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Safeguarding your intellectual assets
Connecting Industry, 26 October 2009
The 19th century British novelist, James Payne said: “A man with an invention on which he has spent his life, but has no means to get it developed for the good of humanity, or even patented for himself, must feel the pinch of poverty very acutely.” His words still ring true today.
For a manufacturing or engineering business in today’s economy, protecting and commercialising designs and inventions is just as important as having a good idea in the first place. It does not depend on whether the economy is doing well or badly, but in a downturn when business is hard to come by, the last thing you want is someone stealing your branding, ideas and the future revenues that go with them.
This principle is now starting to be understood more widely than it has been. IP registration is growing massively, the number of patents is doubling each decade. Manufacturing is moving to emerging economies where IP is key to value generation and economic growth, and developing countries are now recognising the importance of IP. Eighty percent of company value is now said to be held in intangible assets.
Intellectual property and intellectual capital are often misunderstood. All too often organisations file a patent application and think that that is all they need to do. When intellectual property is mentioned, people usually think of filing patents, and registering trademarks and designs. But it is not just about patents and other formal IP such as trademarks, designs and copyright. A company’s value is contained in its wider intellectual capital, where know-how, branding, skills, policies and processes all have a role to play. more>
