In the world of innovation, partnerships are both opportunity and risk. They can accelerate entry into new markets, unlock synergies between technologies, and enable bold strategies that a single company could never pursue alone. But they can also collapse under the weight of misunderstandings, misaligned expectations, or overlooked intellectual property pitfalls.

At the opening dinner of the CEIPI–EPO Master Programme in IP Law and Management, Bernd Bösherz reminded the audience of a simple but often underestimated truth: successful partnerships don’t start at the negotiation table — they start long before, with internal preparation.

Here you can find background material from Bernd Bösherz at the digital IP Lexicon 🧭dIPlex on how to handle IP in external cooperations.

This message resonates far beyond legal detail. It speaks to the strategic heart of IP management in the digital economy, where collaboration is the new normal and ecosystems replace solitary innovation. The “external dance” of negotiation only works if the choreography inside the company has been rehearsed in advance.

Preparing Before You Negotiate

The foundation of any collaboration is clarity. Bösherz set out a series of pre-partnership checkpoints that serve as a diagnostic test before committing to external agreements. Each is deceptively simple, but together they form a robust risk filter.

  • Clear IP Inventory – Do you actually know what you have? Many companies discover gaps in their knowledge only when negotiations are already underway. Without a complete map of your IP assets, you can neither protect your core technologies nor credibly present your value to a partner.
  • Clean Ownership – Old contracts, forgotten joint development agreements, or legacy employee arrangements can all surface at the worst possible moment. Surprises in ownership are “deal-killers” that undermine trust and stall collaboration.
  • Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Check – Can you build what you are proposing without infringing on others? Conducting at least a basic FTO analysis prevents costly redesigns after commitments have been made. It is not just a legal exercise; it safeguards credibility.
  • Defined Red Lines – What can be shared, and what must remain confidential? Without clear boundaries, teams may inadvertently reveal competitive advantages. Defining non-negotiables in advance protects the crown jewels.
  • Decision Authority – Who speaks for the company? Partnerships often fail because decision-making authority is fragmented. Partners need clarity on whether commitments are binding.
  • Internal Alignment – This may be the most difficult step. C-level executives, R&D, legal, commercial teams, and IT security must be on the same page. Otherwise, conflicts arise not across the table but within the company itself.
  • Standard Essentiality Considerations – In sectors like telecoms, awareness of standard essential patents and FRAND obligations is indispensable. Missing this aspect can derail negotiations entirely.

Together, these checkpoints force companies to face internal questions before they expose themselves to external risk. As Bösherz put it: “The negotiation starts long before you enter the room.”

Why Preparation Matters: Lessons from Telecoms

To illustrate the impact of preparation, Bösherz drew on cases from the telecoms industry, where partnerships define the structure of entire ecosystems.

In this sector, failing to secure ownership clarity or overlooking FTO analyses can cost billions. Telecom alliances are often built around shared standards and pooled technologies. A single missing contract clause or overlooked prior agreement can jeopardize years of collaborative work.

Equally, defining red lines matters in technology areas where speed is everything. If your team shares too much in the “friendly early stage,” you may unintentionally hand over your competitive advantage. Conversely, being too restrictive can kill the momentum of innovation. Preparation means finding the balance before entering discussions.

Warning Signs in Negotiations

Despite years of evidence, many organizations still treat IP as an afterthought. Bösherz highlighted some danger signals that suggest a partnership is heading for trouble:

  • “We’ll figure out the IP stuff later.”
    By then it is often too late. IP is not decoration; it is structure.
  • “Legal will handle it.”
    Reducing IP to a purely legal task ignores its strategic role. Every function, from R&D to business development, has a stake.
  • “This is just a small collaboration.”
    History shows that “small” projects often grow into critical ventures. Starting without clarity only magnifies the risks later.

These phrases reveal cultural blind spots. They show that an organization has not internalized the role of IP as a strategic asset. For partnerships in fast-moving industries like IoT, automotive, or pharma, such blind spots are dangerous.

The Internal Battle: Convincing the C-Level

One of the greatest challenges in preparing for partnerships is not the external negotiation but the internal persuasion. Convincing top management to adopt a holistic view that integrates commercial, technical, and IP aspects is never easy.

Executives may focus on speed to market, sales growth, or short-term cost savings. But neglecting IP preparation risks not only deal failure but reputational damage. A failed collaboration can make future partners wary.

Thus, the IP team must learn to speak the language of strategy and risk. They must frame preparation not as bureaucracy but as insurance — as the discipline that protects the company’s freedom to innovate and ensures the credibility of its commitments.

Partnership as Strategy, Not Tactic

Bösherz’s speech underscored a deeper point: partnerships are not mere transactions, but strategic choices. In industries defined by ecosystems — from telecoms to connected vehicles to healthcare platforms — no single player controls the entire value chain. Collaboration is mandatory.

But mandatory collaboration does not mean blind collaboration. The art of partnership is selecting when and how to share, and when to hold firm. It is defining a strategy of openness without surrendering competitive advantage. And IP preparation is the lever that enables this balance.

Implications for IP Managers

For participants in the CEIPI–EPO Master Programme, the dinner speech was more than a welcome — it was a challenge. IP managers must learn to be integrators: people who align legal, technical, and commercial perspectives inside the company before facing the outside world.

This requires soft skills as much as technical expertise. Building trust across functions, creating internal transparency, and framing IP as a business enabler are central tasks. Only then can external negotiations proceed with confidence.

Doing the Work Before the Dance

The metaphor of the “dance” captures the essence of Bösherz’s message. Negotiations may look like the glamorous part of partnerships, but the choreography is set backstage. Without rehearsal — without preparation — the performance falters.

The bottom line is simple:

  • Do the inventory.
  • Clean the ownership.
  • Check freedom-to-operate.
  • Define red lines.
  • Clarify authority.
  • Align internally.
  • Understand standard essentiality.

Only then step onto the dance floor.

In the high-stakes world of IP strategy, where alliances shape industries and ecosystems, preparation is not optional. It is the difference between partnerships that thrive and those that collapse.

Conclusion

Bernd Bösherz’s opening dinner speech reminded the IP community of a truth too often ignored: partnership success is written long before the first contract draft.

By embedding IP preparation into the culture of collaboration, companies do more than avoid risks — they signal professionalism, attract stronger partners, and build the credibility needed to compete in complex ecosystems.

In a time when digital transformation forces even the most established players into cooperative ventures, this lesson is invaluable. For the next generation of IP leaders at CEIPI, it sets the tone: before you dance, prepare the steps.