10.1 Introduction

When the first edition of this book was published in 1994, the term IPRs (intellectual property rights) was becoming generally known, partly by reason of the high profile of IPRs in the Uruguay Round of GATT the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade which was finally agreed in 1995; familiarity was improving but understanding was by no means widespread.

With this edition, the term IPRs is widely seen in the general press, although only the heavyweight end makes any effort to understand the principles, and even journalists in the quality press tend to write about patenting your trade mark .

The terms knowledge society and knowledge assets are fashionable in articles on management, and of course IPRs are a major knowledge asset, with skilled staff being another.

Management journals giving a very broad view of companies point out that 50 years ago a UK company comprised 80 per cent tangible assets, such as plant and machinery, and 20 per cent intangibles; today the position is quite different with intangibles taking a much greater share. The percentage will vary with the type of company; the author has seen figures setting the intangible proportion as 75 or 80 per cent, perhaps for an R&D organisation with relatively little in the way of buildings. WIPO, World Intellectual Property Organisation, sets it at 40 per cent on average on a worldwide basis.

So the basic knowledge of the importance of intellectual property (IP) is accessible, yet in even the largest technical...