Certified Agent Network: Improving Foreign Patent Annuities

Managing patent renewals across jurisdictions around the world involves working with local agents. But how qualified are those agents? What training, supervision and support do they have? How reliable are they? With your patent rights in the balance, knowing you can trust the people handling your renewals is critical.

As a premium service provider, we understand that our clients expect the highest standards of service from Clarivate for their patent renewals. To meet these expectations, we continually invest in our global network of certified local agents, ensuring they meet the industry’s highest standards for quality, reliability and professionalism.

In this blog, we explore the Clarivate agent network certification requirements — why they matter and how they operate — for a deeper look into how Clarivate is raising the bar on foreign patent annuities.

The importance of agent certification for patent annuities

Not all local agents are equal when it comes to handling patent annuities. Working with an unvetted local agent may increase the risk of slow responses, poor communication, and missed deadlines, potentially leading to loss of patent rights in that jurisdiction. There are even cases where unscrupulous agents have misappropriated funds.

Some renewal service providers choose local agents purely on cost considerations, with limited due diligence. This can result in poor quality standards and introduce greater risk.

As the global market leader in patent services, Clarivate will never compromise on quality. Our certified agent network is designed to protect our clients’ valuable IP assets in jurisdictions worldwide.

The certification process: An exercise in extensive agent due diligence

Clarivate agent network certification begins with a detailed selection process using a comprehensive evaluation of applicant firms. Clarivate patent experts visit applicants on-site, performing an in-depth audit. We review their financial history, information systems infrastructure, operational processes, risk policies and more. We observe them processing cases and evaluate the checks they make to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Agents earning certification undergo a thorough onboarding and testing process to ensure they adhere to Clarivate policies and standards. A dedicated Clarivate relationship manager provides ongoing monitoring of agent performance, including feedback from internal staff. We re-audit each certified firm regularly to make sure their performance continues to meet our high standards.

Patent renewals with global reach and expertise

With a footprint in countries around the world, our patent renewals team has unique insights into what works and what does not. This knowledge and experience enables us to serve our customers with best practices that help ensure agent quality and reliability. Customers also benefit from our unmatched region-specific expertise and relationships.

The size of our global patent renewal team also allows us to conduct thorough, on-site assessments and oversight, even in remote regions. This capability is crucial to the success of our certified agent network program, helping us maintain high standards of quality and reliability while keeping costs manageable for our clients.

Attracting the best agents and setting the standard for quality

With over 1,500 local agents we are the world’s leading provider of patent renewal services. Our certified agent network attracts top-tier IP law firms globally, giving us unmatched selection and buying power, helping to ensure that our customers receive the highest-quality service and reducing the risk of errors and missed deadlines.

Maintaining such a program requires significant investment in time and resources, a commitment most other service providers cannot match. As a global leader, it is our duty to set the industry standard. Our certified agent network exemplifies our dedication to exceeding expectations and providing our customers with confidence that their valuable IP assets are protected.