Copy that: RightHub wants to be the command center for intellectual property management

An entrepreneur may have the best idea after sliced ​​bread, but if they can’t protect the relevant patents, trademarks or copyrights, there’s a good chance they won’t see the fruits of their labor.

However, the intellectual property (IP) management process is fraught with controversy, from the initial idea-evaluation and application-submission through the renewal, enforcement and monetization stages. That’s something RightHub wants to address, serving what it calls an “infrastructure for protecting innovation and trademarks” through an all-in-one platform that connects all sectors and stakeholders, from patent offices to law firms. At its core, the RightHub platform is designed to simplify and centralize what has traditionally been a highly fragmented industry.

In the year Founded in early 2021, RightHub has around 75 employees across Europe and the US and already claims big-name clients including pharmaceutical giant GSK, multinational law firm Pinsent Mason and Swedish eye-tracking technology company Toby. To take things to the next level, the London-based startup announced today that it has raised $15 million in a major seed round of funding led by Firstminute Capital and Anchor Capital.

Game mode

According to recent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), industries that “heavily use” IP protection account for more than 41% of the US’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employ one-third of the nation’s workforce. In a recent report by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUPO), European figures tell a similar story, with industries accounting for more than 47% of EU GDP accounting for “high use” of IP rights. About 30% for all jobs.

However, when a company has a single patent or trademark to protect, and those numbers reach dozens or hundreds, managing things is a labor-intensive process involving all kinds of employees. Management.

There is software to solve some of these problems with leasing, including from giants like Clarivat and Anaqua, as well as VC-backed startups like PatSnap and IPRally. But rather than focusing on one specific service like patent searches or filings or renewals, RightHub is focused on all of them – collaboration and communication.

In fact, RightHub claims to host a database of published patents worldwide, which is updated weekly to ensure that searches, portfolio onboarding, data validation and so on are the most up-to-date. The company said it has begun integrating with patent and trademark offices through electronic filing and electronic messaging, which means in-app collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders.

RightHub CEO and founder Tony Nijme was chief strategy and innovation officer at CPA Global, an IP technology company that was acquired by billion-dollar rival Clarivat in 2020.

“The IP problem is when you want to seek protection in multiple jurisdictions around the world — which is really common — you have to go to your email and send instructions to law firms all over the world to help you file. Applications in every country,” Nijme told TechCrunch. “All that correspondence is done by email and then It should be transferred to the IP software platform to upload documents and track deadlines. It also applies to other activities in the IP life cycle such as renewal of IP rights, change of ownership, enforcement, litigation, opposition. , and so on. This requires a significant amount of manual administrative effort and expense.

Brand protection

Protecting an invention or a trademark is not a one-time task, it is a constant, never-ending process. This can start with an online search to see what the landscape is in terms of prior art – ie, has someone previously patented the inventor or inventor? If not, they must file an application in the territory they want protection from, pay renewal fees to maintain their IP rights, and monitor potential infringements down the line.

“In RightHub, you can add the right innovation or brand and run an end-to-end journey with all the different functions in one platform, connecting with law firms and patent and trademark offices around the world as well as within the enterprise,” Neem said.

According to Niem, RightHub is similar to GoDaddy’s promise in the world of website creation, with GoDaddy allowing anyone to search, register and renew domain names, with additional tools for building and hosting websites.

In terms of pricing, while there are free components on the platform, users sign up for special services such as competitor monitoring, trademark monitoring, and online brand protection. You can also pay one-time transaction fees to submit applications and renew or register change of ownership. “Depending on the type of customer, they’ll typically have a combination of subscription and transaction costs,” Niem said.

While the cost of using RightHub is borne by the client, Neem says that this is creating an organic new source of business as the client’s external IP partners are exposed to the RightHub platform.

“Imagine how DocuSign works when you ask someone to sign a contract,” Niem said. “That person or entity does not need to purchase DocuSign or has never seen it before. This precise process is generating a good pipeline of new customers. [to RightHub] When interacting with the product on behalf of RightHub customers.