Effective management of a company's resources can impact its market position, growth, and profitability. One of the most important assets for firms engaged in producing goods or services is intellectual property. It can become a primary pillar of a company's functioning in the market. What is intellectual property, how to manage and protect it?
What does intellectual property of companies include?
Intellectual property in a company refers to the legal and commercial aspects related to intellectual creations. It includes mainly trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights, know-how, inventions, and trade secrets. It is a significant resource for firms that can contribute to competitiveness, innovation, and market value. In some companies, intellectual property plays a crucial role in their business strategy. Companies can use their intellectual property rights as tools to protect their innovations from competitors. For instance, a company can register a trademark to distinguish its products or services from others on the market. Intellectual property also covers copyrights to software, systems, or content created by the company. Business strategy may also involve creating new inventions and industrial designs as elements of innovation and competitive advantage. To obtain formal legal protection, some of these forms of intellectual property may require a registration or filing with relevant authorities, such as patent offices, trademark offices, or copyright offices. Each form of intellectual property has its own protection rules and registration procedures.
Commercialization of intellectual property
The commercialization of intellectual property refers to the process of transforming intellectual creations, innovations, or inventions protected by intellectual property into economic value by utilizing them to generate profits or other commercial benefits. It can take various forms depending on the type of creation and the company's business strategy. What are the ways to commercialize intellectual property?
- Licensing - a company may grant licenses to other entities to use its intellectual property in exchange for a licensing fee. By licensing, the company allows the use of its innovations, technologies, or trademarks for manufacturing and selling products or providing services.
- Bringing innovations to the market - commercialization of intellectual property may involve the development and introduction of new products or services based on the company's innovations. This may require investment in development, production, marketing, and distribution of new offerings.
- Franchising - if a company has a unique business model that can be replicated, it may consider offering franchises. Within the franchise, the company transfers its intellectual property, such as trademarks, know-how, and operational procedures, to other entrepreneurs who become franchisees. They then pay licensing fees and royalties and, in return, benefit from the brand, know-how, and support of the parent company.
- Production processes - a company can utilize its intellectual property to innovate production processes or services. For example, if a company has a patented production process, it can use it to manufacture unique products or services that have a competitive advantage in the market.
- Strategic partnerships - a company can establish strategic partnerships with other entities that can utilize its intellectual property to expand or complement their offerings. Partnerships may involve joint production, distribution, marketing, or research and development.
Managing intellectual property in technology transfer
Managing intellectual property in the context of technology transfer refers to the strategies and actions taken by a company to effectively transfer its technological knowledge, innovations, and creations to other entities for commercialization or use. The company should develop a clear technology transfer strategy, defining business objectives and expected benefits from the transfer. In this context, it is essential to determine whether the company intends to transfer technology through licensing, research and development cooperation, technology sales, or other forms. Before proceeding with technology transfer, it is necessary to assess the value of the company's intellectual property, such as patents, know-how, copyrights, and identify which of these assets are critical to the success of the transfer. It is also important to ensure adequate legal protection for intellectual property through trademark registration, patent applications, or confidentiality agreements. As part of technology transfer, the company will need to negotiate agreements and licenses that define the rights and obligations of both parties. The agreement should precisely define the scope of the transfer, intellectual property rights, financial conditions, obligations of the parties, and any other significant aspects.
Why should companies protect intellectual property?
Intellectual property can represent unique and valuable assets that differentiate a company in the market. Protecting it allows maintaining a competitive advantage since other companies cannot utilize the same innovations, technologies, or trademarks. Moreover, intellectual property can significantly increase a company's market value. Having valuable patents, trademarks, or unique products based on copyrights can attract investors, business partners, and enhance customer trust. Intellectual property protection also allows for generating profits. The ability to license technology, sell copyrights, grant franchises, or use trademarks allows the company to create additional revenue streams. Another aspect is brand reputation. Protection of trademarks and copyrights allows the company to maintain a certain level of consistency, which can prevent misinformation and customer attrition. With legal protection of trademarks, consumers can be assured that they are buying goods or services from trusted producers.
It should be noted, that managing intellectual property in a company requires the development and implementation of an appropriate strategy that allows the company to maximize the use of its intellectual assets for generating business value. Specialists dealing with intellectual property management and protection should have extensive knowledge of legal issues, strategy optimization, negotiation, enforcement of rights, and transaction management.
All individuals interested in this area are invited to explore our postgraduate studies offer - Intellectual Property Management. This direction is recommended for entrepreneurs, employees of scientific and research units, professional consultants, legal advisers, and lawyers, as well as employees of technology transfer centers and innovation centers. The aim of the studies is to equip specialists with comprehensive knowledge and skills that allow effective management of intellectual property in companies or research institutions. The program focuses on the most important areas related to this field, such as law, management, marketing, economics, and new technologies.
