In a move that has brought a comprehensive range of IP support a majority holding in Intellevate. Peter Sewell, CPA chief executive, explains what this will mean for current and future clients.

FoundationIP and Intellevate were founded by Steven Lundberg and the Minneapolis-based law firm Schwegman, Lundberg, Woessner & Kluth (SWLK) in 1999 in response to client demands for improved access to their IP portfolio. ‘The partners wanted to provide a secure and flexible web-based system that would allow clients to access their portfolios online and interact anywhere in the world through the Internet,’ explains Leon Steinberg, chief executive officer at Intellevate. ‘But when they searched for an appropriate system, they discovered that it didn’t exist, and so set about creating their own. That system became FoundationIP.’

A new level of support
FoundationIP was developed as an Application Service Provider (ASP), a web-hosted service that delivers IP management directly to the client via the Internet. With no software to buy or equipment to maintain, ASPs have since become one of the most rapidly growing areas of the software industry, but it wasn’t always this way, as Leon explains: ‘After successfully using FoundationIP to improve SWLK’s practice management methods, the system was rolled out to external clients in 2003. At first, it was an uphill battle to convince other IP lawyers to store their data in an ASP environment, but about a year ago, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) transferred all of its files onto an ASP system, so that interested parties could retrieve their data online. Suddenly the use of ASPs became a legitimate option for IP departments and FoundationIP was well-placed to meet the increasing demand for ASP software that followed the USPTO move.’

Designed by IP attorneys for use by IP attorneys and their clients, FoundationIP soon gained a solid reputation in the marketplace for ease of deployment, catching the attention of CPA in the process. ‘We’d been sensing the software on the marketplace for the past 12 months,’ explains Peter Sewell. ‘We noticed that it was one of our main competitors when it came to software solutions for attorney firms and we wanted to find out more. We were impressed by how user-friendly the software was and set about adding it to our existing software solutions, so that CPA’s clients could benefit from a more extensive range of IP software.

‘FoundationIP will complement our existing CPA Memotech and CPA Inprotech products, and will allow us to more effectively meet the needs of small and medium-sized organisations, especially in the US.’

Heading offshore
Intellevate grew alongside FoundationIP to meet another growing client demand for searching, docketing, proofreading, paralegal and patent illustration services. ‘SWLK found that its clients were increasingly requesting help in these areas,’ says Leon, ‘so it wasn’t too great a leap to realise that other law firms might be looking to provide their clients with a similar service.’ SWLK took the lead and formed Intellevate to service the increasing demand. It now serves its clients through the Minneapolis-based, client-facing operation, which is supported operationally by Intellevate India, its Indian subsidiary in Delhi. The two operations are underpinned by the FoundationIP software platform, enabling clients, IP attorneys and IP support professionals to work together in a real-time online environment.

Corporations have been offshoring legal services for years. However, this is the first instance that a major name in IP management services has acquired an offshore provider. But for CPA, the offshore capabilities of Intellevate were integral to the agreement.

‘The quality of Intellevate’s operation in India is staggering,’ Peter says. ‘The workforce is incredibly enthusiastic and provides a high-quality service that would be difficult to ensure elsewhere in the world at such cost-effective prices. It’s an area CPA has been keen to diversify into for some time; Intellevate offers us the perfect opportunity to make this move.’

‘Through our stake in Intellevate, we connect to the leading IP outsource support organisation. Through the acquisition of FoundationIP, we acquire the industry’s leading tool for delivering those services.’

Moving forward
The acquisition of FoundationIP and the purchase of a majority holding in Intellevate is a key step towards delivery of CPA’s growth and diversification strategy, allowing it to offer a wider range of market-leading IP support services to existing and new companies. ‘Through our stake in Intellevate, we connect to the leading IP outsource support organisation,’ explains Peter. ‘Through the acquisition of FoundationIP, we acquire the industry’s leading tool for delivering those services.

‘Intellevate has built some strong products and has successfully extended its product range, but it needs financial backing to capitalise on the opportunities,’ he adds. ‘That’s where CPA comes in. Only with the proper resources in place will Intellevate ensure it keeps ahead of the competition.’ Leon agrees: ‘We are now being provided with the financial ability to further develop our services and add resources where we need them most. By joining the CPA Group, we can also take advantage of its large client following, giving us the opportunity to provide complimentary services and develop the portfolio we already have in place. We have been growing over the past two years at a blistering pace and although we have been profitable, financing our growth has been a challenge. We’re now able to benefit from access to significant industry experience and the facilities, research capabilities and global reach that we could never afford before.’

Over the next few months, CPA, FoundationIP and Intellevate will be working closely together to create links between the systems. ‘It’s really been a wonderful relationship so far,’ Leon says. ‘We’d been approached by a number of companies in the past, but we’d always declined their offers. However, when we began talks with CPA, we immediately recognised the fit. Both of us focus on IP attorneys and legal departments and both of us have built reputations for quality software and IP expertise. It’s an exciting time for all of us, so watch this space.’

This article first appeared in IP Review, issue 12

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