 | IP Management – An Overview | |  |
Most of us will be familiar with the concept of a business, organization, club or society undertaking the yearly “stock take” and many companies often take painstaking steps to physically ascertain just how much stock is actually available compared to its book value. Nearly every employee is involved in the process in some shape or form and it is the one working day in the year when managers are guaranteed to get their hands dirty.
But how many companies have similar procedures in place to monitor and account for their intellectual property? And, given that the true value of a company is often glaringly absent from its balance sheet, are investors, shareholders, likely purchasers and market analysts being misled? And just as importantly, are opportunities to maximize profits going unrealized and how does this effect company director’s and CEO’s “due care” obligations?
Listed below are five reasons why it is essential for all companies to understand and account for the value hidden within those things that we call those “intangible assets” often referred to as IP:
satisfying mandatory Accounting and Reporting due care obligations.
realising the ability to leverage off assets which are owned and not being used.
better understanding the market and market value of an IP.
reducing unauthorized use of IP by competitors and copiers.
providing the basis for a company culture based on innovation, brand presence and design.
What will an IP audit uncover?
An IP audit will involve the identification of all of a companies intangible assets such as Patents, licenses, Brands, Trade secrets, designs, manuals, and know-how and will enable a company to identify successful and obsolete technologies. Understanding these assets will often provide a company with extra revenue streams other than those involving licenses and royalty payments. These revenues streams can come from Joint Ventures, Research and Development sharing, and distribution agreements in jurisdictions that may have been inaccessible up until now.
Another significant feature of an IP audit will often result in a company wide appreciation of the true value of a brand, a patented technology or a design and in doing so will itself increase the value of the IP and the role that it plays in determining a company’s future marketing and production strategies. Stronger negotiating positions can be taken and robust long-term alliances forged only when true value of an IP and its surrounding circumstances are understood. Every IP has its own significance and should be managed to form part of a cohesive IP strategy designed to maximize the company’s earning potential, employee job security and customer loyalty.
Next – IP Audit