Intellectual Property FAQ For Market Research

A customer may make a request for any project at any time during their market research subscription.

However, the projects must conform to the restrictions of your subscription plan. This may determine how many surveys we can do, how long the survey is, how many edits can be made to the survey, the type and length of the report, etc.

Upon requesting a project, a customer may submit Customer Materials for background, context, testing, or for other reasons.

The Customer Materials are owned by YOU.

However, you also gran us a license to use the Customer Materials.

We have created a subscription model so that customers can get ongoing quality research for an affordable price. To do that, we use a proprietary research process involving a variety of templates and other intellectual property.

Therefore, the surveys we create are owned by us. This includes the component parts of the survey, such as our proprietary tests, assessments, scales, and questions.

We claim ownership for two primary reasons:

1. We've worked tirelessly to create the most efficient and effective surveys for different client objectives and we'd like to retain this intellectual property.

2. We want to avoid any kind of dispute between Inkblot and clients, or between two Inkblot clients. Let me explain: If we use the same survey template for two different clients, we want to prevent each client from feeling we used their intellectual property for another client's benefit. By maintaining ownership of our survey templates and methodology, we ensure that all clients understand they are subscribing to our research process rather than purchasing exclusive rights to the survey instruments themselves.

This approach allows us to:

1. Maintain consistent quality across all client engagements
2. Keep our services affordable by reusing proven methodologies
3. Protect both our clients and ourselves from potential intellectual property disputes
4. Continue improving our research tools based on accumulated experience

The intellectual property we've created for our research services has been built into our own survey platform we call Inkblot Answers.

Inkblot Answers is also where our survey links are created. 

Therefore, the surveys links we create are owned by us. 

This is a natural extension of our platform ownership, as these links are direct access points into our proprietary technology infrastructure.

We claim ownership of survey links for two primary reasons:

1. Each link is an integral part of our Inkblot Answers platform, serving as a secure gateway to our proprietary research tools and methodology
2. We need to maintain control over these access points to protect the integrity of our platform, ensure proper data collection, and maintain consistency in how our research tools are deployed

Just as we own the platform and survey content, we must retain ownership of the technical means of accessing them.

 

If you've ever seen our reports, we provide additional data points beyond the scope of your project. For example, in a creative test where we test two ads, we might provide benchmarks so you know if the ad does better or worse than other ads we've tested. 

In other cases, clients have come to us asking if we have any data points on specific things (e.g., "do you know if people are starting to buy cheaper products due to inflation?"). They might want stats for these without having to launch a survey,

The only way we can provide services like this is by owning the data to the research that we execute in our plans. Therefore, the data we collect are owned by us. This allows us to:

1. Build comprehensive benchmarks that help contextualize your results
2. Identify broader market trends across different industries and time periods
3. Provide quick insights to pressing questions without requiring new research
4. Continuously improve our understanding of consumer behavior

If we own the data, this prevents any disputes between Inkblot and clients about whether or not data is benefitting other clients. Let me explain with a practical example:

Say we run a survey about coffee consumption habits for Client A, and three months later, Client B asks us about general coffee drinking trends. If the data ownership was unclear, Client A might feel their research investment is being used to benefit their competitors. By clearly establishing that Inkblot owns the underlying data:

1. We avoid situations where clients might claim exclusive rights to consumer insights
2. We can confidently use aggregated data to provide industry benchmarks without legal concerns
3. Everyone understands upfront that while their specific insights are private, the raw data contributes to our broader knowledge base
4. We maintain a clear boundary between client-specific insights (which belong to the client) and the underlying data (which belongs to us)

This structure creates a win-win situation: clients get the benefit of both their specific research insights AND our accumulated knowledge from years of research, while avoiding any complicated ownership disputes that could arise if multiple clients felt they had exclusive rights to certain data points.

In an effort to provide insightful analysis on a quick timeline, we use custom analytics functions we've written in platforms such as Excel, R, Q, Python, and others.

Additionally, we've created our own analytical frameworks that allows us to interpret data in ways that are insightful and actionable for clients.

These analytical frameworks, code and their outputs are owned by us. This includes our code, functions, statistical procedures, and analytical frameworks that we've developed over years of research experience. We maintain ownership of these for several key reasons:

1. Our analytical approach represents significant intellectual property developed through extensive testing and refinement
2. We continuously improve our analysis methods based on learning across multiple projects and industries
3. Many of our functions are interconnected - the analysis you receive often builds upon multiple proprietary tools working together

Owning these analytics frameworks, tools, and outputs prevents disputes between Inkblot and clients. For example, if we develop a new way to analyze brand awareness for Client A, we need to be able to use and build upon that analytical approach for future clients. By maintaining clear ownership of our analytical tools and methods, we avoid situations where clients might claim exclusive rights to specific analytical approaches. This allows us to:

• Continue refining our analytical capabilities based on every project we complete
• Apply our best analytical methods to benefit all clients
• Maintain clear boundaries between client-specific insights (which belong to you) and our analytical infrastructure (which belongs to us)
• Focus on delivering great insights rather than navigating complex ownership questions about analytical methods

When we complete your research project, we provide you with valuable reports, dashboards, and other materials that contain your insights. Think of these like books you buy from your favorite author:

• When you buy a book, you own that physical copy
• You can read it, share it within your organization, and use its insights
• However, the author retains ownership of the actual content, story, and writing

Our deliverables work the same way. When we provide you with research reports:

• You receive a license to use these materials within your organization
• You can freely apply the insights to improve your business
• You can share the findings with your team and stakeholders
• You can reference the data and conclusions in your planning

However, just as an author maintains ownership of their written work, we retain ownership of our deliverables. This is because:

1. Our reports and dashboards are built using our proprietary templates, analytical frameworks, and visualization methods that we've developed over years
2. We often use consistent ways of presenting data across clients to maintain quality and efficiency
3. Like an author who might use similar storytelling techniques across books, we apply our proven research frameworks across projects

This structure allows us to:

• Keep improving our reporting methods
• Maintain consistent quality across all deliverables
• Deliver insights faster using our established frameworks
• Provide you with better value through our refined approach

You're getting the full benefit of our research expertise while we maintain the ability to keep developing better ways to deliver insights to all our clients.