what is Intellectual Asset Management?
Find Out More...
Please select one of the asset types from the lists of registered or unregistered assets for more information.
Patents
An official, territorial monopoly which gives the holder the right to prevent others from making, using or selling the invention for up to 20 years.
Trademarks
Act as a badge of origin of goods or services within a particular trade e.g. food. May consist of: words; logos; pictures; shapes; sounds; colours; or smells.
Design Rights
A monopoly right for the appearance of an article (or component of it), lasting up to 25 years. Additional to copyright or design right protection which arise automatically.
Copyright
Automatically arises by recording material such as reports, artwork or promotional literature. Copyright stops others from copying work at the commercial expense of the creator.
Database Rights
May exist in addition or instead of copyright. Protects against unauthorised extraction or utilisation of database contents. Last 15 years from publication/ creation.
Trade Secrets
Information which is of commercial value (such as a coating process), which is only known to a limited number of individuals. Hinges on the law of confidentiality.
Technical Info
Process procedures and technical info which are (or can be) documented and can be shared e.g. standard operating procedures; novel methods of resolving technical issues etc.
Contracts
Legal agreements such as licenses, leases, contract of employment, distribution agreements etc. Can be either verbal or written and apply to employees or external business contacts.
Accreditation
Awarded by a variety of organisations, and include compliance with specific industrial standards (ISO, BSS), regulatory requirements (FDA, MCA), and business outcomes (IIP).
Show How
May comprise of a demonstration of activities such as equipment maintenance, production process etc, which can be used as a training tool or traded if recorded e.g. by video.
Intellectual asset management is the term used to describe the process of both capturing and managing knowledge, and fully exploiting it for commercial gain. Initially knowledge must be captured (or recorded), to make it available to appropriate members of staff. To remain relevant, the knowledge captured must be maintained and added to over time.
have you found your 80% hidden value?
The first steps in identifying and safeguarding your Intellectual Assets will set you on the path to unlocking your organisation's potential:
- Gain an appreciation of what to look for in your business
- Identify your IA
- Prioritise your assets in line with your organisation's vision and strategy
- Develop both a method of managing your assets, and an IA strategy
- Communicate your IA to investors, backers, employees, potential purchasers of your IA
- Extracting value
top 5... reasons for IAM
1.
Can be used to inform business strategy - perhaps even change business model
2.
Drive innovation by identifying new opportunities as well as gaps in current expertise
3.
Enhance the presentation of your company to investors or strategic partners
4.
Can be utilised for marketing e.g. testimonials from prestigious customers
5.
Deter the competition!
benefits
Your organisation's future earning potential depends on exploiting its IA. If steps are not taken to manage these assets, who knows what you may be missing?
case studies
Here are some real life examples of how Scottish Companies have benefited from using their Intellectual Assets in practice
glossary
Below you will find a randomly selected example entry from our glossary of IA terms (download here a .pdf version of the glossary):
Goodwill
Is the additional value applied to a business over and above its accounting book value. A company's reputation or the quality of its customer base are both examples of goodwill, w...
