The new ‘ICC Handbook on Valuation of Intellectual Property Assets’ is the work of the ICC Task Force on Valuation and Monetisation of IP Assets, co-chaired by Dominika Boehm, strategy and business manager, Siemens UAE (previously senior IP counsel, Siemens Germany), and Paul Bevan, founder of Central Value Worldwide (Spain). ICC recognised that both investors and organizations are confronting business valuation issues more regularly ‘as part of financial reporting, taxation, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), research and development (R&D), and the sale or purchase of technology licensing.’ The new guide recognises basic cost, income, and market approaches for IP valuation—familiar territory for business valuers. It’s particularly useful, however, in addressing:
- The variables that may influence the value of IP assets—including the types of IP rights at stake, the larger valuation context, the purpose of the valuation, and the moment in time in which it takes place;
- The definitions of IP valuation adopted by relevant organisations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) or the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), and, of course, the British Standards Institute (BSI);
- The evolving international regulatory environment, including the fair value standards from IFRS 13; and
- The importance of IP valuation in international taxation.