Reflection – Mind Mapping 

 Challenge 

 I am part of my corporation ’s legal team , specializing in intellectual property , particularly in the field of   patents .   One of the main reasons why I was hired was to organize my company ’s patent prosecution   process in an order to monetize on the patents that we hold by identifying patent applications that can   be used to expand my company ’s patent footprint and create a niche spaces in which we hold patent   rights .   The patent prosecution process is a collaborative effort among several groups across different   offices around the world .   Research and development identifies a solution to a problem and ask the   intellectual property group to file an application on it .   However , oftentimes , we realize that these   applications are not as innovative as we originally thought and abandon them later down the road .   Our   goal is to identify ways to minimize costs of patent prosecution while maximizing profits . 

 Selection 

 I selected mind mapping as the tool to use to jumpstart resolving the problem .   Through mind mapping ,   I hope to explore the patents and applications that we have already filed and those that have been   granted in order to establish a creative criterion of what if we start evaluating patent applications a   different way that can perhaps weed out the not so useful patents at an early stage instead of blindly   filing applications on every idea . 

 Application 

 I started the process by holding a yard sale if you will .   I gathered all the data on what patents have been   approved and which patent applications are currently pending and had them organized into   spreadsheets .   Once all that information was in one place , I asked a group of my coworkers to review   the information and write down which patents and application they thought our company either   monetized on or could monetize on .   In addition , I also ask them to note why they thought these patents   make financial sense for our company .   Afterwards , we group the different types of patents in clusters .    Some patents cover a process ; others cover an actual physical item . 

 After clustering the patents into groups , we then discussed the notes that we took about why we   thought these particular patents would be or are profitable .   By discussing and observing our notes , we   would notice common patterns among the patents that would enable us to see connections among   them .   From there , we discussed what do these common patterns mean and what can we learn from   them and how we can use this newly obtained information to design a better patent prosecution   process .   Although , at the end of the exercise , we had not come up with a perfect solution , we walk   away with other possibilities and avenues that we can explore .   This is a long term project , but mind   mapping enabled us to jumpstart the process . 

 Insight and Approach 

 Mind mapping allowed my coworkers and me to come together and identify patterns and   commonalities that we were then able to mold into innovative solutions and possibilities that we can try   instead of sticking to status quo .   By gathering the data and information in one place , it also enabled us   to see the actuality of the problem .   There were a lot of patents and patent applications that were not   beneficial to the health of our company ’s patent portfolio .   We were spending time and resources in   prosecuting these patents and applications and receiving minimum returns .   That was not as clear to   some of my coworkers until all the information about pending patent applications and patents were   compiled in one place and we were able to really study and think about them .   Although this is still a   working progress , the first step of having people recognize the problem was a crucial one .   Now   everyone is on the same page about finding a workable solution that would meet our goal of being able   to monetize on the patents that we file . 

 Mind mapping was very useful to gathering my coworkers together and allowing us to both think about   the problem individually and collectively .   This is my first time using the mind mapping approach .   In the   future , I think I would change a few things .   I would gather even more information and as much as   possible .   I think my compilation of information this time was still not enough to help my coworkers to   make the most informed decisions .   I think mind mapping works better when you are face to face with   your coworkers .   Unfortunately , due to being located in different offices throughout the world and the   pandemic , we were unable to meet face - to - face for this exercise , but I would like to try it with my   coworkers that are local when it is safe to do so . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Mind Mapping 

 Challenge 

 I am part of my corporation ’s legal team , specializing in intellectual property , particularly in the field of   patents .   One of the main reasons why I was hired was to organize my company ’s patent prosecution   process in an order to monetize on the patents that we hold by identifying patent applications that can   be used to expand my company ’s patent footprint and create a niche spaces in which we hold patent   rights .   The patent prosecution process is a collaborative effort among several groups across different   offices around the world .   Research and development identifies a solution to a problem and ask the   intellectual property group to file an application on it .   However , oftentimes , we realize that these   applications are not as innovative as we originally thought and abandon them later down the road .   Our   goal is to identify ways to minimize costs of patent prosecution while maximizing profits . 

 Selection 

 I selected mind mapping as the tool to use to jumpstart resolving the problem .   Through mind mapping ,   I hope to explore the patents and applications that we have already filed and those that have been   granted in order to establish a creative criterion of what if we start evaluating patent applications a   different way that can perhaps weed out the not so useful patents at an early stage instead of blindly   filing applications on every idea . 

 Application 

 I started the process by holding a yard sale if you will .   I gathered all the data on what patents have been   approved and which patent applications are currently pending and had them organized into   spreadsheets .   Once all that information was in one place , I asked a group of my coworkers to review   the information and write down which patents and application they thought our company either   monetized on or could monetize on .   In addition , I also ask them to note why they thought these patents   make financial sense for our company .   Afterwards , we group the different types of patents in clusters .    Some patents cover a process ; others cover an actual physical item . 

 After clustering the patents into groups , we then discussed the notes that we took about why we   thought these particular patents would be or are profitable .   By discussing and observing our notes , we   would notice common patterns among the patents that would enable us to see connections among   them .   From there , we discussed what do these common patterns mean and what can we learn from   them and how we can use this newly obtained information to design a better patent prosecution   process .   Although , at the end of the exercise , we had not come up with a perfect solution , we walk   away with other possibilities and avenues that we can explore .   This is a long term project , but mind   mapping enabled us to jumpstart the process . 

 Insight and Approach 

 Mind mapping allowed my coworkers and me to come together and identify patterns and   commonalities that we were then able to mold into innovative solutions and possibilities that we can try   instead of sticking to status quo .   By gathering the data and information in one place , it also enabled us   to see the actuality of the problem .   There were a lot of patents and patent applications that were not   beneficial to the health of our company ’s patent portfolio .   We were spending time and resources in   prosecuting these patents and applications and receiving minimum returns .   That was not as clear to   some of my coworkers until all the information about pending patent applications and patents were   compiled in one place and we were able to really study and think about them .   Although this is still a   working progress , the first step of having people recognize the problem was a crucial one .   Now   everyone is on the same page about finding a workable solution that would meet our goal of being able   to monetize on the patents that we file . 

 Mind mapping was very useful to gathering my coworkers together and allowing us to both think about   the problem individually and collectively .   This is my first time using the mind mapping approach .   In the   future , I think I would change a few things .   I would gather even more information and as much as   possible .   I think my compilation of information this time was still not enough to help my coworkers to   make the most informed decisions .   I think mind mapping works better when you are face to face with   your coworkers .   Unfortunately , due to being located in different offices throughout the world and the   pandemic , we were unable to meet face - to - face for this exercise , but I would like to try it with my   coworkers that are local when it is safe to do so .
### Output: 