Maximizing Intellectual Property and Intangible Assets: Case Studies in Intangible Asset Finance

As innovative companies struggle to raise funds, intellectual property and intangible assets are providing alternative ways of financing innovation. But greater awareness of them as an asset class is needed. Raising that awareness is the focus of a new report from Athena Alliance, Maximizing Intellectual Property and Intangible Assets: Case Studies in Intangible Asset Finance by Ian Ellis, a former U.S. Department of Commerce official specializing in intellectual property and international trade. The report outlines increasing, but still nascent, means of financing innovation based on these assets in public, private and venture capital markets. As industry has invested capital in research and development to develop new technology and advance other creative activities, intellectual capital has become a valuable asset class, according to the paper. In response, firms specializing in intangible-based financing are springing up, using them to raise capital for the next round of innovation.The paper details equity, equity-debt, debt, and sale-leaseback transactions, both private and public, that have helped companies raise capital, based on careful, rigorous analysis and conservative underwriting standards. For example, the author notes that in 2000, there were two public deals using royalty securitization, raising $145 million. In 2007-08,$3.3 billion was raised in 19 deals.Unlike some of the exotic financial vehicles, however, the financial products discussed in this paper are some of the most basic financing mechanisms in business. The innovation is in recognizing the value of intangible assets for corporate finance. These new financial firms are using traditional financial techniques in new ways to help innovative companies.But more should be done.One important step would be developing sound, industry-wide, underwriting standards, according to the report. For example, Small Business Administration (SBA) rules permit its loans to be used for acquisition of intangible assets when buying on-going businesses. Rules are unclear on whether those assets can be used as collateral. The paper recommends that SBA work with commercial lenders to develop standards for using intangible assets as collateral.The report builds on earlier Athena Alliance papers, notably Intangible Asset Monetization: The Promise and the Reality

Patent collateral, investor commitment, and the market for venture lending

This paper investigates the market for lending to technology startups (i.e., venture lending) and examines two mechanisms that may facilitate trade within it: (1) the ‘salability’ of patent collateral; and (2) the credible commitment of existing equity investors. We find that intensified trading in the secondary patent market is strongly related to the annual rate of startup lending, particularly for startups with more redeployable patent assets. Moreover, we show that the credibility of venture capitalist commitments to reinvest in their startups’ next round of financing can be critical for startup debt provision. Utilizing the crash of 2000 as a severe and unexpected capital supply shock for VCs, we show that lenders continue to finance startups with recently funded investors better able to credibly commit to refinance their portfolio companies, but withdraw from otherwise-promising projects that may have needed their funds the most. The findings are consistent with predictions of incomplete contracting and financial intermediation theory.Accepted manuscrip

Increasing access to credit through reforming secured transactions in the MENA Region

This paper provides a comparative summary of secured transactions systems related to the use of movable property as collateral in the MENA region vis a vis international practices in countries with modern secured transactions systems. The paper sets out the importance of introducing reforms in the area of secured transactions with the objective of increasing access to credit for businesses, particularly SMEs. The MENA region clearly lags behind all other regions in the introduction of secured transactions reforms. The paper summarizes many of the weaknesses common across the region. The two main critical areas that need urgent reforms are the creation of modern secured transactions laws and electronic movable collateral registries, and the need to improve enforcement mechanisms for security interests in movable property.Debt Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress,Access to Finance,Emerging Markets,E-Business

A guide to finance for Social Enterprises in South Africa

The global economic crisis and its aftermath deepen the challenge of decent employment creation. The Global Jobs Pact developed in response to the crisis sets out a framework that ensures linkages between social progress and economic development. In this context, there is increasing interest in the social economy as a way to combine social and economic goals. The Ouagadougou Symposium on the Global Jobs Pact as it relates to Africa included a recommendation to increase support to the social economy. A regional conference in October 2009 on the social economy as a response to the economic crisis in Africa defined the social economy as "a concept designating enterprises and organizations, in particular cooperatives, mutual benefit societies, associations, foundations and social enterprises, which have the specific feature of producing goods, services and knowledge while pursuing both economic and social aims and fostering solidarity.

Financing technology transfer

Global policy discussions increasingly focus on innovation and the knowledge economy as a driver of long-term growth. In parallel new forms of innovation processes are emerging, notably open innovation and innovation networks stressing the importance of connections between various stakeholders. Links between universities and the business sector are of particular importance as many inventions come out of universities but have to be further developed to become economically relevant innovations. New financing instruments and attracting private investors to technology transfer (TT) are necessary but difficult as the patterns of risk and information in this “in-between area” is complex: Technology is not basic anymore and it requires large amounts of capital to be scaled up – with uncertain market prospects. This paper addresses new financial instruments for TT, building on European Investment Fund’s experience in this field.Technology Transfer; Financing; Innovation; Commercialisation; Funding gap; Patents; Licensing; Intellectual Property

European experience and Ukrainian realities in the policy of financial support entrepreneurial sector

Aim/purpose – We want to provide recommendations to bridge the gap in access to financing of the entrepreneurial sector in Ukraine based on the analysis of European experience, EBF approaches, financial funds for SMEs and the current state of the credit market in Ukraine. Design/methodology/approach – We used the general scientific methods of knowledge, conceptual tenets of the theory of market economy, abstract logical analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, historical (to determine the nature and causes of bank investment in SMEs, refine categories and terms); formalization, systems analysis (to determine factors of investment banking, institutional and legal environment); statistical, retrospective analysis. The results of surveys conducted by the EBF on the issues of support and development of SMEs are used, own research of 120 Ukrainian SMEs, which was conducted during the period from January to July 2016. The nature of the research questions was reinforced by the decision to survey only SMEs. Independent reporting (from entrepreneurs or CEOs) was used to account for both business activity and the external sources of information. Findings – Policy initiatives should primarily be developed at the national level in the field of lending to SMEs based on the European experience and Ukrainian realities; it is necessary to develop an understanding of the need for access to certain types of information; SMEs are the main providers and the most valuable source of credit information. Research implications/limitations – When using the methods of calculation creditworthiness perhaps to take into account the methods for assessing the quality of management, the image of the enterprise, ISO certificates. Originality/value/contribution – Based on the cross-country comparison of the EU and Ukraine, highlight the necessity of focusing on some legal unification of SME lending procedures for the development of a culture of sustainable entrepreneurship on the European continent