IP Portfolio Management

An Indian company's intellectual property is rarely the company's biggest asset on day one. By Series B, it is almost always the company's biggest defensible moat, and by exit it determines a meaningful slice of valuation. Yet most companies maintain their IP the way an individual maintains 50 mutual funds bought across 15 years — held without thought, renewed when reminders arrive, with no portfolio view of what is owned, where, until when, by whom, in what status, and with what enforcement coverage. The result: trademarks abandoned at renewal, patents lost to non-payment of annuities, copyrights unregistered, domains squatted, and infringement going undetected because no watch service was set up.

By 2026, the IP regime in India has stabilised but tightened. The Trade Marks Act 1999 + Rules 2017, the Patents Act 1970 + Rules 2003 (with the 2024 amendments adding the new patent agent CET, the e-DAS, divisional applications under Section 16, and the Bayh-Dole-style framework for funded inventions), the Copyright Act 1957, the Designs Act 2000, the Geographical Indications Act 1999, and India's foreign-filing routes through Madrid Protocol (TM), PCT (patents), Hague Agreement (industrial designs) form the framework. Foreign-filing licences under Section 39 of the Patents Act, equitable remedies under the Specific Relief Act, customs IP recordal under IPR Rules 2007 — each is a tool. Used in coordination, they protect the moat. Used reactively, they leak value.

We manage IP portfolios as a recurring engagement — annual audit, watch, renewal calendar, prosecution, opposition, enforcement, and licensing — for startups, mid-market companies, and global brands operating in India.

What's Inside a Real IP Portfolio Management Engagement

• Annual IP Audit:: Inventory of every TM, patent, copyright, design, domain, GI; ownership chain; status; renewal due dates; enforcement coverage; licensing.

• Trademark Portfolio:: Class-wise filing strategy, Madrid Protocol designations, watch and oppositions, renewal every 10 years, customs IPR recordal, anti-counterfeiting.

• Patent Portfolio:: Disclosure-to-filing pipeline, prior-art search, PCT national phase, Section 39 foreign-filing licence, examination response, opposition, annuity payments to year 20.

• Copyright:: Voluntary registration for software, content, music, brand assets; assignment / licence audit; takedown notices.

• Design Registration:: Industrial design registration (10+5 year term); Hague designations; lookalike enforcement.

• Domain & Brand:: UDRP / INDRP for cybersquatting; UDR registry monitoring; brand-impersonation takedowns.

• Watch & Enforcement:: TM journal watch, market watch, online monitoring (e-commerce, social media); cease-and-desist; suit for infringement / passing off; criminal complaint under Section 103 / 104 TM Act.

• Licensing & Commercialisation:: License agreements, royalty, sub-licences, IP-as-collateral, IP transfer in M&A, international licensing.

• Customs IPR Recordal:: Recordal under IPR Rules 2007; goods seized at port; bond execution; destruction order.

Why Self-Managed Portfolios Leak Money

Renewals missed by 6 months — restoration is expensive and not guaranteed. Watch service not subscribed — competitor's identical mark goes through to registration. Foreign filings missed at the 30-month PCT national phase deadline — patent rights lost in 50+ jurisdictions. Software not registered — copyright proof in piracy litigation becomes evidentiary problem. Customs IPR recordal not done — counterfeit goods enter at port without notice. We close all of these as part of the engagement.