WHAT THE HECK IS A "CIPO"?

During a recent class at the Law School where I teach Intellectual Property Law, I asked my students what CIPO was or whether they have ever heard of the term.

Not surprisingly I had several blank looks, and not one single correct answer. I told my students not to worry too much if this was news to them. I had similar reaction at many board level meetings where I tried to explain what or rather who CIPO is. CIPO is not an operating system (one of the answers proposed by my students, nor a protocol robot from the Star Wars series, again one of the rather creative answers).

CIPO is a person. A person who sits in a mysterious world between the tangible and the intangible. Yet CIPO is not a character from Tolkien either.

CIPO is a C-level position that is becoming increasingly common among leading technology companies in world’s leading economies. CIPO stands for Chief Intellectual Property Officer. As such a CIPO occupies an officer position on top of the company’s organization chart along with other C-Level positions more widely known such as CEO (Chief Executive Officer), CTO (Chief Technology Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), etc.

It is generally suggested that a CIPO is responsible for the management of his/her employers intellectual assets. To put it otherwise, (s)he is responsible for the intellectual asset management (IAM). Intellectual assets, unlike real assets do not have any physical substance and are derived from the human intellectual activity. If the results of this intellectual activity can be identified and then harnessed by a company (ie: company exercise control and ownership of the identified results) they are then the intellectual assets of a company. Generally speaking, intellectual assets are divided in two broad categories: i) intellectual assets that are subject to registration (ie: patents, trademarks, copyrights, otherwise referred to as intellectual property (“IP”)); and ii) intellectual assets that are not subject to registration (ie: know-how, show-how, good will, customer relations, etc). As a broad group of assets, IA and process that produce IA such as R&D and marketing activities need to be managed and maximized. The person who manages IA and aligns such strategies with the corporate long term goals, vision and strategy are the CIPO of that particular corporation provided that the corporation recognizes such a c-level position.

I note that in Turkey the idea of “CIPO” is not yet recognized although the Turkish economic ecosystem will certainly justify a shift of corporate management to IP / IA management. The closest I have seen so far in Turkey are IP or IP portfolio manager positions created within R&D intensive corporations. These positions are often organized within the R&D department and are not c-level positions as they tend to report to the director of R&D programs. Their functions are very often limited to monitoring and managing IP, more specifically patent applications and portfolios. As such, their duties directly depend on the R&D strategies and output of such strategies as opposed to managing and leading R&D activities. More importantly their success metrics are often measured by the number of patent applications as opposed to value of any patent application can generate for the corporation in terms of competitive advantage and licensing opportunities.

As a CIPO has to be a strategist first, Turkish IP managers cannot fulfill the CIPO duties as the title requires. Indeed, whatever strategic freedom they have, is limited by the R&D, marketing and other considerations decided elsewhere within the business organization. Thus, IP managers operating under a R&D department are unable to explore pro-active IA maximization strategies. Rather, they role is reactive and dependant on decisions and output of other units on which they have at best limited control or influence.

This blog is being launched on the general premise that i) most companies, especially technology focused ones, have intellectual assets that need to be identified and maximized; ii) this asset maximization requires creation, identification and implementation of new corporate strategies, and iii) these strategies requires a c-level position with the accompanying roles and responsibilities clearly spelled out.

Turkish companies, especially those who claim to be innovative on a global scale, need to internally but swiftly conduct this paradigm shifting exercise. As Turkish economy is struggling to catch the wave of the information based economy, companies who don’t follow global trends and accordingly shift their somewhat classic outlook on the  corporate management will without a doubt either perish or will be forced by global actors and local (more flexible) competitors to painful and radical changes. It is time for Turkish business to jump the curb and adopt and adapt to the new way of doing business, globally!

Turkish ecosystem thus needs: junior to mid level IP and IA strategists and qualified licensing professionals to strengthen the bottom of the organizational pyramid. There must also be a “pull effect” as corporations recognize the need for such professionals and integrate these concepts into their HR and recruiting strategies. The pull effect must be enforced as corporations increase their awareness and knowledge by grouping qualified professionals under the management of a c-level position. The government can and should play a leading role by creating new incentives such as tax breaks for licensing activities and shifting some of the public funds and grants from R&D focused programs to IA focused incentives of SMEs and larger corporate entities.

This blog will aim to explore the state of Turkish ecosystem as Turkish business will need to come to terms with the changing way of doing business on global scale and identify strategies and methodologies of incorporating now generally accepted concepts of IA management to Turkish realities.