hours to validating and testing the potential of their ideas. They are given an initial fund of CHF 1,000, with which they aim to convince Swisscom experts of their business idea. 

BlueBox – Bringing Ideas to Life: Once a dedicated sponsor is onboard, kickboxers test their pilots with real-life customers, making the most of Kickbox’s robust resources. Spanning 4-6 months and still occupying 20% of their work time, this phase is where concepts are fine-tuned, ensuring they resonate with end-users.

GoldBox – Scaling Heights: Proving their potential in the earlier stages, kickboxers now have the exciting opportunity to scale their idea, be it within a dedicated department, as a standalone project, or even as a spin-off. Here, their commitment can range from 20% to a full 100% of their working time. 

Throughout these stages, the real essence of Kickbox is the culture of feedback and collaboration. Kickboxers share thoughts, get real-time feedback, and polish their pitches. They learn valuable skills like presenting and taking charge of their ideas. 

The program has turned over 700 employee ideas into real projects. Plus, it’s led to 40 other new solutions. At Kickbox, it’s not just about great ideas but also about growing together as a team.

Entrepreneurial Immersion and Secondment program by HUL

With their Entrepreneurial Immersion and Secondment Program, Hindustan Lever is giving some of their middle-tier employees a chance to step into the fast-paced world of startups. 

Intrapreneurship Programs #4 - Entrepreneurial Immersion and Secondment program by HUL

Source – Economic Times

The program can last as short as three months or as long as two years. Participants get to work with young, dynamic startups linked to Unilever Ventures. If an employee joins a startup for less than a year, HUL covers the bills. If it’s longer, the startup helps with the costs. In this longer option, the employee will join the startup team, but they can come back to a new job at HUL later.

Mostly, employees with 7-12 years of experience get this chance. Last year, 10 startups got a golden ticket to HUL’s resources, and in return, HUL learned about the latest tech and innovative strategies these startups are using.

People’sLab4Good by BNP Parihas

Since its launch in 2018, BNP Paribas’ People’sLab4Good has been on a mission to bring employees’ business ideas to life, turning them into projects ready for real-world application. Till date, the program has trained 87 dedicated intrapreneurs across five batches. 

These enthusiastic participants undergo specialized training in startup methods focused on social and community-driven outcomes. 

Intrapreneurship Programs #5 - People'sLab4Good by BNP Parihas

Source – BNP Parihas

The driving force behind People’sLab4Good works on three main objectives:

  • Personal Transformation: Encouraging employees to contribute to a just economy.
  • Business for Good: Accelerating business models that bring about tangible good in society.
  • Enhancing Employer Branding: Making BNP Paribas an even more attractive place to work.

Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the intrapreneurial ventures mainly cater to promoting education, ensuring equal opportunities, safeguarding the environment, and enhancing microfinance and entrepreneurial support.

About one-third of the projects under this program are integrated into BNP Paribas’ main business offerings. Retaining its core strengths—exploratory design thinking, a test & learn approach, and robust ecosystem networking—People’sLab4Good eagerly awaits new applications each year, enabling more employees to think outside the box and make a change.

Also read – Employee Innovation Program: Best Practices to Implement it in Your Organization.

Delivery Service Partner Program at Amazon

Amazon is reshaping the path to entrepreneurship with its “Delivery Service Partner Program” in the US. 

Intrapreneurship Programs #6 - Delivery Service Partner Program at Amazon

Source – CNBC

Recognizing the potential within its workforce, the retail giant is offering employees the chance to transition from their current roles and embark on a journey of owning and running a package delivery business.

The beauty of this program lies in its comprehensive support structure. The company offers financial help by covering startup costs of up to $10,000. Plus, to help new business owners get on their feet, Amazon will match three months of the employee’s last salary. 

But the support doesn’t stop there. Those who join this program will get continuous delivery volume, cutting-edge delivery technology, hands-on training, and even branded assets like customized vans and uniforms from Amazon. 

Since its inception in 2018, the program has already birthed over 200 new small businesses in the U.S. And, in testament to its success and global vision, Amazon is extending this opportunity to its employees in the UK and Spain as well.

For those eyeing entrepreneurial pursuits, Amazon is not just offering a job change but a life change. 

Also read – 7 Key Benefits an Idea Management Software Provides to a Business.

In-Genius at Nestle 

Nestlé’s very own internal innovation accelerator, In-Genius, is turning the untapped potential of over 300,000 global employees into game-changing solutions. With the aid of a crowdsourcing platform, Nestlé employees get the chance to voice their creative ideas, gather valuable feedback, and even form collaborative teams. 

Intrapreneurship Programs #7 - In-Genius at Nestle 

Source – Nestle

The most popular ideas get scrutinized by experts, fine-tuned for business potential, and then fast-tracked through an incubation phase. With InGenius, the company ensures the creation of a minimum viable product in as short as 3-6 months.

Since 2014, InGenius has been a roaring success. The platform has seen a massive engagement of 65,000 employees from 110 countries, bringing forth over 7,000 innovative ideas. Among the many breakthroughs, 14 cutting-edge solutions have been developed, ranging from high-tech ventures with artificial intelligence and virtual reality to impactful creations like low-cost water sensors. 

Also read – 22 Tips to Master the 5 Skills of Disruptive Innovators.

Grow by Bosch 

Grow is an internal incubator program of Bosch for budding startups and entrepreneurs right inside the organization. The program’s journey is structured like an adventure, with each phase designed to equip participants with essential skills. 

Source – Bosch

First, there’s ‘Safari,’ an introductory workshop for Bosch employees, offering them insights into the startup world and the lean startup methodology. Next in line is ‘Expedition,’ a rigorous 2.5-day program where selected teams tweak their ideas with expert coaching. The best teams then go to the ‘Discovery’ stage, a 10-week accelerator program where they work hard on their ideas and finally present them for incubation funding.

Over the past five years, Grow’s nurturing environment in Ludwigsburg has seen 8 teams embark on this transformative journey. They’re provided with workshops on entrepreneurship, business modeling, and user experience, all in a bid to mold them into high-performing entities. 

The success stories of this intrapreneurship program are evident. Two teams from the 2014 batch, one focused on robotics for logistics and another on IoT in agriculture, have integrated back into Bosch, scaling their business ideas, while others, like UrbanMates, have even made their mark on the open market.

Chemovator, the Corporate Incubator at BASF

BASF, in 2018, established its corporate intrapreneurship program named “Chemovator” to enable BASF’s employees to transform their innovative ideas into real projects.

Source – BASF

The process of the Chemovator program is meticulous. If any employee has an idea, they can team up with two or three other people. Together, they get advice from experts outside of BASF. There’s also a main team at Chemovator that helps with everything else, so these groups can focus just on their new idea. The whole program lasts two years, and at any time, they can have up to 12 of these teams working on different ideas.

To decide which ideas get a chance in this program, they have special pitch days. It’s like a show-and-tell for grown-ups where they present their ideas.

The efficacy of Chemovator’s efforts is evident. In April, Chemovator proudly announced its premier corporate spin-out, BOXLAB Services GmbH. Over the past five years, BASF workers have shared over 200 ideas. 30 of those got a chance in the program. 

Some of these ideas went back to the main BASF company, while others became their own separate companies. Right now, eight teams are busy working on their ideas in the Chemovator program.

Also read – 7 ways to Encourage Innovative Thinking at Your Workplace.

Ready to jumpstart your Intrapreneurship journey?

The above examples have showcased the power of intrapreneurship and how a strategic approach is required to implement a successful intrapreneurship program in your organization. Here are some actionable steps to take the plunge: 

  • Define the purpose and goals of the program, 
  • Set aside a budget, 
  • Plan for training and development, 
  • Create a platform or system where employees can submit their ideas and 
  • Regularly solicit feedback from participants to understand what’s working and what needs improvement. 

Intrapreneurship programs can lead to innovative ideas that are patent-worthy. But before you put those ideas into action, consider safeguarding them. Patents can offer that essential protection.

The TIP Tool™ by Triangle IP streamlines the process. It’s a user-friendly, drag-and-drop tool that helps turn ideas into patents while keeping track of each step.

Interested in securing your team’s innovations? Register on the TIP ToolTM today to get started!

5 Must-Explore Alternatives to Planview IdeaPlace in 2023

Planview-IdeaPlace-Alternatives

Planview IdeaPlace (formerly known as Spigit innovation management software), with a 4-star rating, has gained widespread adoption among over 500 enterprises globally.

The tool’s patented algorithm aims to remove bias and subjectivity from the idea selection process – by leveraging user predictions regarding the potential costs, implementation time, and revenue generation associated with ideas.

Planview IdeaPlace also incorporates gamification elements such as game mechanics, virtual currency, and customizable incentives to increase employee engagement.

However, despite its widespread popularity, some innovation managers look for IdeaPlace alternatives for their enterprise’s unique needs.

In this article, we present five alternatives to Planview IdeaPlace, helping you make an informed decision when selecting the most suitable online idea and patent management platform for your enterprise.

However, first, let’s discuss what to look for in an alternative.

Features and Benefits to Look for in Planview IdeaPlace Alternatives in 2023

In your quest to find a suitable alternative to Planview IdeaPlace, it’s imperative to look for the following features and benefits to ensure a seamless transition.

Effective Patent Mining

The tool should offer an inventor-friendly and customizable idea disclosure form, promoting active engagement with innovators while streamlining the idea submission process. 

Additionally, it should facilitate real-time collaboration among subject matter experts to ensure the thorough vetting of ideas to select only the promising ideas for patenting.

The tool should enhance innovator engagement by providing timely notifications as ideas transition through various phases, such as evaluation, patent drafting, and patent filing.

Furthermore, the tool should provide role-specific dashboards empowering all stakeholders to stay aligned with their KPIs and IP goals as an enterprise. 

Patent Analytics Powered Decision Making

The tool must predict the likelihood of allowance and patenting cost estimations besides examiner, patent counsel, and art unit analytics based on historical trends to assist in effective decision-making.

The tool must diligently monitor case health, issuing alerts for cases that require immediate attention, such as those taking longer than expected for prosecution. This allows the patent committee to implement corrective actions as needed.

Quick User Onboarding

The tool should provide an intuitive drag-and-drop feature that enables users to move their ideas through various stages, from idea capture, vetting, patent drafting and filing.

It should also have a product helpdesk to assist users with prompt responses – enhancing user experience.

Staying on Top of Enterprise’s Patenting Efforts

The tool should offer role-specific dashboards that provide a comprehensive overview of ideas submitted, inventor activity, manager activity, filed applications, and patent pipelines. 

Users should be able to efficiently tag patentable ideas with specific keywords, facilitating quick filtering for selecting ideas to patent within the current quarter. 

Additionally, the tool should simplify tracking metrics like the number of idea submissions and filed patents per innovator, enabling it to identify the top-performing inventors and managers within your enterprise.

Planview IdeaPlace Alternatives to Checkout in 2023

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP is an idea and patent management software powered by patent analytics that helps businesses manage their growing IP portfolio. While planbox is an AI-powered innovation platform that helps teams collect, develop, and manage ideas from stakeholders. 

Furthermore, Sideways6 is good at driving employee engagement and innovation through its idea management software and services. IdeaBridge® provides strategic innovation consulting, helping businesses develop and implement innovative solutions for growth. 

And Ideawake excels in crowdsourced innovation, leveraging the collective intelligence of employees and customers to drive innovation.

Each alternative offers key differentiators to help you select the one that best suits your enterprise’s needs. Let’s dig deeper to explore each alternative comprehensively, beginning with the TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP.

Planview IdeaPlace Alternative #1: The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP

The TIP Tool™, an intuitive drag-and-drop platform, facilitates effective enterprise-wide innovation capture and patent mining. Leveraging patent analytics aids in informed IP decision-making. Users particularly appreciate its role-specific dashboards and ability to enable real-time collaboration.

Source – Triangle IP

Key Benefits of Using The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP is an extremely affordable alternative to Planview Ideaplace looking at the numerous benefits it offers. Moreover, the team is open to custom development for your specific requirements.

  1. Streamlined Idea Management 

Many enterprises struggle to keep innovators engaged and their innovation funnels full. To solve these challenges, the TIP Tool™ offers:

  • A user-friendly invention disclosure form engages innovators across the enterprise – be it front-line employees or the R&D department.
  • A customizable idea submission form, enabling unique field additions, edits, deletions, or concealments as per enterprises needs.
  • Secure, enterprise-wide participation in innovation management, safeguarding IP-related data.
  • Capability to tag ideas with technology-related keywords, product categories, or business functions for easy filtering.
  • An option for innovators to attach supplementary materials like documents or slide decks to better represent their ideas.
  • Innovators are notified as their ideas progress through different stages for greater engagement.
  • Real-time collaboration, just like Google documents, for thorough vetting of ideas.
  1. Selection of the Most Promising Ideas for Patenting

Innovation teams and subject matter experts often face challenges when collaborating and communicating effectively in real-time – especially when working remotely. 

The TIP ToolTM addresses these challenges by facilitating real-time collaboration, just like Google Docs, with features such as commenting, tracking edits, etc. 

The tool also helps you keep track of modifications with version history, allowing easy visualization of changes and the ability to revert specific alterations.

By empowering your team with the right collaboration tools, the TIP ToolTM enables thorough vetting of ideas, helping you to select the most promising ones for patenting. 

Also, check this video where Thomas Franklin, founder of Triangle IP, shares How to determine if your idea qualifies for a patent or a trademark or other legal protection?

  1. Patent Analytics Powered Prosecution Strategy

Most patent applicants find the patent prosecution process opaque, heavily relying on their patent attorney’s expertise and chance for success. However, the TIP Tool™ offers valuable data and insights on the patent counsel and examiner linked to an applicant’s case.

Furthermore, the TIP Tool™ allows for comparisons with similar cases within the same art unit, under identical examiners, or represented by the same patent counsel.

This tool lets applicants to closely track their patent application’s journey throughout the prosecution process, providing enhanced visibility and control.

The insights garnered from the tool can inform decision-making and guide the next steps with their patent counsel.

The TIP ToolTM also enables applicants to get end-to-end patenting cost estimates by considering statistics such as expected rounds of arguments. 

Here’s a quick video that explains how the TIP ToolTM can help you improve your patent prosecution efficiency.

  1. Informative Dashboards

Innovation managers struggle to keep track of idea and patent pipelines. Additionally, identifying which innovator is working on which idea has been a daunting task for them.

Nonetheless, the TIP ToolTM’s user-friendly dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of an enterprise’s idea and patent pipeline. 

The tool helps innovation managers to monitor the progress of their team’s activities, including the number of ideas submitted and patents filed. 

By using the TIP ToolTM, managers can also identify potential roadblocks, such as ideas lingering in the ideation and vetting stages for too long. 

The tool offers role-specific dashboards – enabling inventors and managers to track their intellectual property (IP) activity and align it with their key performance indicators (KPIs).

Such information helps streamline innovation management, helps in collaboration, and enables enterprises to identify and reward their most promising inventors and managers.

  1. Patent Family Tree Generator

Patent lawyers or paralegals must read a patent’s priority claims and manually construct a family tree – this process is time-consuming and prone to errors.

However, the TIP ToolTM’s patent family tree generator helps users to generate two visualizations for patent family trees – Traditional and Gantt Chart.

  • Traditional Patent Family Tree Visualization

Traditional patent family tree visualization uses arrows to illustrate relationships between parent and child patents, depicting connections from parents to a selected patent and extending from the selected patent to its offspring.

  • Gantt Chart Style Patent Family Tree Visualization

A Gantt chart visually represents the relationships between applications using colored bars. 

Each bar represents a separate application, indicating the priority date, filing date, pendency period, issue date, and time overlap. Colors differentiate application phases, while bar length indicates patent expiration and pending application expiration if issued.

Such visualizations make it exceptionally easy and intuitive for patent attorneys to view all patent family members that are public, US-based, and non-US-based family members and the patent family members from the private PAIR.

  1. Affordable Pricing and Custom Tier

The TIP ToolTM offers a range of attractive packages, including free, paid, and custom options, catering to diverse needs. 

The free package allows up to ten users to experience the basic features. While the paid package is for 100 users maximum – it unlocks advanced functionalities for $50 per month or $495 per year. And the custom package offers tailored solutions to meet specific requirements. 

  1. The TIP Tool™ Helpdesk

If you encounter any issue while using the TIP Tool™, there is a product helpdesk for quick assistance. It’s well-documented with intuitive search options.

  1. Freemium Model

Evaluating ideas and patent management software based on marketing materials alone can be challenging. Triangle IP’s TIP Tool™ offers a free plan for up to 10 users to mitigate this, allowing potential customers to experience its functionalities.

Furthermore, it incorporates a sample patent portfolio, facilitating a seamless exploration of the tool’s capabilities.

Sign up here to experience the TIP ToolTM right now.

Customer Review

A review in G2 highlights the TIP ToolTM as highly user-friendly. The customer praised its drag-and-drop feature for effortless idea movement between stages. Additionally, the simple and intuitive idea form facilitates easy completion for innovators.

Source – G2

Also, read  – Hype Innovation Alternatives You Must Try in 2023 (+ Reviews)

Planview IdeaPlace Alternative #2: Sideways6

Designed for large enterprises with 1,000 employees or more, Sideways6 is an innovation and idea management platform that facilitates sourcing and managing employee ideas. 

Sideways6 integrates with popular platforms like Microsoft Teams, Yammer, Workplace, and Slack to enhance the idea generation and collaboration process within companies.  

Source – Sideways6

Key Benefits of Using Sideways6

Customers love using Sideways6 because of its integrated approach, time-saving features, ease of use, and tangible results. Here are some of the key benefits worth noting:

  • Streamlines idea submission for employees by seamlessly integrating with their regularly used software solutions, such as Microsoft Teams, Yammer, Workplace from Facebook, and Slack.
  • Helps you identify the most promising ideas by allocating and sending ideas to relevant in-house experts for review.
  • Keeps everyone informed throughout every stage of the innovation journey, resulting in more motivated innovators.
  • Enables you to measure the success of your innovation initiatives. By identifying key trends, understanding the business impact of ideas, and creating custom reports, you can effectively showcase the return on investment (ROI) and make data-driven decisions to drive continuous improvement.

Customer Reviews

Here’s a review screenshot highlighting how Sideways6 enables 16,000+ employees to contribute, driving enterprise-wide innovation and collaboration. To read more such reviews, click here.

Pricing

It’s free for up to 10 users. Teams with more than 10 users (11 – 500 users) can avail the service for $3 per user per month.

Large companies can inquire about custom pricing by contacting the sales team at Sideways6 for further information.

Also, Read – 5 Best Free Idea Sharing Platforms to Try in 2023

Planview IdeaPlace Alternative #3:IdeaBridge®

IdeaBridge, with its expertise in crowdsourcing and open innovation, is the go-to platform for global enterprises aiming to invent new products and services, manage costs, and elevate employee engagement.

Source – IdeaBridge

Key Benefits of Using IdeaBridge®

Customers prefer IdeaBridge due to its array of features that facilitate the effortless management of employee ideas. These features include a user-friendly interface, seamless integration with existing collaboration tools, and efficient idea management capabilities.

Let’s delve into some important benefits that are worth exploring:

  • Enables you to effectively predict the return on investment (ROI) by quantifying the revenue, cost, and timeline of ideas. 
  • Helps you leverage hackathons to bring together employees and teams with diverse skills and expertise, enabling collaborative problem-solving to overcome challenges.
  • Helps you to maximize productivity with customized designs that effortlessly align with your internal processes, enabling highly configurable workflows.
  • Empower your enterprise to redefine custom workflows, tailoring them to suit your enterprise needs and streamlining operations for enhanced productivity.

Customer Reviews

Here’s a screenshot of a review showcasing the IdeaBridge® ability to create custom workflows effortlessly. To read more such reviews, click here.

Pricing

Pricing is unavailable-contact Ideabridge for more details.

Also, read – Top 3 Brightidea Alternatives You Must Know in 2023 

Planview IdeaPlace Alternative #4: Ideawake

Ideawake is an idea management software that enables businesses to create challenges, outline specific goals, gather ideas from employees, customers, and suppliers, and drive innovation in areas identified for innovation.

Source – Ideawake

Key Benefits of Using Ideawake

Customers appreciate Ideawake for its user-friendly interface. Ideawake’s features, such as discussion threads, idea ranking, voting features, project tracking features, key metrics, and participation, save enterprises valuable time and eliminate any obstacles that may hinder the idea submission process.

Let’s explore a range of notable benefits worth delving into:

  • Ideawake empowers users to create customized scorecards, evaluating ideas against custom criteria aligned with business objectives. 
  • Ideawake enables users to gain valuable business insights through an analytics dashboard, offering graphical reports on employee engagement, innovation health, and other vital metrics.
  • Utilize Ideawake’s collaboration tools, like real-time chat, file sharing, crowd voting, and assigned user groups, to benefit from enhanced teamwork. 
  • Helps you to motivate participants by leveraging Ideawake’s gamification tools, such as leaderboards. 

Customer Reviews

According to customers, Ideawake fosters enhanced collaboration among teams, fueling creativity and facilitating the generation of more innovative ideas within the enterprise. Here’s a screenshot of one such review

Pricing

Ideawake pricing plans are not displayed publicly. However, you can contact them here to enquire about it.

Also, read – IPFolio Competitors and Alternatives: Choosing the Best Patent Management Software for Medium-Sized Enterprises

Planbox

Planbox, an innovation management software, creates an ecosystem for crowdsourcing ideas, aligning with corporate strategy, and streamlining the workflow process for evaluation, development, prioritization, and implementation. 

Source – Planbox

Key Benefits of Using Planbox

Customers love using Planbox because of its innovation ecosystem, efficient agile innovation management, and advanced idea management capabilities. These features greatly assist enterprises in generating and fine-tuning ideas, effective communication of challenges and opportunities, and enhanced management of their innovation activities.

Let’s explore a range of notable benefits worth delving into:

  • Planbox uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help users search for information from different places, both inside and outside an enterprise, and use that information to create new and interesting ideas without needing a person to do it manually.
  • Planbox provides a simple yet effective dashboard with graphs, progress assets, and scoreboards, allowing users to see the latest activity quickly.
  • Planbox’s built-in gamification system helps boost participation rates while providing recognition and rewards, validating individual efforts.
  • Helps you to discover and develop winning ideas with Planbox’s integrated opportunity and problem discovery methodology. 

Customer Reviews

Customers appreciate Planbox’s visual dashboards, offering real-time project updates. Here’s a review showcasing the appreciation.

Pricing

Planbox has not disclosed its pricing plans publicly. Contact them here for details.

Also, read – Top 5 IdeaScale Alternatives You Must Know in 2022

The TIP ToolTM – A Promising Planview IdeaPlace Alternative

When finding an alternative to Planview IdeaPlace, the good news is you can’t go wrong with any of the above listed idea management software options. They are the best in the industry.

However, the best way to get to know the ones that seem appealing is to take advantage of their free trials.

While larger enterprises can benefit from several of the Planview IdeaPlace alternatives mentioned above, when it comes to startups, enterprises, individual inventors, and patent practitioners, the optimal solution for managing idea and patent portfolios is undoubtedly the TIP Tool™ by Triangle IP.

Take patent mining to the next level at your enterprise with the TIP Tool™. 

Click here to try it for free.

5 Best Viima Alternatives to Try for Idea and Patent Management in 2023

With a 4.9-star rating on Capterra, Viima is a widely used idea management software – that offers both SMEs and large enterprises to collect ideas from different stakeholders.

However, if your requirements extend beyond capturing ideas, such as patenting, you’ll need a more comprehensive solution that addresses a wider range of needs.

Before we dig into the list of alternatives, let’s look at the must-have features of the alternative solution.

Features and Benefits to Look For in Viima Alternatives in 2023

When exploring alternatives to Viima, it is crucial to clearly understand the essential features and benefits that a valuable idea management tool should possess.

Streamlined Idea and Patent Management

The tool must streamline innovation capture throughout the entire enterprise. It should ensure comprehensive scrutiny of ideas and foster a cohesive platform where all stakeholders – including inventors, managers, subject matter experts, patent counsel, and business teams – can collaborate effectively. Additionally, it should facilitate patent tracking while maintaining vigilance over patent portfolios and more.

Role Specific Dashboards

The tool must offer role-specific dashboards for monitoring innovation-related activities, catering to the needs of various stakeholders. Specifically:

  • Inventors can utilize this feature to observe the progression of their innovation efforts and ideas through different stages.
  • Managers can use their custom dashboards to stay aligned with their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
  • Innovation officers can keep abreast of idea and patent pipelines, and identify promising inventors and managers.
  • Patent counsel can leverage this tool to manage diverse client portfolios with ease.

Informed Patenting Decisions

The tool must make certain predictions to help innovation officers make informed patenting decisions, for instance:

  • Likelihood of allowance
  • End-to-end patenting cost estimations
  • Alerts on a case that is deviating from expected progress

Patent Family Tree Generator

The tool must generate intuitive visual representations of patent family trees, incorporating traditional and Gantt chart styles. This capability enhances the assessment of the robustness of any patent portfolio – whether it’s your own or a competitor’s – particularly about specific products or technologies.

Well Curated Offerings

The software should offer a free trial plan for evaluating its features. It should also include adaptable premium plans available monthly or yearly. The software should provide custom pricing solutions for larger enterprises with unique needs to cater to their specific user base. 

Viima Alternatives to Checkout in 2023

Different innovation officers have diverse needs. While some may seek alternatives to Viima for patent tracking capabilities, others might prioritize facilitating open innovation. There might also be a preference for gamification features or patent analytics among some.

Recognizing these varying requirements, we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 tools, each with its unique offerings, to simplify your selection process:

  1. The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP
  2. Wazoku
  3. Aha!
  4. Miro
  5. Idea Drop

Viima Alternative #1: The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP

The TIP ToolTM is an intuitive drag-and-drop tool to facilitate enterprise-wide innovation capture & manage end-to-end IP life cycle for effective mining of patents.

Triangle IP - Brightidea Alternatives

Source – Triangle IP

Key Benefits Offered by the TIP ToolTM 

The TIP Tool™ by Triangle IP emerges as a robust alternative to Viima, particularly for enterprises aiming to systematize their patent mining processes. Users often commend its role-specific dashboards and its capacity for fostering real-time collaboration, among other numerous advantageous features.  

#1 – Capture Ideas Enterprise-Wide

In many companies, the ideation stage is often overlooked within the innovation funnel because of companies’ instinctive desire to explore untapped markets. 

However, this inclination is outdated – because innovative ideas can originate from anyone within the enterprise. 

To foster a culture of idea sharing, the TIP Tool™ offers an idea submission platform that all employees can access throughout your enterprise.

The tool enables your entire enterprise to participate in the patent mining process while prioritizing the confidentiality of your intellectual property (IP) data. 

#2 – Boost Engagement with Innovators

The TIP ToolTM encourages participation from innovators by using a short idea-capture form

The tool allows downloading the idea-capture form in Word and Excel formats, which can be seamlessly imported back once they fill out the form. 

Users can customize the forms to align with their enterprise’s specific requirements – such as modifying fields and adding or removing information. 

Innovators can easily monitor the patenting process, including idea-capture, vetting, patent drafting, and filing, and share their views inside the dashboard. 

Idea Submission From TIP Tool - Triangle IP - Brightidea Alternatives

Also, check this video where Thomas Franklin, founder of Triangle IP, shares how to make innovators fill the invention disclosure forms?

How to make innovators fill the invention disclosure forms?
#3 – Drag-And-Drop Ideas With Ease Across Different Stages

The TIP ToolTM’s intuitive drag-and-drop feature allows users to seamlessly move ideas between stages (idea capture, internal vetting, patent drafting, and filing), keeping all stakeholders informed of updates and changes. 

#4 – Filter Ideas Based on Tags

The TIP ToolTM’s tag-based filtering allows users to categorize and sift through ideas using specific tags or keywords. These tags relate to technologies, business units, project stages, or other relevant themes. Users can efficiently review and manage ideas by filtering for specific tags, enabling targeted evaluation of ideas based on their relevance to a particular interest or responsibility.

#5 – Collaborate in Real-Time for Thorough Idea Vetting

The TIP ToolTM empowers your team members and subject matter experts to collaborate effectively, just as they would in person. 

Similar to working with Google Docs, the tool enables real-time collaboration, allowing stakeholders to edit idea summaries, add comments, and tag each other for questions, thoughts, or feedback. 

With the tool’s tracking capabilities, you never miss any changes, ensuring transparency and accountability for each user’s contributions.

Realtime Collaboration TIP Tool - Triangle IP - Brightidea Alternatives
#6 – Keep a Tab on Idea and Patent Pipelines

The TIP ToolTM provides a comprehensive overview of ideas, inventor and manager activity, filed applications, and patents.

  • Get a consolidated view of ideas submitted and patents filed by your team.
  • Identify promising inventors & managers, who submitted the most ideas or filed the most patents.
  • Pay attention to ideas that remain in the ideation, vetting or patent prosecution stages longer than expected, signaling potential bottlenecks.
#7 – Manage restricted access with role-specific dashboards

Each participant must access specific information sets to align effectively with their KPIs in the patent mining process. It’s also crucial that the broader view of IP creation remains exclusive to top leadership. The TIP Tool™ seamlessly meets these requirements, ensuring appropriate access and visibility for all relevant stakeholders.

#8 – Make Informed Patent Decisions With the Patent Analytics

The TIP Tool™ delivers extensive patent analytics, facilitating data-driven patent decisions. It enables you to:

  • Derive vital insights into the patentability of your idea
  • Predict the expected allowance timeline
  • Get estimates on end-to-end patenting costs
  • Stay in sync with USPTO status updates

Also, check this video where Thomas Franklin, shares how to reduce dependence on outside IP counsel in patent related matters?

Pricing

The TIP ToolTM offers a free tier for up to ten users with no time limit. Additionally, it provides a premium tier priced at $50 per month or $495 per year. The TIP ToolTM also offers a custom tier for those seeking custom options. To explore further details, please visit the pricing page.

Customer Review

TriangleIP boosts an impressive “likelihood to recommend” score of 9/10, indicating high customer satisfaction. Here’s a screenshot of a review from their database.

Viima Alternative #2: Wazoku

Wazoku is a collaborative idea management software that allows enterprises to gather, evaluate, prioritize and select the best ideas from contributors. 

Wazoku’s typical customers are large enterprises. Wazoku key users include Innovation Managers, Innovation Officers, Strategy Officers, HR Directors and Heads of Innovation. 

Source – Wazoku

Key Benefits of Using Wazoku

Wazoku provides an integrated enterprise innovation platform, including idea management software, an open innovation marketplace, and innovation consulting. 

Let’s discuss a few more worth noting benefits:

  • Helps you create private groups and forums within Wazoku’s platform to gather ideas from internal contributors and external audiences and allow commenting, voting and suggesting.
  • Unlock the potential of your business with features like – Idea Spotlight. Users find it a mature product that captures, filters and prioritizes the ideas generated within a business or community.
  • Evaluate and discuss shortlisted ideas and select which to develop and implement with Wazoku’s Review Boards.
  • Helps you visualize and evaluate activity with the Wazoku’s dashboard and reports, which can be further exported for analysis.

Pricing

Wazoku provides customized packages based on your unique business needs. Contact them here to get your customized price. 

Customer Review

Here’s a screenshot of a Capterra review, and to explore more reviews, click here.

Viima Alternative #3: Aha!

Aha! is a cloud-based idea management solution. Teams can collaborate, capture ideas, define product strategies, manage agile development, and deliver innovative capabilities. 

The platform facilitates idea collection, work prioritization, scheduling, workflow customization, and stakeholder collaboration.

Key Benefits of Using Aha!

Aha’s platform helps product managers set strategy, connect it to their teams, create visual roadmaps, manage releases, prioritize operations, and catch ideas.

  • Aha! helps you to crowdsource ideas and customer feedback in a central ideas portal. Analyze trends and engage with customers to find what they need — so you can prioritize what to build.
  • Aha! facilitates collaborative thinking by offering an expert notebook designed specifically for product managers. Users can effortlessly create visually appealing notes and whiteboards with guided templates to capture insightful ideas.
  • Aha! has an exceptional customer support team. With Aha!, you can expect answers to your queries, engage in meaningful email conversations with named representatives, and avoid getting lost in a complex ticketing system.
  • Helps you to inspire collaborative thinking. Utilize an expert’s notebook for product managers to craft beautiful notes and whiteboards with guided templates, capturing insights and ideas. 

Pricing

Aha! has two pricing plans – “Essentials” and “Advanced”.

The essential package is $39. It starts per user/month (minimum three paid users). The Advanced package is $59. It starts per user/month (minimum three paid users).

Customer Review

Look at this G2 review screenshot and click here to explore additional reviews.

Viima Alternative #4: Miro

Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard platform that empowers teams to collaborate effectively and work together. It offers a range of functionalities, from brainstorming with digital sticky notes to planning and managing agile workflows. 

From product and design to sales and marketing, Miro empowers hybrid teams to work better together.

Source – Miro

Key Benefits of Using Miro

Miro’s online collaborative whiteboard platform can be used as an idea management solution to capture, evaluate and implement ideas from different stakeholders.

Let’s discuss some important benefits of implementing this innovative solution:

  • Most customers say Miro’s template library (which helps you instantly innovate your next meeting, workshop, course or session by giving you activities or a structure to facilitate) is exceptional, and a user-friendly interface makes navigation incredibly simple and intuitive. 
  • Allows you to create notes and designs, move things around, and communicate through embedded video calls or online chats. 
  • Offers ample space to accommodate thoughts and ideas. It helps you to design dashboards that consolidate all the information, enabling users to grasp the bigger picture while still attending to important details.
  • Helps you to communicate in real-time, discuss projects and ideas in board chats, leave tagged comments, and use voice and video calls.

Pricing

Miro offers a free trial. The premium plan starts at $8 per member/month, billed annually or $10 monthly.

Customer Review

Here’s a screenshot of a G2 review. However, if you want to read more reviews, click here

Viima Alternative #5: Idea Drop

Idea Drop is an idea management platform for medium-sized businesses and large enterprises. Idea Drop empowers businesses to crowdsource ideas, allowing their employees to provide comments and feedback on innovative suggestions.

Source: Idea Drop

Key Benefits of Using Idea Drop

Idea Drop offers a comprehensive end-to-end process for idea management. Idea Drop’s intuitive social features make sharing and collaborating with ideas fun, allowing businesses to solve problems faster with fresh insights and perspectives.

  • Includes an automatic real-time scoring feature that ranks the most promising ideas based on their potential.
  • Provides filtering tools that allow in-depth examination of ideas data, analytics, and key performance indicators (KPIs). The tool also offers extensive reporting options, with the convenience of exporting data to .csv format for further analysis.
  • Helps you with an exceptional onboarding process and remarkable customer support. Many customers say the platform is user-friendly and has received excellent pre and post-launch support.
  • Enables individuals, teams, and groups to share business ideas and feedback while automatically applying real-time scoring to prioritize the most promising ideas.

Pricing

Idea Drop has three pricing packages – Starter, Professional and Enterprise. However, they did not display their pricing publicly. You may contact them here to know more.

Customer Review

Here’s a screenshot of a G2 review. However, if you want to read more reviews, click here

Check this video where the founder of Triangle IP shares how IP management software can impact your innovation process

The TIP ToolTM – A Promising Viima Alternative

Your motivations for exploring alternatives to Viima will be dictated by your enterprise’s distinct needs. In our thorough review, we’ve strived to accommodate diverse requirements by considering a range of product offerings. We hope you find this information beneficial.

We’ve built the TIP ToolTM intending to democratize the patent creation process. Hence it allows you to:

  • Boost invention disclosures with its straightforward idea-capture form.
  • Stay on top of ideas and patent pipelines.
  • Get a glimpse of the patent portfolio in one click.
  • Facilitate real-time idea brainstorming akin to Google Docs collaboration.
  • Offer role-based dashboards for controlled access to IP information and ideas.
  • Make informed IP decisions.
  • Make the most of the tool through the helpdesk.
  • Enjoy flexible pricing.

Level up your patent mining process with the TIP ToolTM today by registering on the tool right away.

Disclaimer: The information in this article/review is sourced from the internet and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. We recommend visiting the respective software websites for the most current and reliable information. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and may not reflect the views of Triangle IP. We are not liable for any consequences that may arise from relying on the information provided in this article/review.

5 Best Free Idea Sharing Platforms to Try in 2023

Free Idea Sharing Platforms

The Internet is full of stories of innovation where breakthrough ideas came from non-R&D departments. An idea sharing platform that’s capable of capturing innovation enterprise is essential to capitalize on such a potential.

For instance, Bayer’s WeSolve platform (an internal idea forum) encourages its employees to generate new ideas and solve specific technical or business issues.

Similarly, PwC encourages innovation from front-line employees by creating a culture of continuous improvement, empowering them to identify areas for improvement and implement their ideas using digital kaizen.

However, driving new ideas from employees is challenging and time-consuming – because the process of ideation to obtaining a patent is fraught with several hurdles.

This calls for an idea sharing platform that offers the following features:

  • A short inventor-friendly idea capture form to minimize friction in idea submission
  • Idea tracking throughout different phases of the patent lifecycle to keep the employees engaged
  • Real-time collaboration with subject matter experts to refine ideas and to choose only the most promising ones for patenting
  • Informative dashboards to monitor innovators’ KPIs
  • One-click view of the complete patent portfolio

In this post, we run through the key benefits of using the TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP for startups, individual inventors, and small-to-medium-sized enterprises, then discuss some alternative idea sharing platforms. 

You can register for free to see exactly what you can do with Triangle IP.

5 Best Online Idea Sharing Platforms to Try in 2023

Most idea sharing platforms, such as Asana or Trello, are too generic or need too much information, which busy inventors skip or struggle to answer.

So in this post, we’ll list the five best free idea sharing platforms that help you to crowdsource ideas from employees more effectively, starting with the TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP.

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP

Triangle IP - Free Idea Sharing Platform

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP offers a user-friendly solution for managing the entire IP lifecycle, from ideas to patents. The tool enables anyone in the enterprise to submit and track innovative ideas easily.

Key Benefits Offered by the TIP ToolTM:

#1 – Capture Enterprise-Wide Innovation

The TIP ToolTM allows anyone within the organization to submit and monitor the progress of their creative ideas, streamlining the patent process with cutting-edge deep learning technology.

The TIP ToolTM allows for enterprise-wide participation in innovation management while safeguarding the confidentiality of IP-related data. So patentable ideas can now be shared without the risk of them being unintentionally disclosed to the public domain.

#2 – Maximize Participation From Employees 

In most cases, inventors do not fill out an Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) because of its complexity. This discourages the inventors from completing the task.

The TIP ToolTM was built to provide a simple, short, and intuitive idea capture form, focusing on minimizing the effort required. 

The inventor-friendly form helps capture the idea summary, inventor and manager details, and more. And as ideas progress, innovators can expand upon their initial submission by attaching relevant documents or slide decks. The form can be updated by multiple people on a real-time basis and the participants can also add their review and comments in the idea summary section.

Additionally, the form is highly customizable to your specific needs, including adding, editing, deleting, or hiding fields. 

The tool enables users to access stage-specific fields, such as excluding prosecutor information during innovation capture.

The TIP ToolTM offers a downloadable Word or Excel idea capture form for offline use. And the best part about it is that once the form is filled out it can be easily read back into the tool for seamless integration.

#3 – Tag to Groups Ideas Around a Product, Technology, or Any Other Campaign

The TIP ToolTM enables seamless engagement with innovators through tags and comments. Ideas can be organized using tags based on different criteria, such as technology domain, product, teams, or internal terminologies, to make them easily searchable within the tool. 

Tags also help to filter ideas and patents according to specific technology, product, or business function. 

The TIP ToolTM allows users to filter terms specified by the user or automatically generated for each matter, using tags such as inventor, manager, docket number, serial number, examiner, prosecutor, firm, and others. The TIP ToolTM tags provide a way to classify and search for invention disclosures. 

Furthermore, the TIP ToolTM also enables tagging patent applications, which links them to specific products or features. 

#4 – Utilize the Drag-And-Drop Interface

The TIP ToolTM simplifies idea management throughout the IP lifecycle, including idea capture, internal vetting, patent drafting, and patent filing stages. The tool allows the users to move the idea through these stages, ensuring that stakeholders are informed of any updates or changes instantly. 

The TIP ToolTM is designed for innovation managers without IP backgrounds – which streamlines the patent mining process, making innovation management more accessible and less complicated. Thus users are in full control of their entire innovation management process.

The simplicity of the TIP ToolTM encourages inventors to keep their innovation funnel full while rewarding employees for participating in the patent process – because encouragement to share ideas is fundamental to any patent program.

#5 – Collaborate in Real-Time for Thorough Idea Vetting

The TIP ToolTM allows subject matter experts to collaborate and communicate in real time, just as they would in face-to-face interactions. 

The tool enables them to work together seamlessly, allowing users to add comments and edits and use color-coded changes and group editing features that enhance efficiency.

By providing your team with the appropriate collaboration tools, you can promote a thorough vetting of ideas, leading to the selection of the most promising ones for patenting.

The TIP ToolTM keeps track of modifications made to a disclosed invention through version history, allowing for easy visualization of the change path and the ability to roll back specific changes.

#6 – Monitor Ideas, Inventor Progress, and Bottlenecks via an Informative Dashboard

The TIP ToolTM‘s dashboard provides an overview of inventors’ idea pipeline, filed USPTO applications, and existing patents. The tool provides charts and insights that facilitate rapid evaluation of portfolio status and comparison with others in the organization.

The TIP ToolTM also allows innovation managers to get a glimpse of the overall list of ideas submitted and patents filed by their team on a single platform, including which innovator has submitted the most ideas or filed the most patents. 

The TIP ToolTM can help identify roadblocks, such as ideas staying in the ideation and vetting stages longer than expected. 

The tool’s role-specific dashboards provide relevant status information for each user, enabling inventors and managers to monitor their IP activity and stay aligned with their KPIs. 

Pricing

The TIP ToolTM provides a free tier (forever, up to 10 users). Its premium tier costs $50 per month and $495 per year. The TIP ToolTM has a custom tier as well. To learn more, visit its pricing page.

Customer review

The TIP ToolTM has secured a 4.5 rating in G2. Here’s a review from their database.

Click here to read the full review.

ClickUp

ClickUp, an all-in-one productivity platform, is specially designed to help teams across various industries collaborate, manage, gather ideas, monitor project updates, and work together seamlessly, using tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards, and more.

Key Benefits Offered by ClickUp:

#1 – Customize Project Statuses Easily

ClickUp provides its users with the flexibility to create customized project statuses that are unique to each project. These statuses can be easily edited, reordered, and color-coded based on the organization’s needs.

#2 – Visualize Task Dependencies

ClickUp mind maps offer an intuitive and visual way to map out task dependencies and workflows for new ideas.

#3 – Draw, Collaborate, and Manage With Clickup’s Whiteboard

ClickUp’s whiteboard software helps you effectively manage ideas with your team by drawing, collaborating, and connecting ideas directly to your workflow, offering dynamic templates and features such as slash commands, converting shapes into tasks, and real-time editing.

Pros

ClickUp empowers teams to track tasks, brainstorm ideas, create documentation, and content calendars, plan and share tasks and documents with clients, and more.

Pricing: Free to use (best for personal use). Premium price starts at $5 per user/month.

Customer Review 

Here’s a screenshot of a G2 review, and to explore more reviews, click here.

BrightIdea

Brightidea is a cloud-based innovation management software that provides organizations with a suite of products to foster the development and implementation of new ideas.

Key Benefits Offered by BrightIdea:

#1 – Engage, Launch, and Track Innovation 

Brightidea enables users to engage with employees, launch crowdsourced innovation plans, and track their performance from start to finish.

#2 – Manage Initiatives With Drag-And-Drop

Brightidea helps to manage multiple initiatives through tailored drag-and-drop idea pipelines effectively.

#3 – Streamline Idea Evaluation

Brightidea empowers subject matter experts to evaluate submitted ideas through its built-in scoring system efficiently.

Pros

Brightidea provides innovation consultants who offer advice on maximizing the potential of their platform.

Pricing

Brightidea requires you to submit the contact us form to know the pricing details.

Customer Review

Here’s a screenshot of a G2 review, and to explore more reviews, click here.

QMarkets

Qmarkets is an idea management software that fosters a culture of collaboration to gather, manage, and execute impactful ideas that bring continuous value to your organization. 

Key Benefits Offered by QMarkets:

#1 – Accelerate Idea Production 

Qmarkets offers a range of products such as Q-360, Q-ideate, Q-optimize, Q-scout, and Q-trend designed to target ideas at different stages of production, starting from the initial concept to implementation.

#2 – Transform Innovation Process

The Qmarkets platform, powered by AI technology, enables you to effortlessly establish and oversee intelligent crowdsourcing processes – helping you evaluate, and execute the most relevant ideas, trends, or insights, resulting in immediate ROI for your organization.

#3 – Gamify Your Idea Generation Process

Qmarkets use gamification techniques that involve crowdsourcing, such as market research, token polling, and mind maps, to engage users in the idea-generation process.

Pros

The Qmarkets team is very supportive, with extensive training during the onboarding process, and they’ll teach you how to customize the platform through an online video chat.

Pricing

Qmarkets requires you to submit the contact us form to know the pricing details.

Customer Review

Here’s a screenshot of a G2 review, and to explore more reviews, click here.

Planview Spigit

Planview Spigit is an online idea management platform that streamlines the crowdsourcing process, allowing you to focus on identifying and developing the most promising ideas. 

Key Benefits Offered by Planview Spigit

#1 – Visualize Potential Outcomes 

Planview Spigit’s dashboard lets businesses forecast possible results, expenses, and the worth of crowdsourced ideas.

#2 – Prioritize Scalable Ideas 

Planview Spigit’s built-in algorithms prioritize ideas with the most potential and scalability above those submitted first or most popular in idea selection.

#3 – Gamify Innovation Management

Planview Spigit can engage participants by utilizing game mechanics, virtual currency, idea trading, and customizable incentives.

Pros

Some users say it is relatively easy to customize a template for idea input in Planview Spigit to tailor it to their organization’s needs.

Pricing

Pricing is unavailable-contact Planview Spigit (now IdeaPlace) for more details.

Customer Review

Here’s a screenshot of a G2 review, and to explore more reviews, click here

Finding the Right Free Idea Sharing Platform For Your Business

Your reasons for considering a free idea-sharing platform will vary based on your enterprise’s specific needs. Nevertheless, cultivating a culture that promotes the exchange of innovative ideas among your employees is crucial for fostering innovation. 

We’ve built the TIP ToolTM – that incorporates the following five core functional elements for crowdsourcing employee ideas within your enterprise:

  • Maximize the generation of invention disclosures by leveraging the straightforward idea capture form provided by the TIP ToolTM.
  • Track the progress of idea submission – including approval or drafting and filing by counsel, by gaining visibility into different stages.
  • Encourage real-time idea brainstorming with domain experts, akin to Google Docs collaboration, to identify the most promising ideas for patenting.
  • Provide role-based dashboards, granting restricted access to intellectual property information and ideas.
  • Gain a comprehensive overview of your ideas and patent pipelines to identify and resolve bottlenecks, accelerating the patent mining process.
  • Provide personalized and limited access to ideas and patent-related information with role-based dashboards.
  • Keep yourself informed about the current status of patents and applications with the USPTO.
  • Customize your patent prosecution approach by utilizing the TIP Tool’s analytics, which are designed for examiners, patent counsel, and art units.

The TIP ToolTM offers many more capabilities to mine patents and stays on top of the patent portfolio. To explore further, register on the tool now.

Disclaimer: The information in this article/review is sourced from the internet and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. We recommend visiting the respective software websites for the most current and reliable information. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and may not reflect the views of Triangle IP. We are not liable for any consequences that may arise from relying on the information provided in this article/review.

6 Idea Management Tools for Innovation Driven Enterprises to Look at in 2023

Idea Management Tools

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs

While collaborating to bring innovative solutions to pressing business problems, have you ever wondered how companies at the bleeding edge of innovation approach such high-impact decisions?

I recently came across Nestlé’s InGenius. It is the company’s “Employee Innovation Accelerator.” But, here is the kicker, Nestlé paved the way to incentivize its nearly 300,000 employees working in almost 200 nations globally to help the company bring innovative solutions to the market.

This accelerator has delivered on its promise, and how! It has allowed Nestlé to fast-track innovation and provide game-changing solutions to the market in months. In addition, the company has sought to fortify its competitive advantage in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Virtual Reality, saving natural resources and increasing the incomes of its farmer partners.

6 Idea Management Tools

Just so you know, managing your intellectual property assets on an excel spreadsheet is a bad idea. So before we proceed, ensure that you heed this word of caution and avoid running a broken idea management process.

With that covered, let’s learn about the idea management tools an innovation-driven enterprise like yours can utilize.

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP 

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP is an intuitive drag-and-drop tool that helps you manage the end-to-end IP lifecycle from ideas to patents. With the TIP ToolTM, anyone in the enterprise can submit and track the progress of their innovative ideas.

Key Benefits Offered by the TIP ToolTM for Idea Management

#1- Enable Enterprise-Wide Participation

The TIP ToolTM allows role-based access to users. Enterprises using the tool can enable employee participation across the enterprise without worrying about the confidentiality of certain IP-related information. For example, did you know that PepsiCo’s low-sodium snack idea came from someone who didn’t belong to the R&D team?

#2 – Capture More Innovation by Minimizing Friction from Innovators for Idea Submission

The TIP ToolTM offers a short, simple, easy-to-fill idea capture form that innovators can fill to describe their ideas or inventions. Moreover, the TIP ToolTM offers a magic link-based login that relieves innovators from remembering one more password. There might be a situation wherein you need to decide between unfiled ideas and low-priority ideas. Users can utilize TIP ToolTM’s archive feature to focus on important ideas.

#3 – Gather Specific Information from Innovators with Customizable Idea Form

The TIP ToolTM offers a customizable idea capture form. The innovation managers can add/edit or delete fields of the form. Sometimes, there arises a possibility that an enterprise requires specific information for which there is no field in the default idea capture form. The TIP ToolTM covers this scenario as well. The TIP ToolTM makes it possible to incorporate a company’s internal nomenclature so that no additional training is required for staff.

#4 – Filter Ideas Based on Tags for Any Discussion

TIP ToolTM understands the importance of having an organized system. Therefore, it allows users to tag, group, and filter ideas. For example, for a particular business meeting, you may wish to select ideas that belong to a specific line of product, technology, or some other category. The TIP ToolTM makes it extremely easy to add tags to ideas and, consequently, filter ideas based on such tags later.

#5 – Select the Most Promising Ideas for Patenting by Enabling Thorough Vetting of Ideas

The TIP ToolTM makes it easy for inventors, managers, patent counsel, or other stakeholders working from remote locations to brainstorm ideas in real time. The TIP ToolTM achieves this by allowing users to edit idea information and add comments. In addition, the TIP ToolTM records every change made to idea-related information. Moreover, all your ideas can be scored on different parameters within the TIP ToolTM. You can utilize these scores to prioritize and rank the patentability of each idea.

#6 – Track Ideas As They Progress Through All the Stages of the IP Lifecycle

The TIP ToolTM offers a drag-and-drop interface to move ideas from one stage to another. It provides four stages to track ideas as they progress – Idea Capture, Internal Vetting, Patent Drafting, and Patent Filing.

#7 – Get USPTO Status Updates for Your Patents and Patent Applications Without the Help of a Patent Counsel

The TIP ToolTM helps you stay in sync with the USPTO by automatically fetching updates on your patents and patent applications and displaying them within the tool. In addition, you can receive notifications on any PTO rejections your idea received and promptly address each idea’s probable roadblocks within the TIP ToolTM.

#8 – Track KPIs of Innovators at Your Enterprise

The TIP ToolTM offers a super simple dashboard to see innovation-related metrics for your R&D teams quickly. For example, you can see the number of ideas submitted and the patentability of those ideas by all your innovators. In addition, you can identify the most promising innovators as well.

#9 – Get A Quick Glimpse of Your Idea Pipeline in One Click

The TIP ToolTM also offers role-specific dashboards. As a result, innovation managers can get a holistic view of the idea pipeline in seconds. Consequently, the TIP ToolTM helps you manage the workflow from idea collection to portfolio management.

Demo

Sign up for an interactive product demo of the TIP ToolTM and experience its features yourself! The TIP ToolTM offers a demo playground with pre-populated data to easily explore the tool’s functionalities.

Pricing

The TIP ToolTM provides a free tier (forever). Its premium tier costs $50 per month and $495 per year. The TIP ToolTM has a custom tier as well. Visit its pricing page.

Review

Client Interaction

We mentioned the TIP ToolTM’s features of staying in sync with the USPTO and understanding an idea’s movement along the IP lifecycle with a glance.

Triangle IP’s founder, Tom Franklin, regularly speaks to prospects and clients to gather insights on benefiting from using the TIP ToolTM.

Here’s what a prospect had to say about these features.

Their Usual Process

“At our company, we track IP progress during each quarter in the following manner:

  1. First, how many inventions are getting started?
  2. Second, how many of these inventions are getting completed (meaning that they have been sent to the Intellectual Property Committee to make a decision)?
  3. Next, how many Intellectual Property Committee decisions are being made in a quarter?
  4. In the final stage, we also consider it a success if we establish trade secrets. However, make no mistake, filing a patent would be the best success.

Understandably, we consider how many filings we have completed in the quarter. So that is our specific focus on the metrics.”

How the TIP ToolTM Helps

“I used to get emails from my boss asking, “Show me how many of these things happened this quarter.” I would previously have to generate this data manually.”

Having this information summarised in your tool is extremely handy for me.

Website

Visit Triangle IP’s website to explore the TIP ToolTM.

Brightidea Idea Box

Brightidea’s advanced software attempts to accelerate the success of innovation by facilitating and streamlining the ideation process and collaboration.

Key Benefits Offered by Brightidea Idea Box for Idea Management

#1 – Collect Ideas Using A Frictionless Platform

Brightidea’s Idea Box offers an always-on digital suggestion box for collecting ideas. This accessibility empowers the workforce to submit ideas whenever and wherever is convenient.

#2 – Scale Your Innovation Platform

If your business requires help managing and automating an increased volume of idea submissions, Idea Box can upgrade the system at no extra cost for additional modules and services.

#3 – Receive Robust Idea Analytics

To make informed idea decisions, Idea Box can track every idea’s RoI and business impact from within the tool.

Demo

You can request a demo here.

Pricing

Brightidea allows a free trial to try the product. Unfortunately, extensive pricing information is unavailable.

Review

You can explore Brightidea’s reviews on G2.

Website

Visit Brightidea’s Idea Box website to explore the product.

Ideanote

Ideanote is a next-generation innovation software that offers what users need to collect, develop, prioritize and act on more of the right ideas.

Key Benefits Offered by Ideanote for Idea Management

#1 – Collect Highly Contextual Ideas

Ideanote allows users to achieve quantity and quality while sharing ideas. For example, if users want to add images, presentation decks, or videos to give people context, Ideanote makes it possible.

#2 – Facilitate Enterprise-Wide Innovation

Ideanote allows outsiders to contribute to the internal innovation process through guest accounts. Moreover, the tool promotes community building by letting people describe their expertise.

#3 – Customize Access to Innovation Process

Ideanote allows users to organize people in groups and assign them access depending on their roles in innovation management. Therefore, a section of users can contribute ideas, while experts can manage tasks surrounding the vetting of ideas.

Demo

You can request a demo here.

Pricing

Ideanote’s free tier (limited to 10 members) is free. The business tier (for 15 to 2500 members) offers dynamic pricing, ranging from $49/month to $1249/month. The enterprise tier (unlimited members) requires booking a demo. Visit its pricing page.

Review

You can explore Ideanote’s reviews on G2.

Website

Visit Ideanote’s website to explore the product.

IdeaScale

IdeaScale is an innovation management solution that links enterprises to people with ideas. It is an intuitive space where the best ideas thrive based on merit. IdeaScale lends relevance to the most important challenges.

Key Benefits Offered by IdeaScale for Idea Management

#1 – Collect Ideas Using Intuitive Form

IdeaScale offers a simple and customizable idea submission form to add relevant details.

#2 – Integrate Social Sharing APIs

To add new ideas to your enterprise’s IdeaScale community, users can utilize in-built APIs to platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Slack, and MS Teams.

#3 – Receive Innovation Trend Analysis and RoI

IdeaScale offers enterprise-wide innovation dashboards allowing users to gain insights into an enterprise’s innovation inputs and outputs. You can learn more about ideas’ origin, implementation, and relative value.

Demo

You can request a demo here.

Pricing

IdeaScale crafts its pricing proposal based on the program’s chosen features, scope, and more. IdeaScale requires booking a demo for this process.

Review

You can explore IdeaScale’s reviews on G2.

Website

Visit IdeaScale’s website to explore the product.

Viima

Viima is an all-in-one innovation platform that helps take ideas to innovations, helping along every step. Viima makes the journey effortless so that users can focus on making more innovation happen.

Key Benefits Offered by Viima for Idea Management

#1 – Effortlessly Process Idea Collection

Viima allows the categorization of new ideas in the right places. Moreover, it automatically ensures that the right people receive notifications about new ideas.

#2 – Promote Responsible Enterprise-Wide Engagement

In addition to mentioning specific users during idea vetting, Viima offers the feature of allocating an idea’s responsibility to particular users.

#3 – Prioritize Flexible Idea Evaluation

Viima offers a flexible evaluation system allowing users to create custom metrics to rate ideas.

Demo

You can request a demo here.

Pricing

Viima’s basic tier is available for free. The premium tier starts at  $6/user/month. The unlimited tier starts at $1999/month. Visit its pricing page.

Review

You can explore Viima’s reviews on G2.

Website

Visit Viima’s website to explore the product.

Idea Drop

Idea Drop allows leading global enterprises to put innovation at the heart of their enterprises. It packs powerful automation and intuitive intelligence to supercharge innovation programs and collaborate on strategic goals.

Key Benefits Offered by Idea Drop for Idea Management

#1 – Promote Safe Idea Collection Form

All users are not comfortable with publicly sharing their ideas. Idea Drop allows users to hit a ‘cloak’ button when dropping an idea to hide their identity.

#2 – Informs Collaborators of Idea Changes

Idea Drop alerts users in real-time about status changes to ideas and other significant interactions between users.

#3 – Avoid Duplicate Idea Generation

Idea Drop’s pattern recognition technology flags similar ideas to avoid collaborating on similar alternatives to existing ideas.

Demo

You can request a demo here.

Pricing

Extensive pricing is unavailable—contact Idea Drop for more details.

Review

You can explore Idea Drop’s reviews on G2.

Website

Visit Idea Drop’s website to explore the product.

Quick Wrap Up

There are several competing idea management tools available for innovation-driven enterprises. But the “best” idea management software is the one that matches the size and the nuanced needs of your enterprise.

If you are a small-to-medium enterprise, you will significantly benefit from using the TIP ToolTM.

About Us

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP is an intuitive drag-and-drop tool that helps you manage the end-to-end IP lifecycle from ideas to patents. The tool underwent creation with the vision of democratization of patents. Usually, the patent process is not transparent, and many enterprises do not have enterprise-wide innovation capture systems and processes. The TIP ToolTM is here to change that. With the TIP ToolTM, anyone in the enterprise can submit and track the progress of their innovative ideas. The TIP ToolTM also helps you manage your patent portfolios with deep learning to guide your patent strategy efficiently.

Disclaimer: The information in this article/review is sourced from the internet and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. We recommend visiting the respective software websites for the most current and reliable information. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and may not reflect the views of Triangle IP. We are not liable for any consequences that may arise from relying on the information provided in this article/review.

3 ideaPoint Anaqua Competitors to Try in 2023

Ideapoint Anaqua Alternatives

A good patent management software must:

  • Minimize friction from innovators in submitting ideas for patenting
  • Allow inventors, technical reviewers, managers, and patent counsel to edit invention details simultaneously
  • Tell you the likelihood of getting a patent 
  • Stay in sync with the USPTO
  • Give you end-to-end cost estimations for patenting
  • Provide informative dashboards to track IP-related metrics

and more.

ideaPoint by Anaqua is a good choice for patent management software if you are a Fortune 500 company.

However, if you are looking for ideaPoint (by Anaqua) alternatives to try in 2022, we highly recommend exploring the TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP.

Top 3 Anaqua’s ideaPoint Competitors to Try in 2022

We’re here to assist you in exploring and selecting the most appropriate patent management software solution for your enterprise. Here are your top three choices:

#1 – Triangle IP’s TIP ToolTM

#2 – IPFolio

#3 – Decipher

Presented below are benefits, key differentiators, and other parameters about these three ideaPoint (by Anaqua) competitors to ease your selection.

#1 – Triangle IP’s TIP ToolTM

At its heart, the TIP ToolTM is a patent management tool. However, you don’t need to be an IP expert using the TIP ToolTM. It helps you establish control of your entire innovation management process, from ideas to patents. If you require a tool to capture potentially patentable ideas, track their progress, provide actionable patent data intelligence and manage your pipeline frictionlessly, the TIP ToolTM is ideal.

Key Benefits

Here are the seven key benefits of the TIP ToolTM in this competitive landscape:

  1. Improve the quality of invention disclosures
  2. Gain visibility into different stages of your patent pipeline
  3. Brainstorm ideas with stakeholders on a real-time basis
  4. Make informed patenting decisions with actionable patent data intelligence
  5. Manage IP budget wisely with end-to-end patenting cost estimations
  6. Stay automatically in sync with the USPTO
  7. Get a holistic view of your ideas, patents, and key performance metrics of your innovators
Improve The Quality of Invention Disclosures

An ideal invention disclosure provides a crystal clear understanding of the problem that an idea solves, how it intends to solve it, how the resultant invention will operate, and its feature enhancements versus existing alternatives. 

The inventors can easily share these details through summary sections and attachments while submitting ideas through the TIP ToolTM. The TIP ToolTM minimizes friction in the idea capture process by keeping the idea capture form short, relieving the user of remembering one more password, etc.

The idea capture forms are available for download in Word and Excel. The good part is – filled forms are readable back into the tool. The innovation managers can also customize these idea forms to suit their enterprise’s needs.

TIP Tool’s Idea Capture Form

Moreover, the TIP ToolTM enables thorough vetting by all stakeholders. It allows inventors, technical reviewers, managers, and the patent counsel to brainstorm and edit the information related to captured ideas simultaneously. The tool also gives a patentability score to all the captured ideas based on deep learning patent analytics. Such human and data-backed vetting leads to the selection of only the most promising ideas for patenting.

Also, read – Five Ways to Get Effective Invention Disclosures From Your R&D team.

Gain Visibility Into The Different Stages of Your Patent Pipeline

The TIP ToolTM allows you to watch your patentable ideas progress through different stages in the IP lifecycle: Idea Capture, Internal Vetting, Patent Drafting, and Filed. You can simply drag and drop ideas from one stage to the next.

Brainstorm Ideas With Stakeholders On A Real-Time Basis

The TIP ToolTM facilitates brainstorming over ideas like no other tool out there in the market by

  • Allowing collaborators to edit the idea summaries simultaneously
  • Keeping track of every change made to the idea summary and the person who edited the summary
  • Letting collaborators add comments and tag other collaborators in comments
  • Decreasing the response time from collaborators by notifying them of the status updates of an idea instantly
  • Allowing to add attachments in multiple formats like PDF, image, video, etc.
Make Informed Patenting Decisions With Case Analytics, Patent Counsel, and Examiner Statistics

A patent prosecution decision weighs a lot of factors, including the likelihood of getting a patent, patenting costs, estimated time to allowance, and more. The TIP tool gives a patentability score to each idea by taking into account examiner statistics, patent counsel statistics, average allowance data for the given art unit, etc. 

Manage Patent Budget Wisely With End-to-End Cost Predictions

The TIP ToolTM will inform you how much a patent will cost you over the years, including the drafting fee, filing fee, attorney fee, maintenance fee, etc. for provisional as well as non-provisional patent applications.

Stay In-Sync With USPTO

The TIP ToolTM keeps you notified about the status updates from the USPTO for published and unpublished patent applications.

Get A Holistic View of Your Ideas, Patents, Key Performance Metrics of Your Innovators

The TIP ToolTM allows you to stay on top of innovation efforts at your enterprise with the aid of intuitive dashboards.

  • You can immediately learn about the IP creation efforts of your team. Find out which ideas are in the ideation, drafting, and filing stages.
  • Ideas facing bottlenecks? Don’t worry. The TIP ToolTM notifies if an idea needs immediate attention if it stays in the ideation and vetting stage longer than expected.
  • To help you identify and reward promising inventors & managers, the TIP ToolTM showcases which innovator has submitted maximum ideas or filed most patents.

Key Features

Access Account Using Magic Link-Based Login

The TIP ToolTM reduces friction for innovators by relieving them of remembering one more password. A simple magic link-based login process allows users to access the tool whenever needed, without any password securely.

Filter Ideas Using Tags

The TIP ToolTM enables users to add tags and later filter submitted ideas based on these tags. The tags can indicate particular product lines, technology, or any other grouping they deem appropriate.

Provide Role-Based Access

Are your inventors and managers aligned with their KPIs? The TIP ToolTM allows users to keep track of their IP activity by providing role-specific dashboards.

View Patent Data as a Family Tree

The TIP ToolTM lets you see the patent continuity data in tabular and visual formats.

Suitable Company Profile

Startups, individual inventors, small-to-medium sized enterprises, and patent practitioners greatly benefit from using the TIP ToolTM.

Pricing

The TIP ToolTM provides a free tier (forever). Its premium tier costs $50 per month and $495 per year. Triangle IP has you covered if you’re looking for a custom tier. Visit its pricing page.

Website

Visit Triangle IP’s website to explore the product.

Demo

The TIP ToolTM offers a demo playground with pre-populated data to easily explore the tool’s functionalities. Sign up for an interactive product demo to experience the TIP ToolTM’s features for yourself!

#2 – IPFolio

Introduction

IPFolio is an end-to-end IP lifecycle management solution. It connects with Clarivate’s market-leading data to make rapid and accurate decisions. Furthermore, this cloud-based solution allows you to manage IP operations from a centralized hub.

Key Features and Benefits

Collaborate Seamlessly With Inventors, Outside Counsel, and Other Stakeholders

IPFolio provides users with a connected ecosystem. In its Intellectual Property Portal, users can collaborate seamlessly with other inventors, outside counsel, and other stakeholders.

Automate Data Verification and Auto-Docketing

Users can work comfortably with access to cleaner, more reliable, and consistent data. IPFolio allows automated data verification and data enrichment along with seamless auto-docketing.

Configure Your Hub Flexibly

Every IP portfolio’s size and needs are unique and dynamic. IPFolio is flexible to configure to maintain centralized access to pertinent data.

Share Custom Reports and Dashboards

To improve analysis and collaboration with critical stakeholders, IPFolio allows the capability to share rich insights using custom reports and dashboards quickly and easily.

Receive Centralized Access to Documents

While organizing ideas, it is a given that you’ll deal with swathes of data. IPFolio allows centralized access to documents like inventions, patents, trademarks, domain names, and copyrights.

Access Industry-Leading Clarivate IP Data

You can rest assured that your IP data exposes you to minimal risks by accessing industry-leading Clarivate IP data.

Obtain Embedded Analytics and Data Visualizations

Analytics on your company’s IP Portfolio are an embedded part of the IPFolio experience. Users can derive insights using insightful data visualizations.

Suitable Company Profile

IPFolio is an appropriate option for corporate IP teams.

Pricing

You can contact the IPFolio team to learn more about pricing and demos.

Website

Visit IPFolio’s website to explore the product.

#3 – Decipher

Introduction

If your enterprise is looking to achieve its innovation potential, Decipher helps to streamline collaboration, increase innovation output, and improve overall invention disclosure quality.

Key Features and Benefits

Improve Idea Disclosure Workflow

Decipher allows users to submit their ideas using a simple workflow quickly. Users can also add designs, prior art, reviewer notes, and more.

Track Real-Time Idea Progress From Inception to Protection

Decipher also allows users to track progress at every point from inception to protection and identify bottlenecks. Additionally, teams can accurately track each change and decision for smarter innovation.

Improve Action Response Time

Decipher users also receive automated alerts for an improved patent office action response time.

Collaborate Seamlessly With Users

Decipher users can collaborate in-person or asynchronously. To comprehensively vet ideas, users can receive thorough input from all reviewers leading to higher quality.

Provide Role-Based Access

Decipher offers control permissions to new ideas while juggling increasing IP visibility across the enterprise.

Measure Performance Against Key Indicators

To measure your employees’ innovation activities, Decipher allows you to set key performance indicators and measure performance against them.

Manage Cost Control

IP management can make your expenses balloon significantly. In addition, Decipher enables users to determine what to patent, publish, or hold as trade secrets.

Suitable Company Profile

Decipher is ideal for companies looking to keep track of intellectual property and legal rights such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

Pricing

You can contact the Innovation Asset Group, Inc. to get started on a free trial.

Website

Visit Decipher’s Invention Disclosure Management website to explore the product.

Idea Management Software Comparison Matrix

ParameterThe TIP ToolTMIPFolioDecipherAnaqua’s ideaPoint
Idea Capture FormInventor-friendly customizable invention disclosure form (IDF)Centralized hub to add multiple documents in addition to idea disclosureSimple workflow to add designs, prior art, reviewer notes, and moreSimple, intuitive user interface to submit ideas
Real-Time CollaborationUsers can collaborate and edit ideas simultaneously. The TIP ToolTM maintains a live record of changes madeIPFolio allows users to collaborate seamlessly with other inventors, outside counsel, and other stakeholdersDecipher enables users to collaborate in-person or virtually and receive thorough reviews on ideasSubmitters can stay informed of changes to ideas. They can evaluate and provide feedback to other ideas virtually
DemoUse demo playground to explore the toolRequest a demoRequest a demoContact
Suitable Company ProfileMedium-sized enterprises that file 15+ patents annuallyCorporate IP teamsCompanies looking to keep track of intellectual property and legal rightsFortune 500 companies
PricingFree tier; Premium tier costs $50 per month and $495 per year; Custom tierContactContactContact

A Quick Wrap Up

In this piece we have provided in-depth information that helps you select an alternative for Anaqua’s ideaPoint.

Whether your business is a startup, a Fortune 500 enterprise, a corporate IP team, or whether you’re an individual inventor or patent practitioner, there is a suitable tool out there.

If you are a medium-sized enterprise, look for the following features:

  • Access to an intuitive and customizable invention disclosure form
  • Collaborate with stakeholders asynchronously and maintain live access to changes made to ideas
  • Visualize the idea-to-protection track and IP activity at your enterprise using dashboards
  • Obtain critical information around patenting estimating costs, and mission-critical patent analytics

About Us

The TIP ToolTM by Triangle IP is an intuitive drag-and-drop tool that helps you manage the end-to-end IP lifecycle from ideas to patents. The tool underwent creation with the vision of democratization of patents. Usually, the patent process is not transparent, and many enterprises do not have enterprise-wide innovation capture systems and processes. The TIP ToolTM is here to change that. With the TIP ToolTM, anyone in the enterprise can submit and track the progress of their innovative ideas. The TIP ToolTM also helps you manage your patent portfolios with deep learning to guide your patent strategy efficiently.

Disclaimer: The information in this article/review is sourced from the internet and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. We recommend visiting the respective software websites for the most current and reliable information. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and may not reflect the views of Triangle IP. We are not liable for any consequences that may arise from relying on the information provided in this article/review.

Invention Disclosure Form Word/Excel Template [Downloadable]

‘It’s not about ideas, it’s about making ideas happen’ – Scott Belsky

Getting invention disclosures to capture your innovation is the first step of the patent mining process. To ensure you receive enough disclosures, you need an intuitive disclosure system. One that inventors, R&D staff, and other stakeholders engage with effortlessly.

After talking to 100s of inventors, we found out that long and complex forms intimidate inventors and discourage them from completing the task. Hence, TriangleIP (TIP) has created a patent management software with an inventor-friendly invention disclosure form (IDF).

You can download the forms in both Microsoft Word and Excel format by simply filling up this form:

Quick Update: The inventors can upload this offline form back into the TIP Tool to have all their ideas in one place.

Putting the right foot forward for the patent program requires a simple and engaging IDF. We need to ensure that inventors capture innovation as part of their job to help us commercialize that inventive idea. TIP’s Invention Disclosure Form is driven by empathy towards inventors by being simple, engaging, and intuitive. 

Invention Disclosure Form Sample:

Here is an invention disclosure form sample. The first half of the invention disclosure sample, including the summary, can be filled by the inventor. The next half captures feedback from the manager and IP counsel on the invention.

Invention Disclosure Sample
Triangle IP – Invention Disclosure Sample

The invention disclosure form provided at ‘TIP – Innovation Management Software’ requires the following information:

Idea Number:

Idea number is a unique tracking identifier for each idea submitted in the portfolio. The purpose is to ensure that ideas have their unique code or identifier.  This number may be determined by other software systems or the docketing system.

Title:

The purpose of the title is to briefly describe the invention. Example – “Improved System for detecting the position of other vehicles on the road”. It should be apparent what the ‘invention’ is all about from the title alone.

Inventor Email:

This field captures the contact information of all associated inventors to facilitate further communication.  The inventor need not be a current user of the TIP tool.  Adding their email address will give them access to the idea.

Manager Email:

This field captures the manager’s email address responsible for reviewing the inventor’s idea, approving the budget, or progressing the idea to a patent application. Every enterprise has its structure. The inventors have busy schedules, and patent protection might not be their priority. To ensure that the potential inventions receive patent protection, the managers need to push them forward. Any user of the TIP tool can be given manager rights by another manager or administrator.

Summary:

The summary field briefly describes the idea to help the manager or prosecutor understand the invention. The summary can include:

  • The problem that prompted the idea or invention
  • The technical solution to the problem that is the invention
  • How the invention will be implemented (if figured out)
  • The enhanced or novel features that don’t appear in competing products
  • The advantages of their invention over prior solutions. 

Additionally, The Triangle IP allows attaching documents such as patent drafts, detailed working, and invention drawings.

Prosecutor Email:

This field captures the patent prosecutor’s email address responsible for drafting the application.

Value:

This field helps managers, and IP counsels rate the idea between 1 and 10, with 10 being the highest. It is a subjective value to the enterprise of a patent on a particular idea. The enterprise can assess the value of the invention based on its: 

  • Usefulness
  • Feasibility
  • Commercialization potential 
  • Alignment with enterprise’s business and policies

Tags:

The tags are to provide the searchable keywords for the idea. These tags help to filter and organize your portfolio. Quickly search for a particular technology or business vertical that was previously tagged.

Patentable:

This field reflects on the likelihood of the idea being issued a patent, between 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. The IP counsel assesses the idea’s patentability based on novelty and non-obviousness with respect to the prior art and the patent office’s receptiveness to this type of technology.

Filing Deadline:

This includes any filing goal that might be driven by publication, release, or offers for sale. In the case of commercially viable ideas, the enterprise can set its goals for the invention’s production, launch, and sale.

Let’s Sum it Up:

Presented above is a simple, engaging & inventor-friendly invention disclosure sample. It has all the necessary details for invention disclosures you must seek.

However, if your enterprise requires more fields in the IDF, the TIP innovation management software will soon offer customization. Your admin will be able to add custom fields to our simple innovation form to cater to their enterprises’ specific requirements.

Exciting Features Of TIP Tool –

  • Simple capture with no intimidating fields
  • The offline IDF will soon be readable back into the TIP tool
  • Online collaboration and workflow with role-based control and security
  • Allows for attaching additional documents to explain the idea or invention
  • Links ideas and attachments to patent filings for later reference

Thomas Edison rightly said, “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.

Give  TIP tool a try to capture innovations by your inventors.

Note: The preceding is general business advice and not to be construed as legal advice. IP laws vary by country and retaining licensed legal counsel is advised to confirm this information. Any expressed or implied opinions are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Triangle IP or any other entity who might be associated with the presenter. We hope this content is helpful to you, but should not be relied upon without confirming the advice and accuracy with local legal counsel. Any comments or inquiries are not confidential so please discuss your issues directly with counsel.

Five Best Idea Capture Software to Capture Innovative Ideas in Your Enterprise

5 BEST IDEA CAPTURE SOFTWARE FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

Before we dig in, up for a story? 

Nearly two decades ago, PepsiCo tasked its R&D department with finding a way to reduce sodium in the snack products they make while retaining the salty flavor customers want. As a result, they worked ’round the clock for years with little to show for it. While this was happening, someone in the marketing department who struggled with high blood pressure was trying a new, semi-experimental sodium alternative diet. While R&D was spinning its wheels, this marketing expert was enjoying the very thing innovators were looking for.

Eventually, a chance meeting in a break room delivered the breakthrough the snack researchers sought. They could have saved months of valuable time if their efforts and this real-world use-case could have crossed paths sooner. At the end of the day, this is a success story. The researchers may never have found their solution. Fortunately, they did. But we want to improve our innovation efforts by enhancing communication and collaboration within an enterprise. One way we do this is with the idea capture software that allows participation for everyone across the enterprise.

Sometimes the most innovative ideas come from the most unexpected places. As a result, some idea capture software optimize the chance that great ideas will find their way into new products and services. Here, we will discuss five of the best idea capture software.

Features to Look for in any Idea Capture Software

There are dozens of products in this category, making it difficult to zero down one. However, here are some essential features to look for when selecting an idea capture software.

1. Ease of Use

The best software is easy to use. Working to develop new ideas is difficult enough without the distraction of a sub-optimal graphical user interface (GUI). For instance, users should be able to drag and drop the ideas between different stages of progression. Or the stakeholders should be able to collaborate remotely yet in real-time. Or it should be easy for users to pull up ideas related to a particular technology, product, or campaign.

2. Simplicity of Idea Capture Form

Innovators should be able to submit their ideas in a short time without any friction. The idea capture forms should not have complex fields that innovators do not know how to fill. For instance, fields like prior art references are needed to take the idea forward on the patent track, but innovators might not be aware of what to fill in it. The idea capture form should enable the innovators to submit their notes, mind-map, and other work. 

3. Participation Options

Imagine if the marketing professional from the PepsiCo story had access to the notes of the product research team. The idea is to let anyone across the enterprise submit an innovative idea. However, review permission should stay restricted to managers, or patent filing information should be accessible only to the IP team and associated inventors. So, an idea capture software that offers role-based access shall be excellent.

4. Suitable Company Sizes

An idea capture software should match the size of your enterprise, and it should respond well to scaling. For instance, the number of users using the software is 40, but the software supports only 25, which could be a problem. So either the software should offer to customize the number of users, or you may want to pick another software.

5. Pricing

Software that offers a freemium model, i.e., limited features available for free and premium features available as a part of paid subscription, make a good choice. Free products are great, especially when they allow you to try a product before settling for a premium service. Different software offer different pricing tiers based on access to various features. A clear-cut pricing plan on the software website shall assist you in decision-making.

6. Patent Track or Development Track

Certain software, like the TIP tool, offer tracking ideas through the complete IP lifecycle, hence best suited for the patent track. However, other software like Viima may be better suited for the idea execution track, like taking the technology to market.

Five Best Idea Capture Software to look at in 2022

  1. The TIP Tool by Triangle IP
  2. Ideawake
  3. Viima
  4. IdeaScout
  5. AcceptMission

1. The TIP Tool by Triangle IP

With simplified capture and management for frictionless innovation, Triangle IP’s TIP Tool puts you in control of the entire intellectual property management process, from ideas to patents. 

Ease of Use

The drag and drop design is simple and easy to understand, placing your ideas and notes within a single screen. It is impressive because it offers enterprise-wide usability and collaboration. 

The Simplicity of the Idea Capture Form

The TIP tool’s idea capture form is carefully designed to maximize engagement from innovators. The form asks for important information in a straightforward and up-front manner. You can even download its idea capture form for offline use in Word and Excel formats. The best part is that the filled forms are readable back into the tool. Furthermore, it’s also possible to customize the idea capture form offered by Triangle IP to suit your enterprise’s needs.

Participation Options

Participation is possible enterprise-wide, with no limitations on who you may authorize to interact with the ideas. 

Suitable Company Sizes

The TIP tool is best suited for medium-sized enterprises that file 25-50 patents annually. 

Pricing

Start with the free tier service level to give it a try, and upgrade when you are ready. The software is priced at 50 USD per month or 495 USD per year, which is pretty reasonable, isn’t it?

Patent Track or Execution Track

The TIP tool is designed with the patent track in mind. It helps you track ideas through different stages of the IP lifecycle like: 

1) Idea Capture 

2) Thorough Vetting 

3) Patent Filing and 

4) Patent Portfolio 

The software also offers patent analytics to help you understand how your patent case scores against other applications in the same art unit, with the same patent examiner, handled by the same patent counsel, etc. The cherry on the cake is that you can get end-to-end patenting cost estimations to plan your IP budgets wisely. 

2. Ideawake

Ideawake provides an easy-to-use, highly configurable platform that makes it easy to capture, evaluate, and take action on ideas from employees.

Ease of Use

Ideawake is easy-to-use with simple and intuitive interfaces. In addition, the platform allows enterprises to collect ideas to solve specific challenges.

The Simplicity of the Idea Capture Form

The idea capture form has just two fields – idea title and idea description. The form also facilitates adding attachments. The form is simple but doesn’t offer fields for tags, value, etc.

Participation Options

Any employee can be authorized to access Ideawake with a few limitations.

Suitable Company Sizes

Ideawake caters explicitly to Fortune 500 companies. As a result, it may be a suboptimal fit for smaller enterprises. 

Pricing

There is a free trial but no entirely free version. Basic service is $850 per month.

IdeaWake Plans

Patent Track or Execution Track

Ideawake is best for execution track use as it doesn’t offer patent-specific features like tracking ideas through IP lifecycle or patent analytics for taking IP decisions. 

3. Viima

Viima is one of the market’s most widely used idea capture software. Here is a thorough list of features that Viima offers.

Ease of Use

With its uniquely flexible interface, Viima can be very easy to use. In Viima, you can create different boards; each board represents a challenge to be solved with innovative ideas; it could also be for a hackathon. Moreover, Viima allows you to add specific people to each board from within or outside the enterprise, facilitating open innovation.

The Simplicity of the Idea Capture Form

The idea forms allow users to submit ideas anonymously. The fields in the idea form are title, description, category, tags, the problem it solves, business impact, the effort required, and more. Long forms might act as friction in capturing. 

Participation Options

Viima is open to employees, customers, or other parties interested in collaboration.

Suitable Company Sizes

This software package suits companies of any size with the right subscription service.

Pricing

The free version limits users to 10 participants. Viima’s subscription service costs between $6 and $1999 per month based on different tiers. 

Viima Pricing Plans

Patent Track or Execution Track

Viima is also best suited for the execution track as it doesn’t offer any patent-related tracking or analytics.

4. IdeaScout

IdeaScout (Innography) enables companies to capture ideas,  facilitates easier collaboration between inventors and patent professionals, speeds up innovation, etc. IdeaScout also assists well in the journey of ideas to patents.

Ease of Use

IdeaScout scores decently on ease of use. It allows inventors to submit ideas specific to business/strategic gaps, technologies, and more. Interestingly IdeaScout enables automatic feedback on ideas from an intelligent agent to revise ideas for high-quality invention disclosures.

The Simplicity of the Idea Capture Form

As per this press release, inventors just need to email their ideas in the simple text to initiate the process.

Participation Options

IdeaScout facilitates open innovation with a global network of 18 million inventor profiles. People from within and outside the enterprise can participate in idea capturing, vetting, and more.

Suitable Company Sizes

IdeaScout is best suited for large enterprises.

Pricing

Not available publicly.

Patent Track or Execution Track

Best suited for the patent track.

5. AcceptMission

AcceptMission is an idea and innovation management platform. It facilitates idea capturing, online brainstorming, patent portfolio management, and more.

Ease of Use

Customers praise AcceptMission for its usability, but other platforms get higher marks in ease of use. In addition, some users have complained about glitchy interfaces.

The Simplicity of the Idea Capture Form

The idea capture form offered by Accept Mission is quite simple with limited fields. However, inventors need to submit ideas for specific challenges called missions.

Participation Options

AcceptMission makes cross-organizational participation easy. It’s an excellent software for remotely located teams to collaborate.

Suitable Company Sizes

This software suite is well suited for companies of all sizes, but smaller enterprises are likely to have the best results.

Pricing

There is a free trial and an option to book a 30-minute demo. Four pricing plans are available are: 

  • Free
  • Basic – € 4 per user per month
  • Pro – € 5-6 per user per month
  • Enterprise – custom pricing

Patent Track or Execution Track

AcceptMission supports execution track tasks well across all subscription levels, with some notable limitations in the free and basic plans. For optimal patent tracking support, AcceptMission recommends the Pro or Enterprise packages.

The TIP ToolIdeawakeViimaIdeaScoutAcceptMission
Ease of UseSimple and easy to understandEasy-to-use with simple and intuitive interfaceVery easy to useScores decently but not greatNot easy to use. Expect glitchy interfaces
The Simplicity of the Idea Capture FormMaximizes engagement from innovatorsSimple but doesn’t offer fields for tags, value, etc.Long forms might act as friction in capturing ideasInventors just need to email their ideas in the simple text to initiate the processSimple with limited fields
Participation OptionsEnterprise-wide participation, with no limitations on who you may authorize to interact with the ideasAny employee can be authorized to access Ideawake with a few limitationsOpen to employees, customers, or other parties interested in collaborationFacilitates open innovation with a global network of 18 million inventor profiles. People from within and outside the enterprise can participateCross-organizational participation made easy. It’s an excellent software for remotely located teams to collaborate
Suitable Company SizesBest suited for medium-sized enterprises that file 25-50 patents annuallyCaters explicitly to Fortune 500 companiesSuits companies of any size with the right subscription serviceBest suited for large enterprisesWell suited for companies of all sizes, but smaller enterprises are likely to have the best results
PricingPriced at 50 USD per month or 495 USD per yearFree trial exists but no entirely free version. Basic service is $850 per month.Costs between $6 and $1999 per month based on different tiersNot available publicly› Free› Basic – € 4 per user per month› Pro – € 5-6 per user per month› Enterprise – custom pricing
Patent Track or Execution TrackTrack ideas through different stages of the IP lifecycleBest for execution track use as it doesn’t offer patent-specific features like tracking ideas through IP lifecycleBest suited for the execution track as it doesn’t offer any patent-related tracking or analyticsBest suited for the patent trackSupports execution track tasks well across all subscription levels, with some notable limitations in the free and basic plans

Parting Thoughts

As you can see, there are a lot of great products out there for you to choose one. But the best software is one that matches the size and the specific needs of your enterprise

The TIP Tool from Triangle IP is ideal if you are a medium-sized enterprise keen to systematize your patent process. The TIP tool is best suited for enterprises that file 25-50 patents a year as it provides actionable intelligence through patent analytics and patenting cost estimations. The TIP tool is also quite promising when you want to capture enterprise-wide innovation. We encourage you to explore more about the TIP tool by Triangle IP.

Disclaimer: The information in this article/review is sourced from the internet and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. We recommend visiting the respective software websites for the most current and reliable information. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and may not reflect the views of Triangle IP. We are not liable for any consequences that may arise from relying on the information provided in this article/review.

12 Essential Features of IP Management Software

Pro Tip: Patent analytics is one of the essential features of IP management software to fetch actionable intelligence!

It is no secret that to stay on top of the game, every organization needs to tap into the full potential of its innovators. Innovation management requires a systematic business process to track ideas through patents, which some term as ‘patent mining’. However, your patent mining process might be broken because of things like: 

  • Complex Invention Disclosure Forms (IDFs)
  • Ineffective collaboration among members from different departments like – engineering, business, legal, etc.
  • No set process to track ideas progress through complete IP workflow – Capturing, Vetting, Patent Drafting, Patent Filing, and Patent Portfolio Managing
  • Security risks like confidential data being leaked
  • Stale PAIR data due to dependency on a human resource to pull out the information

To make your patent mining process robust you need to provide the right training and resources to your team. As they say, well begun is half done. Identifying the right IP management software shall be instrumental to your patent mining process. Here are 12 essential features of IP management software:

  1. Intuitive idea submission form
  2. Customizable idea capture form
  3. Effective collaboration to refine the ideas
  4. Ease of thorough vetting
  5. Role-based access
  6. End-to-end tracking from ideas to patents and beyond
  7. Automatic updates – in sync with USPTO
  8. Cost estimation
  9. Tags to ease filtering
  10. Case analytics
  11. Detailed examiner analytics
  12. Dashboards for a holistic view

#1. Intuitive Idea Submission Form

Also known as the Invention Disclosure Form (IDF), an ideal idea submission form is simple, intuitive, and engaging. The IDF captures the necessary details about the invention. It requires the innovator to describe the problem, solution, and enhanced features over existing solutions. A great IDF is the one that inventors don’t feel any friction to fill.

#2. Customizable Idea Capture Form

A good IP management software allows customization of the Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) as per the needs of your organization. The software might be providing a form that has necessary fields that are commonly used by various organizations. However, there could be certain fields, one might wish to add to that existing form. An idea capture form that can be personalized as per an organisation’s internal requirements is something you should look for.  It should be possible to incorporate the company’s internal nomenclature so that no training is required for staff.

For example, The TIP idea form offers a summary field to share details about the invention. However, you might wish to have the invention details divided into sections like – 1. Problem 2. Solution and 3. Advantages. Each expected to be captured by different form fields. The software should provide an option to customize the form as per your needs.

#3. Effective Collaboration to Refine the Ideas

Imagine editing functionality just like “Google docs” – Two or more people can simultaneously edit the same document. Changes made by each person can be tracked. Version history can be maintained.  Having similar functionality in an IP management software can be extremely helpful. Example: When an inventor, an attorney and an associate are discussing an idea, each one can edit the same piece of text within the software with their thoughts and inputs. None of them need to take notes manually and edit the idea text later.

#4. Ease of Thorough Vetting

The software must provide a way for collaborators to exchange ideas over an idea or a patent draft for that matter. Ability to add comments can go a long way to facilitate this.

#5. Role-Based Access

If your organization wants to keep certain strategic patent portfolio data confidential, a key feature to look for in the IP management software is role-based access. The software will allow only that part of the information to be visible to the person accessing the software, which is required as per his/her role. The confidential information will be visible only to the key personnel.  For instance, an organization may require that an inventor should be able to see only the patent portfolios that he is a part of, not the whole company’s.

On a side note: Would you want to know how your patent application is progressing at the USPTO compared to other applications in the same domain? 

The TIP tool offers statistics of the law firm and the examiner handling your case. Once the application is filed at the USPTO, and an examiner is allotted to your case, the tool indicates the relative performance of the law firm handling your case. The statistics revolve around the number of arguments, grant rate, and grant time. The tool also indicates the case health, for instance, it can tell you if a case needs your attention. There is a whole bunch of insights that you can gather from the TIP tool for strategic patent prosecution.

Request insights for any of your cases at the patent office using the form below.

#6. End-to-End Tracking from Ideas to Patents and Beyond

A process-driven IP management software will take your organization a long way. It should ideally facilitate the tracking of the idea from its inception till patenting and beyond. For an IP workflow ideas & patents need to be tracked through the following stages:

  • Capturing of idea
  • Evaluation and vetting of the idea/invention
  • Drafting of patent application
  • Filing of the patent application
  • Managing the patent portfolio

A quick view into the patent portfolio as shown below shall be an added benefit. Taking this to the next level shall be an in-depth view of each case (See #10. Case Analytics).

Triangle IP is going to release an upgraded version soon with all the features mentioned here. Click on the image below to get exclusive access!

#7. Automatic Updates – In Sync with USPTO

Wouldn’t it be easier if the IP management software also provided the updates regarding the status of your applications from the USPTO PAIR? An intellectual property management software can have integrated tools to provide automatic updates to help track the progress of the application. It will also help in notifying about any PTO rejections received. This feature will allow you to have everything in one place instead of tracking various activities throughout the innovation process.

#8. Cost Estimation

Knowing the cost of patenting an invention and the average allowance rate in the domain can ease out your patenting decisions. Patent analytics help in predicting the cost that helps managers and business owners manage the budget accordingly. Look for an intellectual property management software that offers this functionality.

#9. Tags to Ease Filtering

Tagging the ideas/patents with keywords helps to filter out the ideas/patents around a particular technology or product or business function etc. An IP management software must be able to pull this information out for you with the click of a button.

#10. Case Analytics

Say you filed a patent application with the help of a law firm. In your intellectual property  management software dashboard, you see that the application is still pending with 4 office actions after 3 years of prosecution. You would be curious to see the general ‘health’ of your application. To know how other applications have fared in that domain. Also, what would be good to know is the performance of the law firm handling your patent application. If you see that other applications, on average, had one office action and were granted in 2 years; you would be in a better position to discuss and strategize with the patent attorney. This shall help you to find a way to speed up the prosecution. Hence, while looking for an intellectual property management software check if it provides law firm analytics as well.

#11. Detailed Examiner Analytics

Knowing more about the USPTO examiner handling your application helps you understand how you should be handling the prosecution. It helps your patent attorney take the best approach with respect to the assigned examiner. When your IP management software can provide examiner analytics, it will give you pointers to strategize patent prosecution. For instance, examiner analytics can help you understand if prioritizing the examiner  interview can fasten the prosecution process.

#12. Dashboards for a Holistic View

A key feature to look for in an IP management software is dashboards. Dashboards provide a holistic view of your idea pipeline, the filed USPTO applications as well as patents. These dashboards can help you get a pulse of the quality of the ideas submitted, probable roadblocks and your inventor activity. These help you take decisions/make changes accordingly.

Wrap Up – Essential Features of IP Management Software:

A patent mining process is broken in the absence of software that streamlines the journey of ideas to patents. An IP management software allows your organization to capture, evaluate, and further them for patenting and beyond. Hope that this list of essential features of IP management software shall be helpful to you in making an informed decision. Triangle IP is coming up with a version soon – that covers all these features and more! Register here to get early access to all these features for free for a limited time! Stay updated with the latest features of the Triangle IP tool and its subsequent releases. Sign up for the newsletter!

Note: The preceding is general business advice and not to be construed as legal advice. IP laws vary by country and retaining licensed legal counsel is advised to confirm this information. Any expressed or implied opinions are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Triangle IP or any other entity who might be associated with the presenter. We hope this content is helpful to you, but should not be relied upon without confirming the advice and accuracy with local legal counsel. Any comments or inquiries are not confidential so please discuss your issues directly with counsel.

Idea Evaluation: 6 Questions to ask while Selecting Ideas for Patents

Is your ideas to budget ratio usually skewed – in favor of ideas? Evaluating ideas for patentability becomes a brain-drain exercise in such a scenario. However, selecting the right ideas will most efficiently put your budget to work. This post lays out a framework to help you choose ideas for patenting that have the most potential.

Most enterprises choose to evaluate patents after they issue, which is much easier than at the beginning of the process where ideas are selected for patenting. The ideas that will be the most valuable as patents require speculation. The ultimate claim scope and importance of an innovation to market success requires educated guesses at the beginning of the process.  The risk factor is almost always high.

So how do you make sure to minimize the risk while evaluating ideas for patentability? Ask these 6 questions:

  1. What is the value of your idea in the marketplace?
  2. How core is it to your business and its revenue?
  3. Is it already in a product or in a roadmap for commercialization?
  4. How ‘observable’ is your idea if a competitor were to copy it?
  5. What is the likelihood of a successful patent grant on your idea?
  6. How enforceable will your patent be?

Value of your idea in the marketplace

Imagine your product on a shelf next to similar products – would the innovation get someone to buy your product? Is it easier to use, cheaper, faster, or better in a way that would motivate a purchase?

Select the idea, if you can visualize that it would make your product the preferred choice for customers. To determine this, ask if your patent is going to cover a key feature of the product? Ask if it is useful or game-changing enough to be a steady contributor to your business revenue. Will the unique product drive over the next twenty years?

Evaluating Ideas for Patentability | Q1 - Will idea make your product a preferred choice for customers?

A great way to assess how much value your idea has is by working backward from what your marketing team has to say about it. For example, the tagline for your product might be, ’It’s twice as fast as the competition!’ Work back to the innovation that enables that boast to the market. If you find that the patent if issued would protect that innovation, you know you have a winner. Having a market-driven approach is the right one to have when assessing ideas for protection. If your marketing team can’t say much about your innovation, there might be another idea more worthy of your budget. 

How core is the idea to your business?

Some ideas in your repository may be revolutionary. Some of your broadest innovation may happen in parts of the business that may have little market potential. These revolutionary ideas are not always synonymous with big profits. On the other hand, there may be ideas that don’t seem revolutionary but can protect large portions of the company’s profits. So, it becomes imperative to weigh ideas against potential profit and growth of the business that they would protect. 

Evaluating Ideas for Patentability | Q2 - Is idea revolutionary or revenue generating?

Imagine this. A leading company sells inkjet printers. But they generate the largest chunk of their revenue from ink sales, not the printers which are sold at a loss. They may have revolutionary ideas for their printers without any corresponding profit. So ideas in this space are not as valuable. However, if they were to come up with an idea to make the ink in the disposable cartridge cure quicker…knock-off replacements would smear or otherwise not have the performance of the genuine product. Not the most revolutionary idea, but definitely one that is great for the business as it protects a higher margin product.  

Apart from revenue building, there are some ideas that may be an intrinsic part of your business identity. One that is important to dominate for your brand.  Ask if this is one of them. What value, if any, will it have over the next couple of decades without that product anchoring your business?  For example, a car brand may sponsor a competitive racing team and protect their winning edge even if it may never be used in the production automobiles.  Winning races drives customers to want your cars even if they bear little resemblance.

Is the idea going to be commercialized?

There may be a ton of great ideas from your innovators, but not every idea will be an important product/addition for the next 20 years. If you cannot imagine how to put your innovation into a product, it is almost certain that there is no revenue that it will generate. Investing resources in acquiring a patent for such an idea is of no value. But an idea that contributes to a product your business currently offers or something that is just to be released automatically becomes a frontrunner. Here’s a threshold test – Are there plans to put your innovation into a product? If yes, spend your IP budget trying to protect it.

Timing is everything in the innovation to patent journey. The closer the release date of the product your idea is related to, the more valuable it is as a patent. Once your product is released in the market, the idea that it carries becomes subject to duplication and any innovation starts becoming part of the public domain. So the release of an idea into the market without patent protection could be hazardous. The bottom line is if innovation cannot go into a product, any patent would only be wall art.

Evaluating Ideas for Patentability | Q3 - Is idea related to the product about to be released?

How ‘observable’ is your idea?

Observability is a big factor as you’re thinking about ideas to choose for patent protection. Prioritizing the ones that can be observed allows ascertaining infringement should that be necessary. For instance, your company has developed a chip that goes deep into a data center used in an enterprise. Say your competitor is using this chip. How likely are you to find it out? Consequently, will you be able to assert your patent against them? The answer, highly unlikely. 

When you are looking to build your patent portfolio, look for ideas that will be readily identifiable. So if you are looking at internal processes or small innovations like the chip, it may be a better business decision to treat them as trade secrets. Unidentifiable innovation should not eat into your budget. 

Evaluating Ideas for Patentability | Q4 - Is the idea observable?

How likely is a patent granting on your idea?

It’s important to be aware of the kinds of patents being issued by patent offices. There are some technology areas in which patent offices are wary about issuing patents. For example, patent offices are reluctant to issue patents for business methods, some therapeutics and certain kinds of software. Then there are things that are not patentable at all. Genes, human-performed medical procedures, tax optimization schemes, etc. It is thus imperative to know beforehand what is patentable before investing in a patent for your idea. 

Evaluating Ideas for Patentability | Q5 - Is the Idea Patentable?

There are tools available to help you ascertain these statistics. At Triangle IP, the  TIP Tool has it on the feature roadmap! With this feature, the TIP tool predicts the Patentability Score on your innovations. This score will be based on how likely similar technology gains allowance as a patent. Knowing the patentability score shall ease out your decision-making process.

How enforceable will a patent be for your idea?

Certain technology is difficult to enforce, generally, even where a patent is issued. Courts are likely to overturn patent claims in certain cases. Software, especially abstract software concepts, business methods, and the like are difficult to enforce presently. Knowing that a patent will be difficult to enforce should be considered.

The cost of the patent should always be outweighed by the volume of profit that the patent can generate. Patenting cost includes all the resources that you will need to invest in the patent journey. Protect something valuable enough such that damages models will support enforcement of the patent.  Some innovation although great, can never overcome the cost of getting the patent.

Evaluating Ideas for Patentability | Q6 - How enforceable will your idea be as a patent?

Thinking about what damages might be enforced if it ever reaches such a stage could also be a deciding factor. The amount of damages will also be largely dependent on how your patent claims are constructed and other legal issues. A great idea that has all the potential to be a powerful patent in your arsenal can be broken if the claims are constructed improperly or if there is some other legal flaw. Read this for tips and tricks to draft a high-quality patent application

Evaluating Ideas For Patentability | Wrap Up

While this is not an exhaustive list of questions for you to consider when evaluating ideas for patentability, it’s a good place to start. More specific questions will be born from the specific needs of your business that may change from time to time. Think long term (at least 20 years) when evaluating ideas for patentability. Channel resources wisely so that money spent can result in revenue that contributes to your resource pool for the future.

At Triangle IP, we have a value field to score ideas. The value field can be 1 to 10 based on the answers to these questions.  Many of these factors can be considered and weighted according to priorities within your enterprise.

On a side note: Would you want to know how your patent application is progressing at the USPTO compared to other applications in the same domain? 

The TIP tool offers statistics of the law firm and the examiner handling your case. Once the application is filed at the USPTO, and an examiner is allotted to your case, the tool indicates the relative performance of the law firm handling your case. The statistics revolve around the number of arguments, grant rate, and grant time. The tool also indicates the case health, for instance, it can tell you if a case needs your attention. There is a whole bunch of insights that you can gather from the TIP tool for strategic patent prosecution.

Request insights for any of your cases at the patent office using the form below.

Note: The preceding is general business advice and not to be construed as legal advice. IP laws vary by country and retaining licensed legal counsel is advised to confirm this information. Any expressed or implied opinions are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Triangle IP or any other entity who might be associated with the presenter. We hope this content is helpful to you, but should not be relied upon without confirming the advice and accuracy with local legal counsel. Any comments or inquiries are not confidential so please discuss your issues directly with counsel.