The third
industrial revolution is upon us. The first was marked by controlling natural
resources and building infrastructure and the second by mass production and
distribution. The third is marked by generating value through information. We
live in an age of globalization and hyperconnectivity, when speed in developing
and implementing valuable ideas means the difference between success and
failure.
In line
with this, corporate value is undergoing a shift from tangible to intangible
assets. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple have very little in the way
of tangible fixed assets; instead their growth is driven by their intangible
assets. Companies will be piling onto this bandwagon more and more, and this
includes even traditional companies, which are adapting or will have to adapt
their business models to survive.
As
intangible assets grow more and more important, protection of these assets has
become a vital necessity. Brick and mortar can be protected by locks, alarms,
and guards – but how do you protect a valuable idea? Using the framework of the
law is key. Today, intellectual property is playing an increasingly important
role, and that role will only become greater.
Intellectual
property is like a hand with five fingers: trademarks, patents, designs,
copyright, and trade secrets. This simile is an apt one here, because the hand
is an extremely versatile tool capable of performing the most intricate tasks.
Think of playing a musical instrument. The trick is to use the available rights
wisely.
Which right
is the right one, when and where should it be registered, should it be used in
association with complementary rights, how can it be enforced against
competitors, and what kind of valuation is appropriate for business
transactions – all these questions are key to intelligent use of intellectual
property.
Integrating
intellectual property into the creative process is another key factor. It is
not enough to develop something and then decide on protection-related issues
when finished. Projects cannot be managed without managing employee and
participant, partner company, supplier, and customer relations from the very
outset.
Decisions
to redirect or abandon a project cannot be taken without taking into
consideration rights obtained, registered, or pending, possible repurposing,
and the consequences of abandonment.
This is
important to all companies, but it is vital to innovative SMEs and start-ups.
It can spell the difference between success and failure. I have seen many young
companies with important innovative business ideas fail because they failed to
plan out their intellectual property matters as required.
Companies
of this kind often complain that intellectual property is an expenditure, is
very expensive, serves no real purpose. I can sympathize, even with the last of
these objections, because intellectual property is of little benefit when it is
not used wisely.
In other
words, integrating it into the innovation process and using it intelligently is
what makes intellectual property beneficial, necessary, fundamental. Doing this
does not require so much money, only thinking about how and when to spend it,
how to invest well so that it will help bring about success.
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