An Examination of the Tangible Value of IP Financing for Companies and Businesses

Intellectual or intangible assets are today recognised by many companies as their most important resource. Without intellectual property rights [IPR] many innovative ventures have nothing to sell or licence. In contemporary knowledge-intensive economies, from the world’s largest and most powerful companies to the smallest small to medium sized enterprises, the exploitation of intellectual assets; copyright, patents, trademarks, designs and know-how are essential to business and the creative industries. However intellectual property is rarely sufficient, of itself, to create businesses or, indeed, to create significant economic value, it needs to be incorporated into a commercialisation plan. A successful future for IP financing is a significant step in further development of the IP-based economy. An IP audit is a systematic review of all IP assets (registered and unregistered) created, owned, used and/or licensed by a business. IP audits are important to identify how good the processes to capture and manage IP are. Questions around controlling leakages to customers and industry, filling in the gaps in the IP portfolio to support future products and assets and most importantly, are we protecting the right IP assets in the right way are all questions to be explored in this chapter.