Clarivate FoundationIP Reviews

“Team friendly reports and workflows

Pros

I love how I can create reports that are super helpful for both our clients and our own attorneys and paralegals. Setting up workflows for our team is also very easy and keeps things moving.

Cons

There are definitely areas that could be better but I know Clarivate is working on improving a lot of them.

“Easily manages our entire portfolio

Pros

One of the biggest wins for me with it is how easy it is to use. I can get to and manage our entire IP portfolio from anywhere I have internet. The automated data capture, document handling and all the tracking and reporting tools really help us stay organized and make smarter decisions.

Cons

Its relatively expensive compared to some other IP management tools out there which can be tough for smaller organizations like ours with a tighter budget.

“Broken promises & bad service

Pros

We picked this platform mainly because it promised to integrate many features with our docketing system which would have been amazing. But honestly, two years later, we've never seen that benefit. The implementation has been a mess, constant delays, a lot of team turnover and just a lot of ineptitude since the move to Clarivate. We are still waiting on the development team, facing delays that drag on for months.

Cons

The customer service has been terrible. There was a point right after Clarivate bought CPA Global where our initial setup was not even done but they tried to invoice us for it, our agreement was to pay�after�completion. We argued for months. Management kept saying the job was done but the actual development team was telling us and them it wasn't. We still didn't have the working system we paid for. Eventually they got their act together, admitted it was not finished, apologized and agreed to finish the job. We started working with the dev team again in early fall of 2021. Now it's early 2022, over two years since we started and we are�still�facing months of delays from them. They showed us a great product demo but after two years, they just have not been able to fully deliver what they promised.

“best feature: Live tracking

Pros

The Cloud Portal in FoundationIP is seriously awesome. I can check and follow my docket in real time which is a game-changer.

Cons

Honestly I have not found anything I dislike about it yet.

“My fast and smart search tool

Pros

Searching is very easy with the tools they provide. And I love that it remembers where I left off my last search, saves so much time.

Cons

It does not automatically translate into English and I wish I could set a primary language for it.

“My go-to dashboard

Pros

I rely on the dashboard that shows my recent matters and any tasks that are coming due. It's my go-to for staying on top of things.

Cons

there are a lot of functions in there that I just never end up using.

“Good for team work anywhere

Pros

It's a cloud based system so our whole team can work together smoothly on managing IP prosecution and registrations from anywhere.

Cons

It could be a bit more interactive. I think the user interface and overall experience could be improved.

“So user friendly and smooth

Pros

I just like that it's so user-friendly. It's smooth and does not make things complicated.

Cons

There's really nothing I dislike about it...

“deep data but needs extraction

Pros

Its very helpful that they provided so many different data types and attributes for all the patent information.

Cons

The types of data it shows on screen feel limited. To really get the data out, you have to use the Report function.

“Better than old software

Pros

It is way better than Inprotech for case management. It actually helps our attorneys keep their work organized and in one place.

Cons

I'd love it if this could integrate with other software we use, like iManage.

“good tool but has tricky parts too

Pros

As a freelancer, I was hired by a firm to help move their portfolios onto it. The software itself is very interactive and easy to figure out. Personally I preferred using the English version over the French one. Having used other IP software, I noticed both good and not-so-good points with this one too.

Cons

There's a tab for assignments with registration dates but changes to an applicant are not just assignments, things like a name or address change are important too and that's not as clear. Also I couldn't upload .eml email files from my Mac. And when putting together reports for deadlines, the process is not very smooth.

“Simple to track and use

Pros

It's easy to use and interactive. Tracking patent families and capturing cost information is very simple here.

Cons

For custom reports, I wish I could customize the columns in my task list. Its bit rigid.

“best for any job role

Pros

It has a user-friendly interface that's easy to use. It's great for storing all the specific details for a patent. I have used it as both the main docketing specialist and as a paralegal, you can really make it work for your specific role.

Cons

You practically need to be a computer genius to build a report from scratch. It's not easy.

“Useful but needs improvements

Pros

What I like is how easy it is to use and it's pretty reliable compared to other databases we've tried. We can customize it for what we need and they update it regularly to keep up with changes in country laws.

Cons

There are still a lot of features that need updates or need to be built to make it truly more helpful. For example, I'd love to be able to recall emails when I am reporting out. Also while it's easy to use, it does take some training to really use everything. Personally I wish running reports was more user-friendly and I wish they'd bring back the PTO scraping tool. I also hope they offer more regular training sessions.

“does everything I need

Pros

it's all about the functionality, how easy it is to use and the ability to build custom reports.

Cons

Nothing! I really do like this software.

“A Clunky Lifesaver

Pros

There are so many useful functions here. The local laws are always up-to-date and the reminders for action items are a lifesaver and keep us on track.

Cons

The user interface is cumbersome and not very friendly. Searching for things and running reports is not convenient and requires a lot of training to figure out.

“control our own docket

Pros

We like being able to create our own docketing templates and use the tags and categories. The software gets updated often so we trust that the rules are correct when we docket new tasks. We like managing our own docket, using FoundationIP for support when we need it but without paying for an expensive third-party service. Being online-only is a major plus for our firm, we've been paperless from day one. We don't have to download any clunky software, we just give employees a login to the website.

Cons

Some of the standard docketing templates could allow for more tweaking. For example, if I docket getting an interview summary from an examiner, it also automatically adds tasks for a supplemental IDS (which I can turn off) and for filing a response we'll never actually file. I'd like to tell the system more easily that a task is not needed. Also, it would be great to reliably switch a matter's type after opening it. Sometimes a client tells us to file a US non-provisional, we set it up and then they change their mind to a provisional or a PCT. Right now, we have to delete the first one and start a new matter or else the rules might not apply right.

“Perfect fit for our company

Pros

I like how easy it is to use and how flexible it is. We've configured it to fit our company's needs perfectly. I've onboarded and trained lots of outside counsel to use it for docketing PTO actions and reporting back to us. We can even give broader privileges to some outside firm teams so they can act as an extension of our in-house staff when things get busy. We've also set up templates for common activities with pre-written email text which really speeds up the reporting process.

Cons

no cons so far, Another plus is the great customer support we get. The team is friendly and gets back to us quickly solving our issues in no time. Lastly, CPA Global has these software committees made up of clients who are interested in what's coming next. They actually ask us for our wish lists and those ideas turn into real features in future updates. They have a solid schedule for releases every quarter and every year.

“All our data in one spot

Pros

Having all our matter data in one single place is a huge capability. I also love how easily I can sort through and search for results.

Cons

Sometimes its like the person entering the data does not fully know how to apply trademark rules correctly using the software. I'd also like easier ways to edit and create our own reports. And I always thought the rates for docketing and paralegal services were too high.