“SMEs must first acknowledge the value of IP and begin to see it as a valuable business asset.”

 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AS A BUSINESS ASSET

An enterprise’s assets may be broadly divided into two categories: physical assets – including buildings, machinery, financial assets and infrastructure – and intangible assets – ranging from human capital and know-how to ideas, brands, designs and other intangible fruits of a company’s creative and innovative capacity. Traditionally, physical assets have been responsible for the bulk of the value of a company, and were considered to be largely responsible for determining the competitiveness of an enterprise in the market place. In recent years, the situation has changed significantly. Increasingly, and largely as a result of the information technologies revolution and the growth of the service economy, companies are realizing that intangible assets are often becoming more valuable than their physical assets.

In short, large warehouses and factories are increasingly being replaced by powerful software and innovative ideas as the main source of income for a large and growing proportion of enterprises worldwide. And even in sectors where traditional production techniques remain dominant, continuous innovation and endless creativity are becoming the keys to greater competitiveness in fiercely competitive markets, be it domestic or international. Intangible assets are therefore taking center stage and SMEs should seek how to make best use of their intangible assets.

One crucial way of doing so is by legally protecting intangible assets and, where they meet the criteria for intellectual property protection, acquiring and maintaining IP rights. IP rights may be acquired in particular for the following categories of intangible assets:

1. Innovative products and processes (through patents and utility models);
2. Cultural, artistic and literary works including, in most countries, also for computer software and compilation of data (through copyright and related rights protection);
3. Creative designs, including textile designs (through industrial design rights);
4. Distinctive signs (mostly through protection of trademarks including collective and certification marks, but in some cases through geographical indications; see below);
5. Microchips (through protection of layout-designs or topographies of integrated circuits);
6. Denominations for goods of a given quality or reputation attributable to the geographical origin (through protection of geographical indication; and
7. Trade secrets (through protection of undisclosed information of commercial value).

 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION AS AN INVESTMENT

Making the right investments is crucial for enhancing the market value of your SME. Investing in equipment, property, product development, marketing and research can strongly enhance your company’s financial situation by expanding its asset base and increasing future productivity. Acquiring intellectual property may have a similar effect. Markets will value your company on the basis of its assets, its current business operations and expectations of future profits. Expectations for future profit may be considerably affected by the acquisition of key patents. There are numerous examples of SMEs that have seen their market value increase overnight as a result of their acquisition of important patents in key technologies.

“Similarly, a good trademark with a good reputation among consumers may also enhance your company’s current value and may decisively contribute to making your company’s products and services more attractive to consumers. Investment in developing a good IP portfolio is, therefore, much more than a defensive act against potential competitors. It is a way of increasing your company’s market value and improving future profitability.”

THE VALUE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ASSETS

A crucial point about legal protection of intellectual property is that it turns intangible assets into exclusive property rights, albeit for a limited period of time. It enables your SME to claim ownership over its intangible assets and exploit them to their maximum potential. In short, IP protection makes intangible assets “a bit more tangible” by turning them into valuable exclusive assets that can often be traded in the market place.

If the innovative ideas, creative designs and powerful brands of your SME are not legally protected by IP rights, then these may be freely and legally used by any other enterprise without limitation. However, when they are protected by IP rights, they acquire concrete value for your enterprise as they become property rights which cannot be commercialized or used without your authorization.

Remember that IP may assist your SME in almost every aspect of your business development and competitive strategy: from product development to product design, from service delivery to marketing, and from raising financial resources to exporting or expanding your business abroad through licensing or franchising.

So you will appreciate that Intellectual Property (IP) and business go together. In order to maintain business growth, you have to be creative, you have to make sure you are one step ahead of your rivals and IP helps you to do just that.

Business owners should start thinking to be creators of extra-ordinary products and services to remain competitive.

[This is an excerpt from the publication released by WIPO called IP For Business. To read the complete publication, please visit the Download menu to get a copy]