IP Management: Part 1 - IP Audit

Solutions to many current economic challenges “will come from the industries that rely on IP” according to Bush-era Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. “We have to innovate our way out of the crisis,” he said. Underscoring this with the fact that that major U.S. brands such as Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments were born during previous economic downturns.

Failure to identify and document IP and the relationships of those who come into contact with it at the inception of the new venture can lead to serious entanglements down the road. Because so much of the intrinsic value of a new venture is often tied up in the intangible assets of a new business, it is imperative to:

ü Identify your intangible assets early

ü Protect your intangible assets through registration and contract

ü Leverage your intangible assets strategically

Step 1. IP Audit – Locate & Identify your IP!

• Conduct an audit to assess your company’s intellectual property assets as well as your liabilities to identify and reduce risks and capitalize on opportunities. Books and services are available to help you do an IP audit.
• Once a company's intellectual property rights have been identified through an audit, the IP manager should put a program in place to assure that these rights are properly registered and correctly used. This article is intended to serve as a practical guide to the registration and maintenance of IP rights.