Buying IP management software: 20 questions to ask in a demo

Docketing accuracy and country rules

1. How are deadlines calculated: from rules per country and right type, or typed in by hand?
2. Who keeps the country rules up to date, and how quickly do changes reach us?
3. Does each deadline keep both the official date and our internal date?
4. How are Madrid international registrations and their designations recorded?

Deployment and data ownership

5. Is it cloud-only, or can it run on our own server?
6. Where exactly are our documents stored, and how are they backed up?
7. Can we export all our data, in a usable format, at any time?
8. Who moves our existing records in, and how do we check them before we switch?

Intake and workflow

9. How do new instructions from clients and foreign associates arrive, and who sees them?
10. Can clients and associates see their own matters without emailing us?
11. Can the system send status updates, in our branding and in our clients’ language?
12. Can permissions be set per role and per person, down to view, create, edit and delete?

Reporting and analytics

13. Which reports come ready-made, and can they be exported?
14. Can partners see renewals, billing and outstanding invoices without asking someone to build a report?

AI and automation

15. What does the automation actually do on its own, and what still needs a person?
16. If there is an AI feature, what data can it read, can it change anything, and where is our data sent?

Ecosystem and fit

17. Which trademark offices and services does it connect to today, not on the roadmap?
18. Is it built for law firms (clients, associates, billing) or for corporate IP departments (inventions, budgets, internal approvals)?

Cost

19. What is the total cost over five years: licence or subscription, users, setup, migration and support?
20. What happens to our data and access if we stop paying?

Law firm or corporate department?

The biggest mismatch in IP software buying is category, not features. Corporate IP departments with large patent portfolios need invention disclosure, internal approvals and budget tracking, and the enterprise platforms are built for that. IP law firms and agents need clients, foreign associates, notices, billing and portals. Ask the vendor which of the two their customers mostly are.

How IPBases answers these questions

IPBases is built for trademark and IP law firms and agents. In short:

• Deadlines carry an official and an internal date, with reminders; Madrid IRs are recorded with a designation per country.
• It is installed on your own server, with files in your Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2 storage and daily database backups.
• Your existing records are moved in for you as part of setup.
• Clients and foreign associates get their own portals; associates send new instructions there, and they reach your team.
• Branded client updates go out in English or Arabic.
• Five built-in roles with per-person overrides, and view, create, edit and delete per module.
• A reports centre with charts and CSV export, plus an executive brief for partners.
• An optional in-app assistant that can read, but not change, your records when you add your own Anthropic API key.
• A one-time licence of $4,999 for up to 25 users, with no subscription.

Patents, office actions, annuities, PCT national phase and industrial designs are covered too, but if you run a large corporate patent department, an enterprise platform may fit better. We would rather tell you that now.

Frequently asked questions

What should I look for when buying IP management software?

How deadlines are calculated and kept up to date, whether it runs in the cloud or on your own server, data export, how instructions arrive, client and associate access, permissions, ready-made reports, what automation and AI really do, current integrations, whether it is built for law firms or corporate departments, and the total cost over five years.