The IFI Names Service: Corporate Name Mappings

Who really owns the patent?

The IFI Names Service provides a simple method to find the standardized form of a company name (the ‘IFI Name’) and its corporate parent (the ‘IFI Ultimate Owner’). It also provides a quick and efficient way to get a list of subsidiaries associated with an IFI Ultimate Owner. It has never been easier to access comprehensive IP profiles of public and private companies that can be used to support investment decisions, risk analysis, or competitive intelligence.

How IFI Maps Patent Asset Holdings to Corporations

Step 1: Normalize

First, IFI identifies company name misspellings, accounts for different legal formats and any punctuation to create one format for a company name. For example, the company name "Google" could vary and contain misspellings including: "goggle", "Google llc." and "Googel." Once misspellings and variations are identified IFI normalizes the name to "Google LLC."

Step 2: Standardize

The IFI standardization process is essential in creating one unique, searchable company name. This process groups all company name variations, including names written in various languages and company abbreviations, under one IFI Name.

Step 3: Harmonize

The harmonization step is key in determining which company ultimately owns patent assets, otherwise know as the IFI Ultimate Owner. In this step, IFI accounts for mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and any other company event which may affect patent ownership or company names. This monitoring process allows our partners to easily analyze corporate patent portfolios at the parent company or subsidiary level.