IP operations
Client playbooks: encoding how your organisation actually operates
Standing instructions belong in the matter, not in somebody's memory of a thread from eight months ago.
Draft — pending professional review. This piece has not yet been cleared by a named professional. Passages marked for verification contain legal specifics that must be confirmed against current law before publication.
Every organisation instructing outside counsel has operating rules. Reports go to these people in this format. Costs above this figure need approval first. This entity is invoiced for this portfolio. Remind us on this cadence, and escalate to this person if we have not replied.
Almost none of that is written down anywhere a system can act on. It is in an email from last year, or in the head of the person who has handled the relationship longest — which works until that person is on leave and a deadline is approaching.
The standing rule and the exception
Two things have to coexist. The client playbook holds the standing rules that apply across a portfolio. The matter holds the exception that applies to one case only — do not request examination on this one, report this one differently, this one is confidential to a smaller group.
A system that only supports the standing rule forces every exception back into email, which is where exceptions go to be forgotten. A system that only supports per-matter instructions makes you restate your own operating model on every new case.
Versioning matters more than it sounds like it should
Rules change. When an approval threshold moves or a reporting recipient is added, the change should be recorded with its date and its author, and matters should carry the version that was in force when the action was taken.
The question this answers is asked long after the fact: why did this report go to that person? A versioned playbook has an answer — because that was the rule at the time, and here is the version that says so.
The limit
A playbook records how you want operational work handled. It does not override the law, a professional obligation, or the judgement of the attorney responsible for the matter. Where an instruction would conflict with a statutory requirement or a professional duty, the requirement prevails and the client is told. Operational automation stops where judgement begins.
This material is general information about Indian IP practice and procedure. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney–client relationship, and it should not be relied on for a specific matter without professional advice on the facts.