Steps for start-ups when facing financial insecurity

Starting any business is an intimidating process. It requires a significant investment of time, money, and resources. And when your business hits financial difficulty, it can feel like all of that hard work and effort has gone to waste. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has highlighted the risks, and the fact that these can be outside of your control. But there are steps you can take to manage any damage to your intellectual property attorney. Firstly, speak to your IP adviser as soon as possible. They can help you identify areas where money can be saved immediately and costs pushed into the future. They should be able to provide a budget forecast to allow for a predictable drain on your cash flow.

Advisers will often work, buy default, on the basis that once a matter is in process future costs are approved. Whilst this can simplify the procedure for both parties, when cash flow becomes a problem, reverse this position and make sure you approve costs before they are incurred.

Look to prune your portfolio, perhaps aggressively so. Eliminate rights and applications in countries that are of lesser interest (these countries can often be disproportionally expensive in any case). Avoid incurring costs on peripheral matters and that will not offer protection to your core product and services.

The quicker you act, the better your IP position will be.