Legal Considerations in the Development and Commercialization of Corporate Intellectual Property

Abstract

With the exploitation of the internet and societal innovations and legislative shifts, it is repeatedly being raised as to whether and to what degree businesses and individuals can protect their intellectual property and in economic terms the worth of doing so. To date, how to capture value from IP and what can be considered an effective IP strategy are subjects for which there is no definitive answer as the solution is very much industry and firm-specific. Therefore, the primary goal of this paper is to provide a strategic perspective on intellectual property exploitation and management in a manner that is relevant to the business objectives of today's corporations. In doing this, this paper will argue that the effective management of IP is a complex process requiring a synthesis of insight from several disciplines ranging from strategy to finance and law. The argument underlying this is that in the same way that today's corporation has changed the way to strategy and management of other business assets, there too is a need to change how IP is both managed and exploited. This theme is prevalent throughout the following analysis, however, these two opening sections aim to provide a comprehensive framework that links and articulates the various aspects of corporate IP. This framework will be of most use to managers and decision-makers with responsibility for IP who are seeking to maximize the value of their property to use it as leverage to gain sustainable competitive advantage. A second audience for this paper is the academically minded. A sign of changes to come is that IP is now a topic of academic research in various fields that encompass PhD and other advanced studies. In addressing the wide disciplinary audience, the following analysis draws evidence from a mix of academic and business sources.