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Newsletter | Articles Intellectual Property Audits More than 80 per cent of any company’s value lies in its intangible assets, such as intellectual property and intellectual assets, it is estimated. Intellectual property (IP) rights allow individuals or companies to protect and exploit their commercially valuable creativity in the same way as physical property. An intellectual asset (IA) extends to all knowledge that has market value, including staff expertise, market intelligence, strategic contracts and trade secrets. However, knowledge only becomes an asset if it has commercial value or market demand. The main types of IP: Copyright protects original works of ownership fixed in a physical medium of expression, for example books, films, music, art work, photographs and software. This gives the copyright holder the exclusive right to control the copying or adaptation of such works for a certain period of time. A patent is a grant issued by the government giving an inventor the right to exclude others from making, having made, using, leasing, offering to sell, selling or importing an invention. It gives the holder an exclusive right commercially to exploit the invention for a certain period of time (typically 20 years from the filing date of a patent application). Patents are normally granted for new and improved products and processes with potential commercial application. Trademark protection covers the branding which distinguishes the products or services of one business from those of another business. Essentially, trademarks are the brand names and associated imagery that promote competition by giving products corporate identity and marketing leverage. An industrial design right protects the appearance, style or design of an industrial object, which could include textiles or furniture. A trade secret is an item of confidential information concerning the commercial practices or proprietary knowledge of a business. It is what gives its owner a competitive advantage and can cover a wide range of information including chemical compounds, machine patterns, customer lists and software. Image rights can deliver substantial commercial and tax benefits to celebrities and sports people. It gives the individual the exclusive right to control commercial use and exploitation of their image, voice and likeness. The key is to obtain informed tax and legal advice at an early stage in order to assess whether the potential benefits are sufficient to justify the establishment of an image rights company. The Audits To enable businesses to start measuring and obtaining value from their intellectual assets and intellectual property, it is necessary to identify, protect and exploit these key resources. IP’s and intellectual assets have value in that they can: Be traded e.g. licensed, franchised, sold, mortgaged Assist in business strategy, business models and alternative streams of income Act as a marketing tools Deter competition With an estimated 80 per cent of a company’s value lying in its intangible assets, it is vital that organisations ensure their IP is protected. Legislation exists to protect IP’s but this is only effective if an organisation adopts a pragmatic approach. What ILS can provide: Formation of companies and trusts Use of our service companies as intermediaries Assistance with contracts Invoicing and accounting Administration Director and secretary services Registered office facilities Opening of bank accounts Physical office facilities For more information contact Stephen Colderwood.