On July 25, 2017, Anaqua, a provider of IP management and analytics solutions, merged with Lecorpio, a developer of end-to-end IP management software. The newly combined company will focus on powering corporations and law firms with the tools to streamline operations, gain insight, and maximize the value of IP assets.

The merged entity will accelerate delivery of the next generation of smart IP platforms to its 1,000 combined customers worldwide, representing some of the most innovative global business and IP professionals. With combined resources, experience, and expertise, the company will leverage technologies such as big data analytics to drive informed IP and business decisions.

The newly-combined company will continue to operate both brand names and support both software platforms while maintaining its existing geographic presence in the United States, Europe and Asia. With the merger, Jay Madsen will be stepping down from his current role as Lecorpio CEO and Bob Romeo, CEO of Anaqua, will lead the combined business.

“Both Anaqua and Lecorpio are deeply-committed to the same mission of providing best-in-class IP management software solutions,” Romeo says. “With our shared mission, and with histories well-rooted in technology and innovation, we will offer clients an unprecedented ability to drive productivity and align IP to their businesses.”

“There’s a lot of mutual respect between the two teams. We were worthy competitors and now we are worthy partners! In fact, as two of the most nimble, innovative and customerfocused providers of IP management solutions, our cultures are actually already very well aligned and our organizational structures are similar,” Romeo says. “The recent Hyperion Report independently evaluated Anaqua as the number one provider of IP management solutions for both corporations and law firms with Lecorpio as a close number two. By bringing the best of us both, we can accelerate innovation and deliver even better solutions and services for our customers.”

While it is true that both Lecorpio and Anaqua offer software for corporate customers, there are other products, services and markets that are complementary. “For example, Anaqua owns and operates its own payment services business for annuity and renewal payments globally and Anaqua also serves law firms,” Romeo says. “Lecorpio has developed an excellent spend management module that organizes, processes and reports key financial data associated with your IP, within a tightly integrated, single IP management system.”

The merger with Lecorpio is merely the latest step in establishing Anaqua as a global industry leader, Romeo says. “Over the past two years, we have significantly expanded our capabilities and product range with the acquisitions of innovation management solution provider IdeaPoint; AcclaimIP, the industry-leading patent analytics software solution; patent search tool Free Patents Online; and Patent River, one of the most comprehensive sources of patent prosecution data in the IP industry.”

“The larger our customer base, the more we are able to invest in developing products and services that meet our customers’ needs – gathering the data and building the sophisticated tech platform for IP analytics is an expensive and time-consuming investment,” Romeo says. “We’ve done this and are now able to deliver integrated IP analytics in our IP software. Helping customers manage IP will benefit all of our customers; it’s about abundance – not a zero-sum game.”

“We are constantly monitoring our customer needs and market capabilities and are always on the outlook for ways to improve our market penetration whether that involves deepening our current relationships clients, or moving into more geographical areas such as Asia. And we are open to building organically, partnering or acquiring to achieve these goals,” says Romeo.

“Asia Pacific is, in fact, our key strategic focus. We continue to expand our team on the ground there and we are adding clients across the region. In addition to expanding our operating presence, for example with offices in Japan and Hong Kong and a network of data centres across the region, we are also investing significantly in our platform to further enhance our multi-language capabilities. Anaqua is available in Japanese, Chinese and Korean and we are positioned to support the regional and global needs of customers in Asia Pacific,” Romeo says. “For example, a large, multinational Japanese corporation might have teams in Japan, China, and the US. There is no other solution available which enables multinational and multilingual teams to collaborate effectively.”

Asia Pacific is the world’s fastest growing region for IP creation and five out of the world’s top 10 patent filers are Asian companies, Romeo says. “We do not consider this an emerging market; rather, we view Asia Pacific as a world leader in IP deserving of a world leading solution!”

So do merging and world leading solution mean significant price hikes?

“Not really, we have no intention of driving up existing prices for Anaqua and Lecorpio clients. In fact, we have recently completed new go-to-market pricing packages at Anaqua, which we believe offer enhanced value to our current and future customer base. We believe this package approach offers the greatest value to the wide-ranging client prospects across both corporate and law firm markets,” Romeo adds. “Our focus continues to be driving value for our customers through innovation, ROI, and analytics. We believe this allows our customers to retrieve the greatest benefit from our platform and services.”