Overview

We are moving into an economy where the greatest value is in recipes, rather than the cakes.

(Charles Leadbeater)

Protecting intellectual property requires:

• safeguarding your intellectual rights

• a comprehensive trademark, patent and copyright strategy

• agreements on what can and cannot be shared

• recognizing the legal rights of copyright owners

• closely vetting innovation development firms.

Profiting from your genius

In the world of business there are many people who are ruthlessly searching for a leading edge that will help them profit at your expense. Stealing ideas and diminishing reputations both within and outside the law has become a fact of life in the knowledge economy.

In this knowledge economy the industries which are creating in-demand assets such as licensing fees, branding and royalties have become the movers and shakers of twenty-first century business. For example, it is estimated that by 2006 half US work placements will be employed in knowledge-generating industries for their primary sources of wealth. Here competitive advantage depends on the ability to stimulate and capture knowledge, and reduce the risk of losing intellectual assets, talent and know-how elsewhere. So it is not surprising that intellectual property protection is now a major concern of thousands of businesses worldwide, particularly given how easy it is now to publish and send vital secrets to a cast of millions by cyberspace or the mass media in a fraction of a second.

To highlight why the protection of intellectual property (IP) is so important let us take...