Patent Portfolio Audit.
For a dedicated review of the patent portfolio, covering status verification, renewal mapping, coverage gap analysis, and filing recommendations prior to or independent of a cross IP engagement.
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IP Audit and Strategy
An IP audit and strategy engagement is a cross-IP review of an organisation’s full intellectual property portfolio: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and designs. Intepat maps every asset across the four registries governed by the Patents Act, 1970, Trade Marks Act, 1999, Copyright Act, 1957, and Designs Act, 2000 to confirm what the organisation owns, how rights are held, whether registrations are current, and where coverage gaps exist against current and planned commercial activities. The engagement concludes with a sequenced set of strategic recommendations.
Speak with our IP TeamInitial scoping is confidential. Conflict checks are completed before any portfolio documents are shared.
Cross-IP Portfolio Review
Ownership Chain Tracing
Registry Verification
Coverage-Gap Analysis
Sequenced Recommendations
The questions an IP audit answers
An IP audit is commissioned when an organisation needs structured answers to questions it cannot reliably answer from its own internal records.
Does the organisation own its IP cleanly?
The review traces title across each IP right: inventor-to-company assignment recordal under Sections 68 and 69 of the Patents Act, 1970; trademark assignment recordal under Section 45 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999; copyright assignment formality under Section 19 of the Copyright Act, 1957; and design assignment documentation under the Designs Act, 2000. Unrecorded assignments are identified, and a recordal plan is recommended.
Are registrations current and defensible?
Patent annuities, trademark renewal windows, copyright registration records, and design renewal obligations are verified against official CGPDTM and Copyright Office records. Lapsed and at-risk assets are flagged with restoration windows and urgency ratings.
Does the portfolio cover what the business actually does?
Filing histories are mapped against current product lines, markets, and brand identifiers. The gap analysis identifies assets the business commercially depends on that are not yet protected or are protected in outdated class or territory combinations.
What IP does the organisation use but not own?
Licensed-in rights, open-source software obligations, contractor-developed content, and brand permissions granted by third parties are reviewed to confirm that operational IP exposure is identified and documented.
How should IP investment be prioritised?
The engagement concludes with a sequenced recommendation set identifying which assets to renew, which gaps to address first, which rights to formalise, and where licensing provides a more cost-effective route than direct ownership.
Engagement scope
A standard IP audit and strategy engagement with Intepat covers all four IP rights unless the scope is deliberately limited at the outset.
Patent portfolio.
Status verification against IP India records; annuity payment standing; chain-of-title review from inventor through all recorded assignments under Sections 68 and 69 of the Patents Act, 1970; pending application prosecution status; foreign patent family coordination where applicable.
Trademark portfolio.
Status verification against Trade Marks Registry records; renewal standing; class and territory coverage mapping against current brand use; assignment recordal under Section 45 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999; pending oppositions and objections affecting the strength of registered marks; assessment of marks in use without corresponding registration.
Copyright portfolio.
Identification of registrable works under the Copyright Act, 1957; confirmation of assignment formality under Section 19; employment and contractor agreement review for ownership clarity on works created by non-founders; software copyright position.
Design portfolio.
Status verification of designs registered under the Designs Act, 2000; renewal standing; identification of designs commercially active but not yet registered.
Licensing and contractual review.
Existing licences granted and received across all IP services are reviewed for scope, territory, sublicensing restrictions, renewal obligations, and change-of-control provisions that may be triggered by a forthcoming transaction or restructuring.
How Intepat conducts an IP audit and strategy engagement
The engagement opens with a scoping session to establish which services are in scope, which business activities and product lines are the reference point for gap analysis, and what the strategic output is intended to support.
1
Document and data collection.
The organisation provides its own IP schedule, employment and contractor agreements, key licence documents, and any existing IP reports. Official registry records across IP India and the Copyright Office are verified directly against the submitted schedule. Discrepancies between internal records and official registry data are documented before analysis proceeds.
2
Asset inventory and register pull.
Every asset in scope is verified for filing date, registration or grant status, renewal due dates, and recorded ownership against IP India and Copyright Office records.
3
Ownership and title review.
Each asset is traced from creator or inventor through all recorded assignments. The review identifies unrecorded assignments, contractor-developed IP without formal assignment agreements, and joint-development arrangements where ownership may be ambiguous.
4
Coverage gap analysis.
The verified portfolio is mapped against the organisation's product and brand inventory. Gaps include: products with no registered protection; brands operating without trademark coverage in key classes or geographies; software with no copyright registration record; and designs in commercial use without registered protection.
5
Strategy output.
The engagement concludes with a ranked recommendation set, sequenced by risk urgency, identifying short, medium, and longer-term actions the organisation should take to close gaps and align the portfolio with commercial objectives.
Deliverable structure
The IP audit and strategy report comprises:
Executive summary
A concise statement of the portfolio's overall condition, the material gaps identified, and the recommended priorities. Written for board or senior leadership review without requiring reference to the full report.
Cross-IP asset register
A tabular record of every asset in scope across patents, trademarks, copyrights, and designs, with registration status, renewal due dates, recorded ownership confirmation, and a risk or gap designation.
Ownership and title findings
A summary of chain-of-title outcomes across each IP service, identifying unrecorded assignments, formality gaps, and contractor or employee IP positions requiring remediation.
Coverage gap map
A structured comparison of the portfolio against the organisation's current commercial activities, identifying unprotected product areas, brand exposures, and registration priorities.
Recommendations register
A sequenced action plan organised by urgency and IP right: filings to initiate, renewals to prioritise, assignments to record, and licences to renegotiate.
When to commission an IP audit and strategy review
Pre-fundraising and Series A readiness.
Founders preparing for venture or private equity investment commission an IP audit to confirm that assets are cleanly owned and that the portfolio can withstand investor scrutiny before gaps surface during fund due diligence.
Pre-transaction and M&A preparation.
Before entering a sale or acquisition process, IP clarity accelerates counterparty due diligence and reduces the risk of valuation adjustments arising from unresolved title questions.
Annual IP governance review.
Organisations that treat IP as a board-level asset commission periodic audits to confirm the portfolio remains aligned with commercial activities, that renewal obligations are being met, and that new innovations and brand extensions have been captured and registered.
Post-acquisition integration.
Following an acquisition, an audit of the acquired entity's portfolio establishes a corrected baseline, identifies assets requiring recordal into the acquirer's name, and integrates new rights into the combined portfolio management system.
Licensing portfolio expansion.
Before entering outbound licensing discussions, an audit confirms that assets proposed for licensing are validly owned, enforceable, and unencumbered by third-party restrictions.
Who this is for
- In-house IP counsel and legal departments managing cross IP portfolios requiring periodic governance review
- Founders and management teams preparing for fundraising, a sale process, or strategic partnership discussions
- Chief financial officers and audit committees commissioning portfolio reviews as part of annual IP governance obligations
- Private equity and venture capital investors requiring a current-state assessment of portfolio company IP holdings before closing or follow-on investment
- Corporate development and M&A teams preparing a company for acquisition readiness or integrating an acquired entity's IP assets
- Licensing and commercialisation teams establishing portfolio readiness before entering structured outbound discussions
Confidentiality and conflict protocols
IP audit and strategy engagements are conducted under strict confidentiality from the first contact. Portfolio data, business plans, product maps, and commercial information provided during the engagement are not disclosed outside the engagement team except as authorised by the client, or as required for agreed associate coordination, legal compliance, or professional record-keeping.
Before opening any engagement, Intepat conducts a conflict check across its existing client base. Where a conflict is identified, it is disclosed to both parties before the engagement proceeds; where a conflict cannot be managed, the engagement is declined. Conflict clearance occurs before any documents are shared and before analysis is commissioned.
Where the audit output is being prepared in connection with a transaction or fund process, the engagement can be structured within the transaction NDA or under a bilateral NDA with the client, as the agreed arrangement requires.
Related IP services
IP Audit and Strategy FAQs
What is the difference between an IP audit and IP due diligence?
An IP audit is a governance-focused review the organisation commissions for its own portfolio management: confirming ownership, identifying gaps, prioritising renewals, and setting a filing strategy. IP due diligence is transaction-focused, commissioned by an investor, acquirer, or lender to support a specific deal decision, and is structured for third-party reliance. The two engagements serve distinct purposes and are scoped differently.
Can an IP audit be limited to one IP right rather than all four?
Yes. Where an organisation's material IP assets are concentrated in a single IP right, the engagement can be scoped accordingly. A cross-IP scope is recommended where the organisation has active assets across multiple registries or where the audit is being used to prepare for a transaction or fundraising round, since investors require cross-IP visibility.
What internal documents are required to begin an IP audit?
The core materials are the organisation's own IP schedule, all assignment deeds and transfer documents, employment and contractor agreements governing IP ownership, existing licence agreements across each IP right, and any prior IP reports or registry correspondence. Where these documents are not fully assembled, the scoping session identifies what needs to be collected and in what priority order.
How long does an IP audit and strategy engagement take?
Timelines vary with portfolio size and the availability of internal records. A cross IP engagement for a mid-size organisation with a maintained IP schedule proceeds from data collection to final report within several weeks. Where records require significant retrieval from official registries, or where foreign assets require associate coordination, timelines are agreed at scoping. A preliminary findings memo can be provided at an interim checkpoint for organisations working against a transaction or fundraising timeline.
How does the IP audit output feed into an ongoing IP governance programme?
The audit report establishes a verified baseline: a confirmed asset register, a gap map, and a prioritised action plan. An annual governance programme builds on that baseline by tracking completion of recommended actions, monitoring renewal calendars, and capturing new innovations and brand extensions as they arise. A lighter-touch refresh audit at an agreed interval confirms the portfolio remains aligned with the business, and Intepat can structure both the initial audit and ongoing programme as a continuous engagement.
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