Investor overview · October 2026
Time-management errors cause more IP malpractice claims than anything else
Riskward is a product in development for Independent Patent and Trade Mark Attorney Firms.
The problem
Independent Patent and Trade Mark Attorney Firms
For small patent and trade mark attorney firms whose entire deadline docket sits in one internal system, with no independent check that it's actually right.
- Time-management and docketing errors cause 27% of all intellectual property malpractice claims — more than any other cause.
- A single missed renewal can mean a client loses their patent or trade mark rights outright, and the claim that follows.
- Firms already pay for renewal-management services and carry professional indemnity premiums priced directly on this risk — one firm reported a $50,000 docketing investment saving $200,000 in premiums in its first year.
In their own words
Real quotes from the people who have this problem
time management errors account for 27% of all intellectual property malpractice claims
a $50,000 investment in calendaring and docketing software saved $200,000 in insurance premiums in the first year alone
The evidence
Researched before anything is built
How it scores
Based on 3 direct quotes from 2 independent public sites, each recorded with its source. Scores are 1–5, rated from that evidence.
The product
Riskward
Riskward audits a firm's live matter list against the public renewal register and the firm's own deadline records, flags anything missing or disputed, and delivers a written report the firm can hand to its professional indemnity insurer as evidence of risk management.
- 01
Send Riskward your matter list — patent and trade mark numbers, jurisdictions — nothing else.
- 02
Riskward checks every deadline against the public renewal schedule and the firm's own records, flagging anything missing or disputed.
- 03
You get a written audit report to act on internally, and to show your professional indemnity insurer as evidence of risk management.
Competition
What they use today, and where it falls short
| Today’s option | Checks matters already on the books | Independent of the firm's own docketing | Produces evidence for your insurer | No new system to run day-to-day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise IP docketing suitesPriced and built for large firms; deployment and change-management overhead few small practices can justify. | Partly | No | No | No |
| Per-case renewal-management servicesManages future renewals going forward; doesn't check whether matters already on the books are being tracked correctly today. | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Tracking deadlines in-houseThe same internal process that industry claims data ties to over a quarter of all IP malpractice claims. | No | No | No | Yes |
| Buying more professional indemnity coverTreats the financial consequence, not the error rate — and insurers price premiums on exactly the risk management this doesn't improve. | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| RRiskwardchecks the deadlines a firm already has on its books against the public register, independently of how the firm tracks them today, and turns the result into a report built specifically for a professional indemnity insurer. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Business model
A flat audit fee per firm, scaled by matter count, billed annually alongside the PI renewal cycle
working price, not yet validated
One reported docketing investment paid for itself four times over in year-one premium savings
A single reported case, not a guarantee; it illustrates the economics an audit's findings can be used to pursue with an insurer. Cited via LeanLaw ↗
Go to market
How we reach them
- NowThe founding-access page is built, with a Google search ad campaign aimed at IP firms and their insurance brokers around PI renewal time (built, paused).
- NextDirect outreach to professional indemnity brokers who place cover for small IP firms, offering the first audits free in exchange for a reference.
- LaterPatent and trade mark attorney associations, positioned as a standard pre-renewal check.
Where we are
Validating demand before building
- Problem researchReal complaints collected from public sources and scored
- Demand test · nowFounding-member applications open at riskward.thinksimple.app, with a targeted search ad campaign built for it
- BuildOnly if the demand test shows people will sign up
Signup numbers will be shared here once there are enough to mean something.
Get in touch
Interested in backing Riskward?
We’re happy to talk through the research, the demand test and the plan.
For information only. This is not an offer of securities or financial advice. Riskward is in development; nothing described here is available yet. Market figures and charts are estimates built from the sources shown.