Clients hate paying ‘by the fry’.

Why do people love the pricing of Happy Meals?  Because they know what they are getting for one fixed price.

When it comes to IP prosecution the same principle applies: clients love fixed prices and they hate to be nickeled & dimed.  No one wants to pay for their french fries one fry at a time, and no one wants to pay for each office action, reminder email, reporting letter, or status update no matter how trivial. This is especially true for foreign prosecution of applications that are substantially similar to the lead originating application (patent or trademark) at home.

Great service means giving clients great work at the price they expected all wrapped in a very user friendly delivery.

For most clients,

• price certainty is more important than rock bottom prices, and
• ‘many tiny bills’ are extremely annoying.

Price certainty is especially important for good quality clients.  Good clients know that service costs money.  They do not expect free advice or work, and they know that quality costs.  However, good clients also tend to be organized and diligent.  That means that they expect to the know the cost of something upfront and likely have shared that estimate with other stakeholders (for instance, with the CFO of their organization).  Accordingly, good clients are particularly likely to be frustrated by budget over-runs.

Also, regardless of the total cost of something, you should be very wary of a snowstorm of small unexpected bills.  In my experience, a blizzard of small bills, no matter how reasonable the total cost, drives clients crazy.  If you are not careful, with foreign patent filings you can be billed by your associate for reporting every letter that they receive from their local patent office. Clients enjoy this about as much as they enjoy buying their french fries “one fry at a time”. It is extremely annoying and a great way to drive clients away.

The solution is to bill flat “block” fees for a given amount of work that ensures you have sufficient compensation to provide great service through the whole process.  That way, all of the little noise goes away, and you and your client and your associate can focus on what really matters.

Neil

The post What Happy Meals teach us about keeping IP clients happy. appeared first on Miltons IP.

I was recently told by a British colleague that Canadian patents were pricey. I was stunned, and did not respond properly at all. After some reflection, I put together this little video to say now what I should have said then.

The handout is:

If you insist on knowing more, here is an eBook:

Filing Patents in Canada: A Practical Guide

And our website exclusively about filing into Canada is:

Canadian Patents

The post Are Canadian patents pricey? appeared first on Miltons IP.

When you file patents outside the US that correspond to the patents you are already filing in the US you can add significant value to the applicant’s portfolio very cost-effectively. The applicant gains rights in large markets that may be as valuable if not more valuable as the rights in the US, depending on the product, competitors, and market forces (see this post for an example of “why you should file abroad“).

This increased geographic scope of patents can also be a very effective way to add value to your practice – you are adding value to the applicants’ portfolio cost-effectively, and this is something you can and should be rewarded for doing (whether you are inside or outside counsel).

However, not all foreign filings go smoothly. The most common problem is what I call the “death of 1,000 paper cuts”. Foreign filings rarely lurch sideways in one big mess. Instead, if they are not properly planned and implemented, it is the slow, steady accumulation of little things that must be attended to – often late, and in a rush – that gradually create client frustration. Each one of these late and unexpected little steps usually is accompanied by another invoice. And that, ultimately, puts the whole project behind schedule and over budget.

In subsequent posts I will talk about how to avoid this problem. In a nutshell, the solution is to ensure that all stakeholders have shared expectations (about cost, timing, and substantive success), that there is a good plan for execution, and that the right people put the right amount of attention into implementing the plan efficiently and effectively. Foreign filings are not a black art – pulling them off properly just requires a little know-how, some planning, and timely attention to detail.

As always, I look forward to your comments.

Neil

Free eBook

Foreign Filings

Prepared in cooperation with Dennemeyer.

Click to download now.

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