Recording changes to your IP assets is an important but sometimes overlooked task in IP management. In this blog based on a recent ClarivateTM webinar, we explore why IP recordals are crucial to rights protection and how Clarivate can help keep your recordals up to date, while reducing business risks and IP-related costs.
As organizations increasingly recognize the strategic value of intellectual property—and as IP portfolios expand rapidly—the task of managing these assets is becoming more complex. Maintaining recordals of IP rights is a key aspect of this challenge, especially for rights spanning jurisdictions worldwide. Optimizing the IP recordal process can be an effective way to drive down costs while maintaining robust protection for your patent and trademark rights.
In our recent webinar, Navigating IP Recordals, we shared strategies for optimizing IP recordals. Continue reading for key learnings from the webinar.
Why and when are recordals needed?
Recordals are often associated with changes in IP ownership. However, this is just one of the reasons that recordals are needed. In total, there are six types of recordals:
- Assignment due to transfer of assets or sale of a company
- Change of registered company name
- Change of legal entity/company type
- Merger
- Divestiture, such as a spinoff
- Change of address
This last scenario has increased dramatically in the post-pandemic era, as organizations move to smaller quarters due to hybrid work models.
Risks of not maintaining recordals
While IP recordals are not mandatory, there are significant risks associated with not keeping your IP portfolio updated. These include:
- Defense—Lack of updated recordals may harm your ability to defend against infringement or third-party attacks on your IP rights.
- Royalties—If a licensee is not the recorded owner of the IP, you could lose royalties.
- Penalties—Official registries in some jurisdictions may charge fines or penalties for delayed recordals.
- Rising fees—Because both official and agent fees increase annually, neglecting to record them promptly can end up increasing your costs the longer they remain unrecorded.
- Visibility—It can be difficult to keep track of which IP assets have or have not been updated.
- Logistics—Prior owners may go out of business, move, change names, or be unwilling to cooperate after the fact. If you are forced to refile, the cost can be five times the cost of doing the recordal in the first place.
- Portfolio—Without updated recordals, it can be difficult to monitor what IP assets stand in the name of the correct owner.
Any one of these risks makes a strong case for keeping IP recordals up to date. But managing a recordal project can be a major challenge, especially when portfolios expand rapidly, and IP teams face increasing pressure to do more with less.
Trust your recordals to the experts
Clarivate can help. With more than 50 years of experience serving the world’s top filers, we know how to protect your valuable IP assets.
We also know how to drive down costs. In fact, Clarivate can deliver average cost savings of 40% to 50% thanks to our negotiation strength with our global agent network. Our per-case pricing model also offers cost certainty, simplifying budget planning.
Our recordal experts handle the entire end-to-end process—from data verification and meeting documentary requirements to reporting and certification of filings. Plus, a dedicated Clarivate IP recordal specialist is assigned to your project to ensure nothing is overlooked. You can also stay updated every step of the way with a project status dashboard and customized reports.
Entrusting your IP recordals to Clarivate offers you peace of mind that this crucial process is in expert hands—while removing the administrative burden off your internal team, freeing them to focus on mission-critical work.
Ready to reduce your IP risk while reducing your administrative costs? To learn more about our global IP Recordals services, contact Clarivate today.
