In 2006, Unilever was looking for a radical new way to cut the costs of managing their international trademark portfolio. After a 5-month RFP process, the company selected Baker & McKenzie, attracted by our ability to provide multinational clients with a truly global, strategic and cost-effective IP portfolio management service.
Three years later, we continue to deliver value. Using a dedicated Global IP Support Centre based in Manila for centralized instructions, single billing and budgeting function and other back-end administrative tasks, we ensure not only process efficiency but also quality of service. Unilever have access to their portfolio online through Global IP Manager, our IP management system, and can analyze their entire brand portfolio across all vendors worldwide. The company also relies on us for quality advice on protection in all key markets from our experienced IP practitioners.
"We now have a much better accounts system that allows us to predict trends about where we will spend money in a year. It has already started saving us money in many ways," explains Katrina Burchell, head of Trademarks for Unilever (source: Managing IP, May 2008). "The people at Baker & McKenzie are very integrated in what we do but they also work for other clients, which we see as an advantage. In team meetings they can say ‘for my telecoms client I have done XYZ.’ So now they are adding value."