IP Master

Intelligent Intellectual Property Management IP Master represents an intellectual property management system that derived from traditional software development based upon the wishes of the customers. This resulted in a product suited for law firms as well as corporations worldwide. This is documented impressively by more than 600 installations worldwide. IP Master is based upon Microsoft ® SQL Server, an industry standard relational database management system. The multi-tier data access architecture provides new and enormously flexible control over the data stored. New customisation capabilities allow previously unknown flexibility in the design of the user interface. IP Master is licensed flexibly and tailored to a client's needs. From a small license for a spcialised attorney up to a license for a global corporate company IP Master provides the license package which meets the needs. With a rules database constantly updated by us, the most important due dates are calculated automatically. If needed, this rules database can be modified and amended by the client. Especially for distributed filing centres of large world wide active corporations, the rules can be modified in such a way that all actions based upon the country laws suit the needs of different filing philosophies.   Licenses Functional Capabilities Technical Information Modules License Models IP Master will be delivered as standard network client and as web client at the same time. According to a client's needs a license is composed of the following three components. IP Master - Modules A license is composed freely from the modules offered. Additional modules can be added at any time to an existing license later. IP Master - Database size IP Master can be licensed in different database sizes. Please contact us to determine the optimal configuration for you. IP Master - Users Tha base package of IP Master already contains five users. The number of users can be increased at any time in various steps. Functional Capabilities Security Searching, Queries and Data Analysis Reporting and Visualisation Form Letters Docketing Country Rules Based upon the range of performance in PC Master, new functionality has been developed according to the wishes of the user community. All relevant data of an intellectual property can be entered into a data input screen which is simple and easy to use. Browses can be created for user groups, functions or specific users. Reports and form letters can be used at any time. Tax dates can be calculated according to the users needs for past and future dates. Budgets can be created easily. For trademarks, the renewal history can be calculated based upon the rules database back to the first application. Using a simple and easy menu, all functions can be accessed.   Security Controlled access for clients, inventors, subsidiaries and other interested third parties are necessary in today's business environment. The IP Master architecture supports all security mechanisms of SQL ® Server: Windows NT authentication SQL Server authentication Access rights to selected database tables Based upon these security functions, different levels of access can be defined to the database server, the database or specific database objects.   Searching, Queries and Data Analysis IP Master provides totally new capabilities for searching, querying and analysing the data. All sorts of queries can be defined, stored and executed. Different types of queries are available to each individual user. Data analysis queries represent a new type of information processing and are integrated into the standard queries. IP Master queries use standard SQL statements. Each user has access to his own queries or can utilise additional queries from his user group. The access rights are controlled by the system administrator. IP Master offers the following queries in a standard installation: Shared Queries are stored views of the SQL Server database. Columns or fields are defined in the view. The content of the view depends on the access rights that the database administrator has assigned to the user account or the group. All network users of IP Master may run Shared Queries. User specific Queries can be built by a user by writing own SQL statements or using one of a number of query building tools, including IP Master's Create New Record Selection Wizard. With access right to do so, custom-built queries may be "published", so that other users can run it. It then becomes a Shared Query. Queries run against data fields such as Docket Number, Country, Attorney, Status, etc. and are grouped in a Windows Explorer-like hierarchical tree by module (Patents, Trademarks, Docket Lists, Portfolio Analysis, Parties, Codes, etc.). IP Master provides users with an unlimited variety of queries. Examples of queries which are shipped with IP Master are: Docket list queries with different criteria Listings of applicants, owners, inventors, etc. Lists of applications in specific countries, based on specific conventions, etc. Portfolio analysis queries by applicants, countries, key words, inventors, etc. Statistics using different criteria Yearly and monthly statistics etc. Additionally, each user may limit the number of records by applying filters and search for specific cases or groups of cases by adding search criteria.   Reporting and Graphical Visualisation Because of the wide spread of the Microsoft ® Office suite of programs, IP Master utilises applications such as Microsoft ® Word and Microsoft ® Access for reporting of database information. These products are easy to attach to Microsoft ® SQL Server and thus are easy to use. They produce results in presentation quality. Possible representations: Presentation of cases or families Various listings in defined order Data sheets or specific information from one case Display of information in a list, a letter or a form Graphical analysis in various representations Print of hard copies in black and white or colour During the installation of IP Master many predefined reports ready to be used will be implemented. These reports may be modified, extended or serve as templates for new reports.   Form Letters Utilising Microsoft ® Word, Form Letters can be created and used to print either series of letters for a selected list of cases or just print a form filled with data from an open case. Any existing company form can be customised and turned into a usable form and filled with IP Master data. IP Master will be installed with patent and trademark form letter templates. These templates can be amended and modified with database information. These forms are then available to any authorised user. With the aid of Microsoft ® Query and Microsoft ® Access Form Letters can be created from any source (internal, from patent and trademark offices, from agents, etc).   Docketing Recording the critical information and events surrounding intellectual property is the principal function of IP Master. Using IP Master, you can easily record internal as well as legally required events about an intellectual property and track its progress through all its life stages, from filing to expiration. Due to the differences in tasks, the needs for informations differ between a patent department and a law firm. IP Master therefore can be customised to store only those data, required for the environment in which it is utilised with no additional overhead. As your company's intellectual assets grow in number and value, IP Master's docketing functions can help you quantify and manipulate those assets. Never before has it been so easy to accurately and comprehensively manage your IP portfolio.   Country Rules The Country Rules table contains critical date calculations for the various countries and treaty organizations around the world. The Country Rules table contains worldwide country laws and other information governing the calculation of expiration dates, renewal dates, foreign filing deadlines, priority dates and many other critical action dates. The Country Rules table is part of every standard installation of IP Master. IP Master comes pre-loaded with the most current Country Rules table, which Master Data Center updates on a quarterly basis. The Country Rules table may be augmented by the client with own automatically calculated actions, deadline dates and reminders representing the internal workflow. With Global Rules world-wide active companies can customise the Country Rules table to the needs of their local representations in different countries.   Technical Information Working together with the Microsoft ® SQL Server relational database management system, IP Master gives you new and enormously flexible control over your intellectual property portfolio. IP Master's design uses a multi-tier data access architecture. It supports three tiers of objects: Client Data Objects: Format and present information to users and provide an interface for data entry. Business Logic Objects: Implement business rules by, for example, checking limits, validating data and providing calculated or summarized data. Data Access Objects: Provide storage, retrieval, security, and integrity for the data. Minimum System Requirements: Client Workstation Server 500 MHz Pentium 500 MHz Pentium 50 MB disk space 200 MB disk space (in addition to database) 256 MB RAM 256 MB RAM   Recommended System Requirements (1-5 Users): Client Workstation Server 1.000 MHz Pentium 1.000 MHz Pentium 200 MB disk space 1 GB disk space (in addition to database) 500 MB RAM 1 GB RAM Recommended System Requirements (5 - 20 Users): Client Workstation Server 1.500 MHz Pentium 2.000 MHz Pentium 200 MB disk space 1 GB disk space (in addition to database) 500 MB RAM 1 - 2 GB RAM SQL Server 2000, 2005 and Office 2000, 2003 or XP are supported. A marketing brochure in PDF Format is available here.