Intellectual property:an underestimated and undermanaged asset?

Intellectual Property (IP) is becoming more and more important for competitive advantage and companies’ success. We argue that making IP a key issue is essential and will be one of the main factors driving future business success. Nevertheless many companies have not yet managed to integrate IP into strategy development and all critical business processes and thus do not get the maximum value out of it. This article aims to show how companies can systematically develop and implement an IP strategy following a three-step approach. First, it is important for the management to get a more transparent picture about strengths and weaknesses of the current IP position. Modern IP database tools help to achieve this goal. In the second phase the management should evaluate whether the company is successful in realizing the full market and strategic potential of technologies with IP strength and how to cope with areas of IP weaknesses. After an in-depth evaluation an IP-strategy should be defined and implemented. In our experience strategy execution requires a clear commitment from the top management, clear roles & responsibilities, proper monitoring, a more intensive collaboration on IP issues between R&D, Marketing, Patent attorneys and often even changes in corporate structures and processes