Wellspring Blog

What are Invention Disclosures? Invention disclosures are the beginning of the patenting process. At its core, an invention disclosure is the first notification that an invention has been created, and establishes the description and chronology of an invention. Read More

In the last thirty minutes, 700 patents were filed, 150 scientific articles were published, and 70 new start-ups were founded. Read More

Managing Innovation Project Pipelines Read More

To some, IP docketing software may seem like a luxury rather than a necessity. Team leads may think that software would be nice, but spreadsheets have worked fine so far, so why change? However, with so much of IP docketing dependent on maintaining strict filing deadlines, relying solely on ad hoc... Read More

While many organizations undertake serious innovation efforts, there are a number of issues that can cause the effort to stall or fail. One key point of failure is structural misalignment between the innovation team and the core product teams. Since any open innovation effort depends on a... Read More

Although open innovation serves as a path towards greater openness in product innovation and organizational growth, it is not immune to the typical failures that can be found within any business system. Failures in open innovation programs don't necessarily mean that open innovation itself is... Read More

With so many opportunities for R&D and patenting, how do research teams and IP managers determine viable opportunities? Through the use of patent landscaping, teams can focus their R&D efforts and identify industry trends that can help steer their internal efforts. Read More

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In order to be competitive, firms need to move past the antiquated view of intellectual property management: simple management of documents, deadlines, and other legal processes. Given the tools available and deep impact that IP management has on firm performance, effective IP management is much... Read More

The 2017 R&D Trends Forecast by the Industrial Research Institute estimates that global R&D investment will increase by 3.4% in 2017 to $2.066 trillion with academic institutions and federal labs making up a significant portion of that total. Government and academic researchers play a critical role... Read More