22
/ November
2012
IP value is finally a boardroom discussion
IP value is finally finding its way onto boardroom agenda items, though perhaps not as much through discussion of opportunities as through mitigation of risk.
A new Innography white paper identifies six IP-related risk categories that should concern today’s companies.
- There is a large M&A Risk for acquirers (infringement , inaccurate valuation of IP assets during the due diligence process, lingering litigation);
- IP Value Wire has written often about the sometimes crippling costs that attach to IP- associated Legal Risk;
- It is important to know the validity of IP claims, including proof of ownership, made by potential Partners or Licensors;
- A company’s R&D program inherently carries with it Technology (R&D) Risk, “including the loss of competitive position, technology obsolescence and barriers to enter new markets;”
- Competitors can severely limit market access in a given segment by wielding a heavy IP hammer; and
- Today, the threat of “game-changing innovations” is a very real Market Risk.