I am the Patent and Scientific Analyst working for a start-up immuno-oncology company in California. We are a small company with a 3 person IP department. While completing an extensive Landscape Analysis, it became clear that an Excel spreadsheet was not going to suffice for organizing, accessing, filtering and sharing/reporting so much data. We additionally needed a platform that was adaptable to changing focus and a safe base from which to perform search and analysis.

1. Technical Support and Analysis. IP Checkups offered to upload the hundreds of patent families and individual patents and applications at a small cost and came through quickly. The site has access to demos/tutorials/online manual and real-time assistance. Query response time is very short. In fact, on several occasions, I have received an email while using the service from a troubleshooter who realized I was floundering. 2. I know I should, but I don’t read user manuals unless I absolutely need to. The platform is incredibly user-friendly and logical. My director (never trained on PatentCAM) has accessed it successfully when I was AWOL. 3. Peace of mind. Not usually attainable, but just having this information in an offsite safe place allows me to relax when I inadvertently delete or corrupt or mishandle an important file. 4. I don’t know if you realize that one of the brains behind this company, [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] (founder with son, [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]), is a leader in the field of patent search software, first to realize that the USPTO’s conversion from paper to electronic data offered a door into managing and utilizing patent information like never before (Ever used Aureka?). 5. Smart advice on how to organize a functional database is always available. 6. If you ask for a feature, they will try to build it. Honestly.

1. From time to time, I run into a software bug. However, a quick call or email to IP Checkups gets almost immediate resolution.