The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

19.4. Making the Disposition Decision

Once the screening is complete, the company's decision-makers consider the patent portfolio as a whole, determining the appropriate disposition for each individual patent or patent cluster. Because the screening provided quantitative rankings of critical analysis factors, the decision-makers can see how the evaluator arrived at the high-medium-low rating. Taking into consideration the rankings on the analysis factors and the rating related to the evaluation criteria, the decision-makers assign one of five disposition strategies:

• Pursue NPD: Patents with a high or medium-high rating offer a good opportunity for the company to develop a new product. Conduct in-depth assessment of other factors for NPD.

• Pursue out-licensing: If the product or market area with a high or medium-high commercial potential rating is an area where the company's expertise is limited or is far outside its mission, commercializing the patent via out-licensing might be preferable to NPD. Conduct an in-depth assessment to confirm viability of commercialization and begin to gather data to inform marketing campaign and licensees to target.

• Gatker more information: For some patents with a medium-high rating and most with a medium-low rating, the information gathered in the screening process is not quite sufficient to make an effective disposition decision. If the resources are available after pursuing more favorable options, conduct an in-depth assessment to obtain a better ...