IP PRACTICE BENCHMARKING SURVEY

FICPI seeks your help as it builds global business intelligence

FICPI’s Professional Excellence Committee (PEC) seeks to further the knowledge base within FICPI and amongst members by gathering more information on IP practice management, with the goal of establishing FICPI as a global business intelligence unit for the IP profession.

This year is the inaugural launch of the FICPI IP practice management benchmarking survey and builds on the excellent work started by the FICPI-France: l’Association des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle (ACPI).

The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete; enjoy a coffee while you’re thinking!

Once published, the results will:

* Allow you to compare your firm with others in the region, country or world
* Start to identify trends in the profession and IP marketplace
* Allow PEC to identify challenges in the profession and to offer targeted advice

The success and weight of the survey information is dependent on the number of responses we receive

Please take 15 minutes today to complete the survey to benefit the entire FICPI membership and to ensure your views are represented.

Question Title

* 1. Before the COVID-19 pandemic was your firm paperless in terms of client files?

Yes

Question Title

* 2. After the COVID-19 pandemic and return to normal activities, will your firm be paperless in terms of client files?

Yes

Question Title

* 3. After the COVID-19 pandemic, will your firm allow employees to work from home?

Yes, no limitation

Yes, limited to a maximum of 3 days/week

Yes, limited to a maximum of 1 or 2 days/week

No, unless special circumstances such as health and safety risk issues

No, as a matter of policy

I don't know

Question Title

* 4. At this point, what is the projected effect of COVID-19 on your firm's 2020 billings ?

Very positive (up by more than 10%)

Positive (up by 1 to 10%)

Neutral

Negative (down by no more than 15%)

Very negative (down by more than 15%)

Question Title

* 5. Does your firm currently propose an initial free appointment for new clients or prospects?

Yes

Question Title

* 6. Does your firm hold training courses for paying customers?

Yes

Question Title

* 7. State average yearly number of hours you spend on marketing activities

Less than 100 hours

Between 101 and 300 hours

More than 300 hours

Question Title

* 8. Is your firm likely to perform unbilled watches to provide clients with information and perhaps acquire business, such as monitoring of competitors, trademarks or case law?

Very likely

Likely

Neither likely nor unlikely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

Question Title

* 9. Is your firm likely to conduct industry area watches (pharmacy, aviation, luxury goods) for internal use or publication?

Very likely

Likely

Neither likely nor unlikely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

Question Title

* 10. Does your firm have paying customers for IP landscape analysis?

Yes

Question Title

* 11. Does your firm subcontract for IP landscape analysis?

Yes

Question Title

* 12. Does your firm use Client or Contact Relationship Management (CRM) software?

Yes

Question Title

* 13. Do your firm members systematically propose an IP strategy mandate to your clients?

Yes, systematically

No, unless I am specifically asked

Question Title

* 14. Do your firm members propose IP valuation services to your clients?

Likely, even if questions are not asked

Unlikely, only if questions are asked

No, we do not provide such services

Question Title

* 15. Is your firm involved in negotiating licence or IP sales agreements?

Yes

Question Title

* 16. Does your firm provide Tax Credit consultancy?

Yes

No but can contract out if necessary

Question Title

* 17. Does your firm represent clients before IP Courts in litigation matters?

Yes

Question Title

* 18. Does your firm management fear that new business models will replace your firm's IP filing services?

A great deal

A lot

A moderate amount

A little

None at all

Question Title

* 19. Does your firm management fear that new business models will replace your firm's IP prosecution services?

A great deal

A lot

A moderate amount

A little

None at all

Question Title

* 20. Is your firm active in AIPLA?

Yes

Question Title

* 21. Is your firm active in AIPPI?

Yes

Question Title

* 22. Is your firm active in APAA?

Yes

Question Title

* 23. Is membership in FICPI a key consideration when selecting foreign agents?

Yes

Question Title

* 24. Rank your primary selection method for foreign correspondants

Question Title

* 25. Does your firm have a double docketing system meaning that two different docketing methods are used as a failsafe?

Yes

Question Title

* 26. Does your firm only use cloud back-ups for client and docketing data?

Yes

I don't know

Question Title

* 27. Do your employees sign a confidentiality contract?

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Usually

Always

Question Title

* 28. Does your firm have ongoing metrics or scoreboards for timeliness of service to clients (apart from due date docketing) ?

Yes

Question Title

* 29. Does your firm organize and hold satisfaction surveys for clients?

Yes

Question Title

* 30. If so, how often does your firm send out satisfaction surveys?

Once a year

Once every 2 to 5 years

Never did it

Question Title

* 31. Is your firm certified ISO 9001?

Yes

Question Title

* 32. How much time to you spend in one year for volunteer activities in IP organizations?

less than 50 hours

between 50 and 200 hours

more than 200 hours

Question Title

* 33. Does your website publish volunteer and community activities outside of IP?

Yes

Question Title

* 34. What is the ratio of administrative staff to IP attorneys in your firm?

1:1

more than 1 :1

less than 1:1

Question Title

* 35. What is your mode of management?

hierarchical

collaborative among partners only

collaborative among all members of the firm

Question Title

* 36. Does your firm only share profits between partners?

Yes

Question Title

* 37. Is your firm more active in patents or trademarks in terms of billings?

Patents

Trademarks

Roughly equal split

Question Title

* 38. Would you say your firm is adequately staffed?

Yes

Question Title

* 39. Does your firm have difficulty recruiting or retaining employees?

Yes

Question Title

* 40. Does your firm propose intermediate positions between salaried employee and partner?

Yes

Question Title

* 41. Does your firm run conflict checks prior to filing trademarks or patents for new clients?

Yes

Question Title

* 42. Does your firm run subject matter conflict checks for existing clients filing new trademark or patent applications?

Yes

Question Title

* 43. Does your firm require signed engagement letters to be signed by new clients?

Yes

Question Title

* 44. Does your firm systematically provide estimates before doing work?

Yes

Question Title

* 45. Does your firm engage in "Corporate social responsibility" initiatives such as pro bono work, charitable giving or environmental sustainability preservation initiatives?

Yes

Question Title

* 46. Does your firm have a published diversity program or policy?

Yes

Question Title

* 47. Does your firm have a man-woman pay-equity program?

Yes

Question Title

* 48. Does your firm currently employ people with visible disabilities?

Yes

Question Title

* 49. How would you rate your firm's current financial risk of losing more than 20 percent of current billings turnover in one year or less?

100

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

Question Title

* 50. Does your firm subsidize public transit costs for employees?

Yes

Question Title

* 51. How likely is your firm to merge with another firm within the next year?

100

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

Question Title

* 52. In your opinion, does your firm consider social media involvement and presence an important part of business development?

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Question Title

* 53. Do you post on LInked In?

Yes

Question Title

* 54. Do you post on Twitter for business development purposes?

Yes

Question Title

* 55. Do you post on Instagram or Facebook or similar social media for business development purposes?

Yes

Question Title

* 56. In your opinion, was is the greatest challenge ahead for the IP professional in private practice?

Artificial intelligence replacing humans

Third party service providers replacing traditional professional firms

Competition among professional firms

Growth of in-house ressources

Deregulation of qualifications necessary to practice

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 57. In your opinion, is your firm likely to grow in terms of professional resource headcount over the next 3-5 years?

Very likely

Likely

Neither likely nor unlikely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

Question Title

* 58. In your opinion is headcount growth a priority for your firm?

The most important priority

A top priority, but not the most important

Not very important

Not important at all

Question Title

* 59. In your opinion is lowering operating costs a priority for your firm?

The most important priority

A top priority, but not the most important

Not very important

Not important at all

Question Title

* 60. In your opinion will profit increases for your firm arise more likely from operating costs reductions or from increases in total billings?

More likely from operating costs reductions

More likely from increases in total billings