The most important part of maintaining an IP practice is having a stable foundation, because an IP practice needs proper support to maintain its structure. The stable foundation is having key IP support professionals such as managers, paralegals, and support staff, which is fundamental to the success of a business. However, finding high qualified IP professionals could be a challenge.
As one way to deal with finding highly skilled support professionals, companies have become more open to the idea of filling the intelligence gap by seeking outside expertise to outsource business functions. Research indicates whether a company pursues that route depends on the culture of the firm and the skills involved of the market. For instance, an employer who is searching for a qualified IP paralegal in San Diego, where such skills are especially hard to find, is exploring the possibility of expanding its potential candidate pool to outside expertise such as a freelance or a virtual paralegal who can work remotely. More corporate cultures have evolved to accept the idea that a worker does not have to be on-site in order to be productive. In fact, some find that using outside expertise is more cost-effective and is a perfect avenue to overhead cost-cutting.
This great article sums it about why outsourcing is a win-win situation for in-house corporations and law firms: The outsourcing of IP
Cost, expertise and efficiency continue to be the main drivers behind the decision to outsource IP business functions. The article refers to some of the IP functions that may be outsourced.
Contact IntelligentClicks if you would like to discuss a solution to fill the intelligence gap for your IP practice.