FOR IP PROFESSIONALS

Commercialising in-house or with a partner

When working out how to commercialise your IP, you may need to decide whether to undertake all the steps in-house or work with a partner.

In-house commercialisation

When you commercialise in-house you develop your product to a market-ready state without any external assistance. Going it alone means that you take on all the work and risk associated with launching a new product. It also means that if you are successful, you reap all the benefits.

Commercialising in-house might involve:

having (or building) your own manufacturing facilities
manufacturing the product using your own facilities, staff and resources
marketing and promoting the product using your own staff and resources
arranging all distribution and sales channels.

Outsourcing

You may decide to outsource some of these tasks. Make sure you have contracts in place that prohibit others taking advantage of or commercialising your product without your prior agreement.

Working with a partner

Commercialising with a partner means you involve one or more parties to either undertake or assist with some or all of the steps involved in commercialisation.

Questions to help you decide your approach

Before deciding which approach best suits your situation, ask yourself the following questions:

Does this new IP complement my existing core business?

If it does, you may already have manufacturing facilities, as well as the necessary marketing, promotional and sales networks in place to bring your innovation to market and profit fully.

If it does not fit within your current business processes, and you need to set up new manufacturing facilities or marketing and sales networks, it may be more cost effective to bring in a partner who can provide these services.

Do I have the right business capabilities to commercialise my product to its best advantage?

Even if your new product complements your existing core business, you still need to decide whether your existing business has the capability to develop and sell the new product. For example, if you need additional manufacturing or sales capabilities to handle the increased product load, it may be more cost effective and profitable for you to partner with a company that already has those capabilities. In doing this, you avoid the capital expenditure costs associated with establishing the new manufacturing capabilities. Remember to protect your interests with contracts or agreements as appropriate.