Insights
Ideas as Assets
October 1, 2012
- Buzz
- Ideas as Assets
Intellectual Ventures is in the business of great ideas. Whether through our own inventions, collaboration with our global network of inventors or traditional acquisitions, we focus on creating, identifying, and commercializing the best ideas in the world.
Throughout IV’s history, this approach has been successful because we’ve built our business on the concept that ideas are valuable.
Consider how in just 30 years, corporate value has shifted from being more than 80% tangible to being 80% intangible (Source: Ned Davis Research). Given this shift, it is surprising how slow companies have been to focus on extracting value from these intangible assets.
There is a clear opportunity for those who embrace this new business reality and a risk for those who lag behind. High profile court rulings, increased earnings from licensing transactions and patent auctions are a reminder that IP is a high-stakes game.
The ideas that underpin a company’s products have an impact on the broader marketplace. My advice to corporate executives is to build an IP strategy in the board room, not in the legal department. IP is too important to leave to the lawyers. Not only is active management of IP a revenue opportunity for a company but it also can also provide a distinct advantage over competitors who view IP as simply a tool to protect their ideas, a risk to be mitigated or something to blissfully ignore. These approaches miss out on all of the opportunities to extract maximum value from the company’s ideas.
The market for intellectual property has developed to a point where it can’t be casually addressed. Ideas are valuable and a savvy IP strategy can help companies of all sizes unlock this value.
